Amsterdam on Pashinian: "He openly admits that he is taking over the Church because its representatives do not blindly support his government"

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the de facto subordination of the Armenian Apostolic Church to the state, the culmination of a long and tense conflict between the authorities and the country’s spiritual leadership. The decision drew sharp criticism from Church supporters who accuse Pashinyan of dictatorial tendencies, comparing his actions to Soviet-era methods.

According to Christian Today, relations between Pashinyan’s government and the Church have been strained since he came to power following the Velvet Revolution in 2018. Tensions rose significantly after Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and subsequent territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in 2023-2024.

The leader of the Church, Catholicos Karekin II, openly criticized the government’s foreign policy failures and appeared to support opposition protesters. In response, the government began persecuting those it perceived as dissidents: about half of the Church’s bishops were reportedly arrested. One of them, Archbishop Mikael Ajapaghian, was sentenced to two years in prison in September for allegedly encouraging the overthrow of the government through undemocratic means.

Armenian prosecutors justified his imprisonment by pointing to a number of statements by the archbishop that they believed called for a coup. In one instance, according to Christian Today, he told News.am, «I called for a coup to save the country from this madman, they are not saving it, they are also guilty of all this. This is not just a call, it has to be done.» Prime Minister Pashinyan, for his part, said he was trying to save the Church from «anti-Christian» and «anti-state» groups within it. After his latest announcement of the Church’s de facto nationalization, he said the denomination would become a «real, pure and state-oriented Church.»

Church supporters have strongly condemned Pashinyan’s actions, accusing him of behavior typical of a Soviet-era dictator. Robert Amsterdam, legal counsel for Samvel Karapetyan — a billionaire philanthropist who supports the Church and is under house arrest — said, «He [Pashinyan] openly admits that he is hijacking the Church because its representatives do not blindly support his government. These are the actions of a dictator who hates freedom.» Amsterdam also emphasized that «this move should be condemned by all Western governments. In one fell swoop, Pashinyan publicly declares that he will do away with religious freedom, freedom of speech and all claims to maintain Armenia’s position as a democratic state.»

Recall, earlier we reported that the Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia rejected the defense’s appeal against the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church Chancellery, leaving him in custody. His defense, clergy and opposition forces call the charges of «sale of narcotic substances» against the clergyman absurd and politically motivated.