Armenian Prime Minister  once again lashes out at Armenian Apostolic  Church and its Primate

ArmInfo.  The Armenian Apostolic Church must fulfill its function, namely, to serve the  Savior Jesus Christ, and nothing else, as stated by the  RA Prime  Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, at a press-briefing on April 23.

According to him, there is no church without people, just as there is  no church without believers. Against this background, Ktrich  Nersisyan is not the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Moreover, the Prime Minister continued,  members of the clergy are  citizens of Armenia and must act within the framework of the law. If  all citizens must pay income taxes, then the clergy must do so as  well.  Pashinyan believes that there must be full transparency  regarding taxes in Armenia. "Why shouldn't they pay taxes? For eight  years now, we've been expressing our readiness to implement a system  whereby taxes paid by the church will be fully refunded. Why should  imported goods (such as coffee) for the church, which have no  ceremonial significance, be tax-exempt? Why shouldn't citizens know  the turnover from candle sales and where that money goes?," he added.

According to Pashinyan, the current status of clergy is linked to  their financial and other dependency on a single person. "Why  shouldn't there be ethical standards for the conduct of clergy? Is it  normal for the Catholicos of All Armenians to have children?" the  head of government emphasized.