Pashinyan vs Etchmiadzin: Armenian PM wins the next round

No one in Armenia could ever have imagined that problems could arise in such a fundamental and even nation-forming element of the Armenian existence as the church. But a problem has arisen, and her name is Nikol Pashinyan.

Relations between Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church have never been good. More precisely, there were none at all. After becoming prime minister, this politician set the goal from the very beginning to put an end to the dictate of the church and rid the state of its influence. Although according to the Constitution, Armenia is a secular state, the Armenian Church is a kind of state within the state. Etchmiadzin always lived by his own rules and pulled the strings, guiding the decisions and plans of the authorities. No one has ever questioned the influence of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and they would not dare to do so, since the church is an inseparable element of the Armenian identity itself. And even more - the church is the foundation, and the Armenia project itself is an add-on.

Nikol Pashinyan decided to destroy this reality and bring statehood out from under the dictates of the church. The first time he tried to do this was during his first years in power. At that time, he did not have enough strength for this, since the current opposition, thanks to the halo of "winners," still had a certain weight in society. He did not dare to go ahead then, because the AAC is a very big force, and to cope with it, you need to score points. After the Second Karabakh War, when the eyes of the Armenian society began to open, the right moment came. But the Prime Minister would hardly have dared such an open confrontation if Etchmiadzin hadn't made a fool of himself by deciding to lead an alleged "popular protest." Garegin himself, of course, did not lead the crowd, but the priests instructed by him and Robert Kocharyan. Galstanyan, Ajapakhyan and other "sacred persons" openly entered into political activity, freeing the hands of Pashinyan. He went on a fierce offensive, and, apparently, Etchmiadzin could not come to an agreement with him.

According to Zhokhovurd, the Armenian Prime Minister has formed a group of priests loyal to the authorities to implement a plan to overthrow Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II (in the world, Ktrich Nersesyan). The newspaper notes that it is this group that should create an atmosphere of pressure within the church on the environment of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, accusing his associates of the campaign launched against the church. The goal is to provoke an internal conflict, which will eventually lead to Garegin's voluntary resignation from office. The newspaper's sources claim that the pressure on the church leadership will gradually increase and the desired result can be achieved very soon.  This assignment was allegedly given in a narrow circle, and the group will be led by defrocked priest Ter Aram (Stepan Asatryan).

The conceived scheme (if the Armenian media report is true at all) is quite complicated. However, if such a plan takes place, it means that Pashinyan has information about the presence of fermentation outside the walls of Etchmiadzin. In any case, the demarches against the Armenian Apostolic Church and alternative liturgies are similar and have had an effect.

The fact that there is fermentation is confirmed by information from another Armenian publication, Hraparak. The newspaper reports that the Armenian Apostolic Church has split into two wings, and the Catholicos is losing control of the dioceses. "The church has cracked and split," writes Graparak.

Interesting details. The previous liturgy, in which Pashinyan participated, was led by the primate of the Vayots Dzor diocese, Archbishop Abraham Mkrtchyan, an old priest and associate of Ktrich. However, at the request of the Prime Minister, he does not mention the Catholicos during the liturgy, which is mandatory. Thus, Armenian experts state that Pashinyan managed to split the clergy into those who support Nersesyan and those who are against him.

But that's not all. Pashinyan not only openly declared war on Etchmiadzin, but also managed to find support. Not specifically against the current Catholicos and his gang, of course, but the public support from a number of American and British Evangelical leaders is a huge plus for him.

On November 15, the Armenian Prime Minister attended and spoke at the first national prayer breakfast in Yerevan. As the Armenian media emphasize, this happened against the background of ongoing accusations against his government of putting pressure on the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In his speech, Pashinyan, a talker, talked about this and that, quoted psalms, and then stated that the prayer breakfast is an occasion to reflect on the relationship between religion and the state.

Pashinyan's speech was positively received, especially by the fact that he recited an entire chapter from the Bible from memory. His performance was described as inspiring. Representatives of the World Evangelical Alliance, Anglican and Catholic clergy, as well as members of the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) were present. In total, the two-day breakfast was attended by more than 300 guests, including representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Yezidi and Assyrian communities.

Representatives of the Armenian Orthodox Church and the opposition, of course, were outraged. Especially the favor shown to Pashinyan by foreign guests. How so?! While Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan was sentenced to two years in prison for calling for the overthrow of the government, while Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who, as everyone remembers, led the "march" on Yerevan last spring, and other "saints" were arrested, representatives of the Evangelical Church greet Nikol Pashinyan?! - they are indignant. All these people have already been classified as "political prisoners."

No one noticed the absence of the AAC at the prayer breakfast, except for the well-known Christian Solidarity Organization and the equally well-known US Commission on Religious Freedom. It should be recalled that this commission, with surprising regularity, annually accuses Azerbaijan of violating religious freedom, persecuting Christians and other similar phenomena. Baku has not been paying attention to the reports of this structure lately, because it is tired of it.

The fact that the first national prayer breakfast in Armenia was held without the participation of official clergy, and the invited clergy did not leave the hall, is a serious wake-up call for Ktrich Nersesyan. This suggests that even for religious circles, the authority of the current leadership of the church is already in question.

By the way, Garegin traveled to the Vatican in September and held meetings with the leadership of the Holy See there. It is unlikely that the purpose of the trip was only complaints about Azerbaijan. Ktrich Nersesyan is in such a position now that he should not be interested in Azerbaijan at all. According to Armenian insiders, he went to seek support against Pashinyan. And, apparently, he didn't get it.

Thus, Nikol Pashinyan is already leading with a score of 2:0. But the game has only just begun.