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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday once again denied a conflict between the state and church but reiterated that the Catholicos must step down.
“There is a person who has usurped the authority of the Church and who, under no circumstances, can hold that position, and we will take all permissible and lawful measures to remove him from a place he does not deserve,” the Prime Minister added, referring to Karekin II, the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, whom the Prime Minister has accused of illegitimacy.
The prime minister has called on the Church leader to step down, but the latter has refused to do so.
Pashinyan has previously accused Karekin II, whom he refers to by his secular name, Ktrich Nersisyan, of violating his vow of celibacy by fathering a child. Karekin II and several clergymen have accused Pashinyan of waging an anti-church campaign. Pashinyan has denied this, describing himself as a “devoted follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church” who is fighting against those who have “desecrated the Church’s sanctities.” The Pashinyan administration has also accused the head of the Church of being a foreign agent.
Earlier in December, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented a plan he described as a “roadmap for reforming” the Armenian Apostolic Church after Catholicos Karekin II steps down.
The roadmap envisions the election of a locum tenens following Karekin II’s “removal”. It also calls for the adoption of a new Canon Law, which would address, among other issues, rules and guarantees related to the integrity of clergymen and the financial transparency of the Church. Ultimately, the plan envisions the election of a new Catholicos in accordance with the provisions of the new Canon Law, to be adopted by an authorized church body.
Furthermore, Pashinyan and several clergymen have formed a Council for the Reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church.