Analyst: If Pashinyan wants church reforms, he should first resign

Political analyst Suren Surenyants has criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s remarks about the Armenian Apostolic Church during the Civil Contract party’s 7th congress.

“We will convince Ktrich Nersisyan [the lay name of Catholicos Karekin II] that God exists, and that the people hold authority over him," Pashinyan said on Saturday, warning that if the Catholicos does not step down voluntarily, there “will be popular intervention.”

In a social media post on Tuesday, Surenyants questioned what “popular intervention” means. If it refers to peaceful assemblies, he noted, the Constitution guarantees that right. But interference in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, he argued, would be unconstitutional and an abuse of power.

Citing Articles 18, 41, 44, 78 and 79 of Armenia’s Constitution, Surenyants stressed that a sitting prime minister cannot lead or initiate such actions against the church. “If Pashinyan truly wishes to reform the church, he should first resign and act as an ordinary citizen. Otherwise, both state-church relations and the legitimacy of the state itself are put at risk,” he wrote.

Surenyants also expressed concern over Pashinyan’s announcement of a planned “great spiritual gathering” in Etchmiadzin this fall, which he suspects may be tied to the upcoming Vagharshapat municipal elections. “The church must never be turned into a playing field for political power,” he warned, calling for a principled stance from society.