Analyst accuses Armenian authorities of misusing state resources and interfering in church affairs

Political analyst Suren Suryants on Friday accused the Armenian authorities of abusing state resources for political messaging and tolerating unlawful interference in church affairs, citing incidents during New Year celebrations in Yerevan and the town of Talin.

In a social media post, Suryants said a New Year’s Eve concert held at Republic Square, funded by the state budget, featured a heart-shaped symbol that he claimed has become closely associated with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political branding. He argued the inclusion of the symbol breached the principle of state neutrality by indirectly promoting the ruling political team at a publicly funded event.

Suryants also highlighted an incident in Talin, where, according to the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Aragatsotn Diocese, a New Year religious service at the St. Astvatsatsin Church was disrupted by the town’s mayor, Tavros Sapeyan, and a defrocked former cleric. Clergy and worshippers were forced to leave the church to avoid confrontation, after which an unofficial ceremony was reportedly conducted.

He said the incident violated both church canon law and Armenia’s legal guarantees of freedom of religion, and criticized statements attributed to the mayor regarding involvement in church rites and the commemoration of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

Suryants further accused law enforcement agencies of selective justice, contrasting what he described as a lack of response to the Talin incident with the recent detention of opposition party members on alleged vote-buying charges.

He linked the events to increasingly hostile rhetoric by senior officials toward the church, warning that political discourse was encouraging unlawful behavior at the local level and undermining public trust in state institutions.