The Armenian authorities are exceeding their authority by attacking and threatening the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Church is legally separate from the state, and the Armenian people hold it in high regard and have not given Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan the authority to reform the church at his own discretion.
This was stated by Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, advisor to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’.
“One gets the impression that the current head of the Armenian government has decided to engage in an unequal struggle with national spiritual values and, to this end, is persecuting and insulting church leaders and clergy, making arrests, and threatening to seize church buildings. This may be due to the influence of external forces, as such ideas clearly do not reflect the feelings of the Armenian people, who hold their church in high regard and have not given Pashinyan the authority to reform it at his own discretion,” Balashov said.
He added that, according to Armenian law, the church is separate from the state, and government officials have no right to interfere in its affairs.
“A political figure in a secular state has no right to interfere in the organization of church life, which is determined by the canonical laws of the church. The Armenian Constitution guarantees the freedom of activity of religious organizations and emphasizes their autonomy and independence from the state. Therefore, with such statements, the prime minister violates his constitutional authority, allowing himself to make offensive remarks and threats against the church leadership,” he emphasized.
He also recalled that, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the state is obligated to recognize the exclusive mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as the national church in the spiritual life of the Armenian people, in the development of national culture, and the preservation of national identity.
“Historical experience convincingly shows that the struggle of people against faith and the church inevitably ends in defeat, and those who show disrespect for the church are disgraced,” the agency’s source concluded.