Armenian Parliament deprived the Armenian Apostolic Church of land ownership rights

The Armenian Parliament adopted in the second and final reading a draft law amending the country’s Land Code. This draft law deprives the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) of the right to obtain state and community land as property. From now on, state and community-owned land plots will be granted to the AAC only for gratuitous use, without the right of ownership, as it was before. The decision comes amid the ongoing aggravation of relations between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the clergy.

According to TASS, 63 MPs voted in favor of the law, with one vote against and 28 abstentions. The vote was broadcast by local TV channels. The amendments will come into force after they are signed by the Armenian President.

The Armenian government approved the bill at a session on December 25. This decision is one of the manifestations of the tension that is growing between the secular authorities and the spiritual leadership of the country.

Relations between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia’s clergy escalated after the events of 2020, when Echmiadzin, the spiritual center of the AAC, demanded the prime minister’s resignation, criticizing his policies toward unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh. In recent months, Pashinyan has reportedly been virtually openly campaigning for the removal of Garegin II as head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, despite the fact that the Catholicos is elected for life under church statutes.