The Prime Minister presented his vision for legislative changes regarding the Church

ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a briefing with journalists on October 1.

New regulations, he said, should make parishioners full participants in Church governance or create the opportunity for them to have a significant influence on decisions.  In this vein, Pashinyan emphasized that this is a tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), noting that a similar practice is in place in the Diaspora. the head of government noted. He assured that the authorities and he personally will use all possible means to remove Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.

At the same time, Pashinyan noted that legislative changes should also affect clergy. Specifically, he stated that there should be no unpaid priests in the country so that they can benefit from social guarantees, including the universal health insurance system. "The flock must know how much money went into the church, how much was spent, and for what purpose," he said.

Responding to a question about how the prime minister plans to remove the Catholicos, Pashinyan stated that believers must have guarantees and means to exercise their rights—and they will do so. "We'll see how it goes," he emphasized.

Responding to media reports that Pashinyan met with the Catholicos back in 2018, the Prime Minister noted that the decision at the time was not to interfere in Church affairs. However, the Church, as Pashinyan noted, was the first to interfere in state affairs, engaging in political propaganda. "We entered the door they themselves opened," he said, naming Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II as the person responsible for everything.