Armenian constitutional expert warns of breach of church-state separation

Armenian constitutional law expert Gohar Meloyan has warned that Article 17 of Armenia’s Constitution, which guarantees the separation of religious organizations from the state, has been effectively undermined.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Meloyan said Article 17 guarantees freedom of activity for religious organizations and explicitly separates them from the state. She argued that this principle has been violated by recent actions of state agencies.

According to Meloyan, interference by any branch of government – legislative, executive or judicial – in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church or other religious organizations constitutes a breach of the constitution and the country’s constitutional order.

She criticized a decision by a court of first instance that applied interim measures reinstating pro-government Bishop Gevorg Saroyan as the head of the Masis Diocese. Meloyan described this as direct state interference in church affairs.

The lawyer also condemned the Investigative Committee’s decision to initiate criminal proceedings over the failure to comply with that court ruling, calling it further unconstitutional intervention.

“It’s difficult for any legal professional to argue that these actions do not amount to a blatant violation of Article 17 of Armenia’s Constitution,” she wrote.