Armenian state takes over world’s oldest Church in religious crackdown
By Anna Rees Green, Premier Christian News
Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has announced that his government will take control of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, ending the historic separation between Church and state in the country.
Mr Pashinyan declared that the government would replace the Church with a “real, pure, and state-centred Church.”
The announcement comes after increased persecution against clergy and high-profile church supporters, including arrests and asset confiscations.
According to Amsterdam & Partners, half of Armenia’s bishops have now been detained by authorities; in June, Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bagrat Galstanyan, was charged with attempting to overthrow the government.
Samvel Karapetyan, a prominent philanthropist and supporter of the Church’s independence, was recently transferred from jail to house arrest.
The Prime Minister justified the crackdown by claiming that “traitors” were seeking to “serve the interests of foreign centres” and said, “the state will not allow the Church to be transformed into an anti-state hub.” He added that the Church would not be permitted to “oppose the state interest.”
Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer and counsel to Samvel Karapetyan, criticized the “shocking” move.
“The Armenian Prime Minister is nakedly admitting that he is commandeering the Church,” he said. “Their representatives do not blindly back his government. This is the action of a freedom-hating dictator.”
Mr Amsterdam continued: “This move should be condemned by all Western governments. In one fell swoop, Pashinyan is publicly saying he is ending religious freedom, freedom of speech and all pretence of maintaining Armenia’s position as a democratic state.”
The Armenian Holy Apostolic Church is the world’s oldest, as Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity in 301AD.
