Armenian premier continues pressing Catholicos 

ArmInfo. <What does the silence of Garegin II indicate?>, asks Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, addressing the topic of the celibacy of the Catholicos of All  Armenians for the second week in a row. Meanwhile, today, members of  the government, one after another, rushed to remind the Armenian  Apostolic Church (AAC) of its opposition activities.

<We, his flock, are waiting for his public explanations regarding his  violation of the vow of celibacy and the birth of a child.

To remain silent means to agree and exclude oneself from the Supreme  Patriarchate. To tell the truth also means to exclude oneself from  the Supreme Patriarchate. To lie also means to exclude oneself from  the Supreme Patriarchate>, - he wrote on a social network.

Recall that Pashinyan stated at a cabinet meeting on May 29 that all  Armenian churches are closeted and require the introduction of  appropriate standards, since <the real owner of these objects,  monuments is the state>. In the capital, they responded to him by  pointing out his lack of a currently <fashionable> education  (Pashinyan and his wife are conducting a campaign called <Education  is fashionable> - ed.), as well as <an internal crisis of correct  public communication and deep understanding of issues>.

Early the next morning, the Prime Minister posted a foul-mouthed  insult to the top hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church on his  official Facebook page, along the lines of: "Your Holiness, keep  having sex with your uncle's wife, what do you care about me?" Then  he wondered how many bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church are  celibate, pointing out that many are concerned that he himself is not  officially married. The Prime Minister's wife, Anna Hakobyan, in  turn, called the clergy "the main pedophiles of the country." At the  end of the day, Pashinyan said that the authorities of the Republic  of Armenia should have a "decisive vote" in the election of the  Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and that  candidates for the post of Catholicos should undergo a background  check. And for several days now, Pashinyan and his team have been  demanding an explanation as to whether Garegin II has broken his vow  of celibacy and whether he has a child, <since from the moment the  fact in question arose, he could not be a celibate priest>.

According to many experts, Pashinyan has picked up on Azerbaijan's  campaign against the Armenian Church, launched by the spiritual  leader of Azerbaijan, Allahshukur Pashazade. Thus, the latter  previously stated that Armenian shrines, including the 1700-year-old  Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, are allegedly located on "historical  Azerbaijani lands", and the Armenian Apostolic Church poses a threat  to the countries of the region.