Civil society groups denounce government crackdown on Armenian Church

(Horizon Weekly) – Eleven civic organizations have accused the Armenian government of violating religious freedom and unlawfully targeting senior clerics, responding to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s ongoing attempts to remove Catholicos Garegin II.

In a joint statement, the mostly Western funded groups said Armenia is witnessing a serious breach of its constitution, the rule of law, and basic human rights. They argued that the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, protected under both national and international legal norms, is being directly undermined.

According to the statement, officials from the executive and legislative branches continue to interfere in the internal life of the Church, violating Armenia’s Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, international standards on religious freedom, and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The groups called for an immediate end to such actions.

They also condemned what they described as the selective use of judicial tools against three archbishops and one bishop who have been arrested since Pashinian began pressuring Garegin to resign in June. All four clerics, who have been outspoken critics of the government, reject the criminal accusations against them as politically driven.

In recent weeks, Pashinian has intensified his campaign by visiting churches and attending Sunday services led by priests who agreed not to mention the Catholicos during the liturgy, a break from centuries of ecclesiastical practice. The prime minister acknowledged last week that he instructed the National Security Service to pursue this form of liturgical censorship.

The civic groups, including the Yerevan Press Club and several human rights watchdogs, condemned the NSS pressure as an abuse of authority. They further criticized what they called unlawful attempts by state bodies to influence the Church’s internal decision making and the formation of its leadership structures.

Opposition figures and other critics have likewise accused the government of violating the constitutional principle separating church and state, a claim Pashinian and his allies deny.

Pashinian originally justified his effort to remove Garegin and other senior clergy by alleging secret sexual misconduct. In a speech to parliament on December 3, he shifted his explanation, suggesting without providing evidence that the Catholicos may have collaborated with a foreign intelligence service.

Government critics maintain that the campaign is motivated by political considerations, including a desire to placate Azerbaijan or weaken a major institution that has spoken out against the prime minister’s unilateral concessions. Pashinian’s attacks on the Church began shortly after Garegin publicly accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh and destruction of Armenian religious heritage during a conference in Switzerland.