Opposition leader accuses Pashinyan of undermining church, urges action against dissenting clergy

Opposition Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan, a former national security chief, on Monday accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of seeking to destabilize the Armenian Apostolic Church and called on Catholicos Karekin II to dismiss clergy he described as traitors.

Vanetsyan was reacting to a statement by Pashinyan and 10 senior clerics on proposed “reforms” of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He said the move amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order and urged law enforcement agencies to investigate it.

After what he called repeated failed efforts to remove the Catholicos swiftly, Vanetsyan said Pashinyan was now resorting to “old tactics”, including the creation of “illegitimate commissions and coordinating councils”, which he warned could trigger a split within the church.

“As de facto head of government and the so-called coordinating council, Nikol Pashinyan would bear direct responsibility for any consequences,” the politician added.