Armenian opposition leader rebukes priest backing 'church reform' plan

Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan on Friday strongly criticized Father Shmavon Ghevondyan who voiced support for a “church reform initiative” by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and 10 bishops, accusing him of abandoning moral principles and betraying public trust.

“I never thought I would address you with these words – shame, great shame,” he wrote on Facebook.

“All this will pass, but how will you live afterward? How will you look all of us in the eyes?” Vanetsyan added.

Ghevondyan was among 16 other clerics who joined Pashinyan's anti-church campaign.