by Edward Leigh, CapX
What is happening in Armenia?
Armenia is the world’s oldest Christian country. It is a profoundly Christian nation, and its faith survived decades of Soviet repression.
However, what is happening now threatens that legacy. Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, is lashing out against the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church as it refuses to bow to his orders and will not back down from its criticism of how Armenian Christians were cleansed from Nagorno-Karabakh following military defeat against Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan’s rampage against the church comes against an ominous backdrop of democratic backsliding that should trouble us all. His conduct is blatantly unbecoming of his office and Armenia’s democratic status. This is without going into detail on his smear campaign against high-ranking clerics.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the treatment of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Senior clergy – including archbishops and bishops – have been arrested; church assets have been seized; and the Prime Minister has openly called for the removal of the Church’s leader, Catholicos Karekin II. More troubling still, he has spoken of replacing the Church with a so-called ‘state-centred’ body, effectively subordinated to government and forbidden from dissent.
The situation is still deteriorating. The Armenian Church, due to Pashinyan’s efforts, held a Synod to debate Pashinyan’s attack – and to avoid repercussions took place in Austria. In response, the Catholicos has been indicted and banned from travelling.