A broken cross: what will Pashinyan's struggle with the Armenian Church lead to?
The Armenian authorities launched a new offensive against representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church. First, a compromise was planted on a social network against one of the hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, then Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with representatives of the internal church opposition. Izvestia investigated the situation.
What happened
The current round of the crisis occurred after the publication in anonymous Telegram channels of a video depicting an intimate relationship between a certain woman and, allegedly, the archbishop, the head of the office of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church Arshak Khachatryan. The description of the video says that the woman is not just an acquaintance of the church leader, but his relative, the wife of his uncle.
The Investigative Committee of Armenia later reported that they had conducted an examination of the video and found that it really depicted Arshak Khachatryan. The archbishop himself denies the charges. According to him, the examination lasted only one day, and no one informed him about the study. "I have not done anything in my life that I would be ashamed of," he said at a special press conference.
I must say that Khachatryan has long been one of the most prominent critics of the current Armenian authorities. In particular, he accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of losing Karabakh, "blurring the Armenian identity," splitting society, and arresting patriotic activists. In response, the head of government accused his opponent of violating his vow of celibacy back in the spring and threatened to publish compromising material.
Now the authorities have used the publication of the video to deepen the church schism. First, several hierarchs signed a statement demanding Khachatryan's resignation and criticizing Catholicos Garegin II, who is allegedly trying to hush up the "blasphemous act." The document has 13 signatures, although some hierarchs later stated that they did not support this initiative.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a meeting with a group of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, November 27
After that, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with a group of bishops and archbishops. A short video released by the government's press service shows that he thanked the participants for "expressing their principled position publicly." Finally, on November 29, 10 hierarchs signed a new statement explicitly calling on Catholicos Karekin II to resign his post.
The authors of the appeal, in particular, point out that the election of the primate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in 1999 allegedly took place in "conditions of pressure and intimidation." It is also emphasized that Garegin II defrocked individual clergy "unfairly" and without proper grounds. Loyal but "incompetent and unworthy" clerics were allegedly appointed to key positions.
The opposition believes that the hierarchs opposed the church authorities because of blackmail. In this sense, Lilit Stepanyan, a deputy from the ruling party, made a characteristic statement, saying that the special services "put a lot of compromising material on the clergy on Pashinyan's desk."
What are the reasons?
This spring, Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church for the first time. At that time, the head of government spoke about "urbanization," that is, the cluttering of churches and cathedrals. In addition, he was outraged by the active trade that allegedly takes place in religious premises. Finally, he accused the hierarchs, including Catholicos Karekin II, of violating the rule of celibacy.
In the summer, a new round of conflict occurred. First, the security forces detained a prominent supporter of the Armenian Apostolic Church, businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who had previously criticized a "small ruling group" for attacking the clergy. Further, Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan, as well as supporters of the "Holy Struggle" movement, were imprisoned in the coup case.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan after the court session, September 10
In the fall, the security forces detained the brother and nephew of the Catholicos on trumped-up charges of obstructing election campaigning. In addition, pro-government media published an audio recording of an alleged conversation between two priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church. One of the interlocutors complained that Garegin II forced him to participate in opposition rallies, and for refusing, he sent him to serve in a distant provincial parish.
Experts are wondering what is the reason for such aggressive behavior of the secular authorities. According to one version, Nikol Pashinyan is dissatisfied with the patriotic position of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Garegin II is not shy about speaking out about the preservation of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage in Karabakh, which stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric of the authorities, who speak of striving for peace with Azerbaijan.
According to the second version, the authorities are preparing for parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia next summer. The Armenian Apostolic Church enjoys the confidence of the population, and the support of the church can increase the chances of an opposition party. Perhaps a campaign to discredit the clergy has been launched to prevent such a scenario. Finally, the conspiracy theory says that Azerbaijan and Turkey are forcing Pashinyan to attack the stronghold of Armenian identity.
In any case, the Armenian Church is now in a difficult position. At the end of November, Garegin II tried to hold a meeting of all the members of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church living in the country, but could not gain a quorum. The priests who sided with Pashinyan did not respond to the invitation. Nevertheless, the participants made a general statement in which they stressed that they considered the accusations against the Catholicos to be fabricated.
The imprisoned Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan also called for the replacement of the rebellious diocesan leaders. It is known that the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church decided to hold a meeting of bishops on December 10-12, where the current situation in the church will be discussed. It is possible that by the middle of December, the pressure of the secular authorities on the Armenian Apostolic Church will increase even more, because the ruling party would like to achieve the defeat of opponents before the New Year. Apparently, the domestic political crisis will reach its climax in the near future.
What the experts say
Armenian political scientist Hrant Mikaelian believes that the contradictions that existed in the Armenian Apostolic Church have begun to surface.
— I note that the current dispute has a geopolitical dimension. The authorities want to make peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey at any cost, while attacking the Armenian Apostolic Church for allegedly being pro-Russian. Accordingly, if Pashinyan succeeds, the positions of Baku and Ankara in the region will clearly strengthen. If we talk about the further development of events, Garegin II has repeatedly stated that he would not resign voluntarily under any scenario. In such circumstances, the authorities may launch an illegal coup, that is, arrest or forcibly expel the head of the church from his residence in Etchmiadzin," he explains.
Russian Caucasus scholar Artur Ataev says the Pashinyan government is seeking the religious leader's voluntary departure.
— The secular authorities are conducting a systematic, very aggressive campaign, which affects many aspects. There are compromising materials, detentions of persons close to Garegin II, boorish statements, and the tug-of-war of various church figures. A situation is being created in which it will be easier for Garegin to leave than to fight. It is difficult to say whether the ruling team will be able to achieve its goal, but so far we see that the pressure is increasing, quite serious successes have already been achieved," he believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
