Expert: Azerbaijan using global platforms to discredit Armenian church

Azerbaijan is conducting a coordinated campaign to discredit the Armenian Apostolic Church on international platforms, Armenian expert Vahagn Saroyan warns.

In an interview with Panorama.am on Thursday, Saroyan said Baku’s political, diplomatic and religious leadership, under President Ilham Aliyev and Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, has been using the UN, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other international organizations to attack the reputation of Armenia and its church.

Saroyan drew parallels between recent Azerbaijani statements and persecution of clergymen in Armenia. He noted that after Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II made statements defending Artsakh Armenians, both Aliyev and Pashazade issued harsh responses, followed by arrests of Armenian clerics, including Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan of the Shirak Diocese.

He also cited a recent meeting between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Pashazade, during which the Azerbaijani religious leader accused the Armenian Apostolic Church of “propagating revanchism”.

Several clergymen from the Aragatsotn Diocese have also been detained in Armenia, with two senior priests, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, ordered into pretrial detention.

Saroyan warned that Azerbaijan’s strategy is to portray Armenia and its church as obstacles to peace in the region, while similar rhetoric is now appearing within Armenia itself. “This is dangerous not only for Armenian statehood, but also for the preservation of our spiritual identity,” he said.