Prime Minister of Armenia deliberately belittles AAC centuries-old  mission by  comparing domestic political issues and incident in  IT  company - statement

ArmInfo.  By comparing serious domestic political, spiritual and canonical problems of church life with an incident in a private IT company, Armenian Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan deliberately belittles the centuries-old mission and  order of sovereign governance of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC),  as noted in  a statement received by ArmInfo,  issued by the Pan-  Armenian Council for the Defense of the Armenian Church in connection  with the Prime Minister's publication on his Facebook page on July  19. The Council noted that the purpose of this post is another  attempt to discredit the senior clergy of the Armenian Apostolic  Church and sow distrust  and hatred in society.

"Pashinyan's actions are not only disproportionate, but also  manipulatively distort the facts,  openly provoking anti-church  hysteria. The Constitution guarantees the separation of state and  church. The Prime Minister's public "witch hunt" against the clergy  grossly violates this principle,  leading to a dangerous encroachment  on state sovereignty over church territory," the Council said in a  statement.

Additionally, the Pan-Armenian Council pointed out that the use of  terms such as "desecration," "betrayal," and "adultery" serves as a  tool for the Prime Minister to denigrate individuals and the entire  church institution without a completed investigation and a reasoned  judicial procedure. "Today, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II is  the target, tomorrow - any clergyman who dares to express an opposing  point of view," the Council emphasizes.

In light of the above, the Pan-Armenian Council for the Defense of  the Armenian Church demanded that Pashinyan immediately issue a  public apology to the AAC and renounce his assessments regarding the  Church's internal affairs. The Council also called on human rights  organizations to address this issue, which represents a form of state  pressure on religious freedom and the autonomy of the church.

"We remind all levels of state power that issues of church discipline  are regulated exclusively by canon law, and not by the intervention  of the executive or legislative branches. We call on all structures,  public, academic and journalistic circles operating in the homeland  and in the Diaspora to join our voice and say a single, sharp "No" to  the persecution of the church sponsored at the state level," the  Council concluded.