Ruling party MP  justifies Pashinyan`s attacks on Armenian Church and  issues new threats against  clergy

ArmInfo. Artur Hovhannisyan, the Secretary of the ruling Civil Contract party, has justified Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's offensive remarks  against representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and  has issued new threats against the clergy. He bluntly stated that he would have done  the same.

Hovhannisyan  said that they would "tear apart all those who allow  themselves to commit sacrilege both inside and outside the church.  "We will tear off the mask from each of them," he noted, continuing  to defend Pashinyan. The secretary of the ruling party also argued  that the Church should be "separated from state affairs and condemned  for its calls for a change of power." "We see obvious subversive  actions by the Church, and not the other way around. Perhaps one day  we will witness the formation of a political party by the church, and  this will not surprise us," Hovhannisyan said.

In turn, Civil Contract MP Heriknaz Tigranyan assured that  Pashinyan's statements regarding "closets" were intended to protect  the Armenian church, rather than the other way around. "It is not  clear why the church fell into a "mental disorder" instead of  welcoming the prime minister's comments on the significance of  preserving holy places," Tigranyan noted.

In her opinion, the prime minister's words were misunderstood and  misperceived. In this regard, Tigranyan suggested that the recording  of the parliamentary session be reviewed to understand the true  meaning behind Pashinyan's remarks  and to pinpoint  any potential  offense towards the church. Referring to Pashinyan's posts on  Facebook, the MP stated that when people fail to understand adequate  statements in Armenian, it can lead to misunderstandings and  perceived insults.