Campaign against AAC aimed at undermining nationhood - lawyer 

ArmInfo.The campaign initiated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against the Armenian  Apostolic Church (AAC) is not directed against individuals or the Church itself, but is aimed at undermining statehood. This was stated on June 16 at a discussion in Yerevan dedicated to the topic "Problems of the Church and the State: The Government Has Launched a Campaign Against the AAC", by lawyer and former Minister of Justice of Armenia Gevorg Danielyan.

In this regard, he recalled that in modern conditions, the Church  acts as a defender of cultural, spiritual and national values. "With  competent interaction between the Church and the state, we could  achieve significant results. We do not have another structure that  would have such a global network and representations around the world  as the AAC, and is capable of protecting Armenian interests," the  lawyer emphasized.

In his opinion, in the current situation, the involvement of the  Church in the political life of the country is even desirable, since  it fulfills an important mission to protect Armenia's interests in  the international arena.  Touching upon the Prime Minister's  statements about the inadmissibility of the Church's political  activity, the lawyer wondered what exactly is meant by politics in  this case. "If an accusation is made, it is necessary to determine  the scope and criteria of this violation in accordance with the  Constitution, since the term "politics" can have different content  and interpretations," Danielyan explained.

In this regard, he drew attention to the fact that the church is not  prohibited from engaging in politics, but it is not encouraged  either. At the same time, he expressed the conviction that the  authorities' actions against the AAC can be considered in this case  as part of the election campaign. "When church issues are transferred  to the political plane and they try to resolve them there, this means  deliberate interference in the affairs of the Church. The Church has  its own structures for resolving internal issues, and outside  interference is unacceptable," the lawyer said. 

In turn, lawyer and former head of the Chamber of Advocates of  Armenia Ara Zohrabyan noted that the authorities are trying to  present this campaign as directed against individuals. However, he is  sure that in fact it is aimed at undermining the church's  self-government system. "There is ample evidence of this: since 2018,  the "New Armenia, New Patriarch" movement was initiated by the  authorities and ceased only after clashes between church  representatives and activists in Echmiadzin," the human rights  activist recalled.

In addition, Zohrabyan mentioned the authorities' attempts to exclude  the history textbook of the Armenian Apostolic Church from the school  curriculum and drew attention to the fact that the statements of the  Armenian authorities coincided with the propaganda theses of  Azerbaijan, in particular with the statements of the Chairman of the  Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, who  has repeatedly accused the AAC and the Catholicos of revanchism.

For several days, Nikol Pashinyan has not stopped targeting the  Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). First, at a government meeting, he  compared Armenian churches to closets. Then followed his statements  on social networks, where the Armenian Prime Minister used rude  language towards the hierarchs of the AAC and accused one of the  archbishops of sexual promiscuity. At the same time, the Prime  Minister demanded that all priests who violated their vow of celibacy  be defrocked. The Prime Minister's wife, Anna Hakobyan, made similar  attacks, calling the Patriarch "the main mafioso."

These statements provoked a sharp reaction from the clergy. Amid the  scandal, Pyashinyan called for "effective steps" that would lead to  the replacement of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and  announced the creation of a special coordination group for "the  liberation of the Residence of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin"  and the settlement of organizational issues for holding new elections  for the Catholicos. Pashinyan specified that followers of the AAC  could become members of the Coordination Group. At the same time, the  Prime Minister intends to choose the first 10 members of the  Coordination Group himself.