Government Lacks Authority to Include Church Reform in its Program

Catholicos Karekin II presides over a meeting of the Etchmiadzin Supreme Spiritual Council on Aug. 26

The Supreme Spiritual Council of Holy Etchmiadzin on Wednesday said that Armenia’s government lacks the authority to include the subject of church reforms in its five year program.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan this week vowed to propose legislation to reform the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Within a month at the latest, the government will publish a report on the crisis in the Armenian Apostolic Church, and I will propose to create an investigative committee within the National Assembly, to examine all these facts and adopt legislative amendments as a result,” Pashinyan told lawmakers on Tuesday.

The Etchmiadzin Supreme Spiritual Council, which convened a session Wednesday headed by Catholicos Karekin II, said in a statement that the government is creating an “artificial” agenda to undermine the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Every effort is being made, through fabricated accusations against the Mother See, the Catholicos of All Armenians and the clergy, as well as unfounded and politically directed criminal prosecutions, to artificially create grounds for interfering in the internal life and order of the Church and restricting the autonomy of the Armenian Church, thereby violating the faithful’s right to freedom of religion and conscience,” the Supreme Spiritual Council said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“We are deeply saddened as we follow the unacceptable conduct displayed in recent days by the Civil Contract parliamentary faction in the newly formed National Assembly,” said the announcement.

“It perplexes us that amid the many challenges facing the homeland and the dangerous external pressures confronting the country, the ruling political force, instead of fulfilling its responsibilities, has once again targeted our Holy Church during discussions of the Government Program, evidently violating the country’s Constitution and disregarding internationally enshrined rights. This policy will inevitably deepen existing tensions and place our people, both in the homeland and the Diaspora, before new divisions,” the statement added.

“The Government has neither the authority nor any constitutionally established competence to make the reform of the Church part of its government program or to impose, at its discretion, ‘proposals’ and demands on members of the clergy. The National Assembly is neither the competent nor the appropriate forum for discussing internal Church matters,” the Supreme Spiritual Council said.

“The reform of the Armenian Church cannot be carried out through external pressure, threats or such arbitrary actions. The authorities’ true anti-Church intentions are also evidenced by the removal of the subject ‘History of the Armenian Church’ from the public school curriculum, the dissolution of chaplaincy in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, the suspension of clergies’ spiritual ministry in correctional institutions, and the levying of additional taxes on the Church through unjustified penalties and fines,” the statement added.

When Pashinyan was presenting his government’s five-year agenda to parliament on Monday, he cited Karekin II’s and the Church’s support for Artsakh as another reason for the Catholicos to retire, adding an entirely new layer to the his crusade against Etchmiadzin.

“In its efforts to discredit the Church, defame clergy and manufacture a purported crisis, the authorities are making blatantly false allegations against the Armenian Church,” the Etchmiadzin announcement said.

The Supreme Spiritual Council also condemned Pashinyan’s assertion that the Church was “an agent of foreign interests,” and labeled it a “party of war” and a “security threat.” The prime minister accused the Church of “making prayerful references to Artsakh and raising issues concerning the rights of the people of Artsakh, the preservation of their spiritual and cultural heritage, and the release of Armenians held hostage in Baku,” the Etchmiadzin statement said.

“The Armenian Church, remaining faithful to its divinely ordained mission, has always been and continues to be guided by the interests of the Armenian state and the worldwide Armenian people. The Armenian Church will continue to defend our identity and champion national unity, making every effort for the sake of a peaceful, secure and prosperous life for our people,” Etchmiadzin said in the conclusion of its statement.