Prime Minister Armenia accuses the head of the Parents Church in a fever politician

The liberal government of Armenia was not an ally of the deep Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), but when Prime Minister Nicole Pashinyan presented unusual allegations against an unimaginable cleric, he opened a deep gap.

“Your grace is wandering with your uncle’s wife. What do you want from me?” Pashinian said.

The Supreme Spiritual Leader – Catholicus Carricin II – also accused his pledge of condolences and appears to be a child, and invites him to resign. BBC approached the church to comment but had no response.

So far, the Church and the government have found a way to coexist, but the class threatens to divide an already accustomed Armenian society-and affects the results of the elections next year.

It can also harm the peace talks that have the ability to reshape the entire southern Caucasus region, after the bitter defeat of Armenia in a war against Azerbaijan.

Armenia is believed to be the first nation to make Christianity the religion of the state, after its king was baptized in 301ad. Although there is a chapter of the church and the state under the law, the Armenian constitution recognizes AAC as a “national church.”

The church did not deal with allegations, but she said that the Prime Minister had sought to “silence her voice.” He has reiterated that the government has no opinion on church governance matters.

If this is true, Pashinian’s claim will make Catholics inappropriate for positions. In light of the church regulations, only monks who have taken a pledge of celibacy pledged Catholic can be elected.

On these reasons, Bashinyan is now calling for the resignation of Carricin, although there is no jurisdiction for the church. He did not provide any evidence but threatened to release him.

Bashinyan also attacked the senior clerics, including accusing one of the bishops honestly, with an unusual claim of “deception” with his uncle’s wife.

The opposition parties and two former heads of Armenia gathered, Livver Ter Ter Botusian and Sarmsyan, behind the church and condemned Bashinian’s move against it.

The government’s relationship with the church deteriorated after the defeat in the 2020 war against neighboring Azerbaijan, when Carricin II joined calls from various political factions of the Prime Minister to step down.

Bashinyan remained in power, and the church became a prominent anti -government voice.

Recently, Karekin II demanded the right to return to the Armenians who fled from Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of ​​Azerbaijan that it recovered in 2023.

The Prime Minister’s allies are not satisfied with such interventions, because they contradict the government’s position in the ongoing peace talks.

Pashinyan is paid for a quick peace treaty that will see both countries to drop mutual claims. But the Azerbaijani media seized the demands of the national opposition as evidence that Armenia is not ready for peace.

The Armenian Church benefited from becoming the center of the opposition. With personal competitions between the leaders of the opposition parties, they draw for those affected by the authorities.

Armenia’s political analysts note that this may be a real cause of the sudden attack of the government on the church leader.

The next general elections were set in June 2026, and the fight against the inch can be a preventive blow against the conservative opposition stronghold.

The Prime Minister himself linked his position to politics: “We have returned to the state to the people. We must now return the church to the people.”

When a strong donor spoke to support the church this week, the government moved quickly against him.

Russian billionaire Samville Karabtian threatened to “intervene in the campaign against the church in our own way” if opponents failed to defend them.

Hours later, his residence was raided, and on Wednesday, he was accused of “making public calls to overthrow the government.” He denies the charge.

The conflict between Armenia’s political and spiritual leader is a very sensitive issue that exceeds its national borders, as the Church has hundreds of dioceses in the diaspora, from Russia, Ukraine to Western Europe, the Middle East and America.

While rumors about the alleged Carikin family have long been subjected to tablidat, for years, more dangerous charges were made by the Diaspora Diocese.

They claimed that the church leaders were creating monthly payments and small management drivers that were used to enjoy the operational autonomy.

In 2013, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem was accused Carikin II of not having spiritual values ​​and only tending to his material well -being. The church said the allegations were wrong.

Until recently, Nicole Pashinian remained largely above the battle. He said shortly after he took office in 2018: “I believe that the government has no place in the internal issues of the church.”

Whatever the result of this row, it is possible that polarization in a society has already been broken, not only by political fighting, but through vicious issues about whether it is supposed to be allied with Russia or the West and the tensions between the residents of Armenia and the Armenian Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.