Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, commenting on the announcement of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on the dethronement of Father Aram Asatryan, stated that if we are guided by the same logic, then according to the “Canonical Code of Armenia”, Ktrij Nersisyan cannot be the Catholicos of All Armenians either, since he broke the vow of celibacy and due to that fact he is also dethroned. Political scientist Suren Surenyants wrote about this.
“This comment by Pashinyan, no matter how formulated in church vocabulary, essentially contradicts Article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, which clearly defines:
“The Church is separated from the state.”
It follows from this provision that a state official cannot interpret the rules of the Church or interfere in spiritual disciplinary decisions.
The status of the Catholicos or any clergyman is not a matter of state jurisdiction, but an internal institutional decision of the Church, which the state is obliged to respect, regardless of political or personal sympathies.
Pashinyan, by commenting on the Church’s statements and presenting himself as a political actor in Hovhannavank, is turning anti-patriarchal tensions into state policy.
Today, Hovhannavank has become not a place for the unification of faith, but an anti-church den, where an “alternative spiritual agenda” sponsored by the state authorities is being formed.
With this step, Pashinyan contributes to the institutional dismantling of the Church and the destruction of its unity.
When the government crosses the borders and invades the Church’s domain, not only the spiritual structure but also public trust in state institutions is at risk.
Interference in the affairs of the Church is the beginning of the devaluation of the state,” he wrote.