Armenia's Political Crisis Deepens Amid Church Controversy

A bitter conflict between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church culminates in shocking allegations and arrests, as Pashinyan faces looming elections and challenges from a revitalized opposition.

In a surprising twist to an already contentious political scene in Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has intensified his standoff with the Armenian Apostolic Church. This conflict has spiraled into allegations of betrayal and prompted mass arrests while Pashinyan reckons with crucial elections next year. The Prime Minister, who has cultivated a direct line of communication with voters through social media since his rise during the Velvet Revolution of 2018, took to Facebook to make an extraordinary proposition: he offered to expose himself to the head of the Armenian Church to disprove claims regarding his circumcision and asserted his Christian identity.

The conflict escalated following disparaging remarks made by a local priest in Masis, who equated Pashinyan's alleged circumcision to a betrayal similar to that of Judas Iscariot. This prompted Pashinyan to call for the removal of Catholicos Karekin II, the Church's leader, accusing him of infidelity to his vows and the gravely serious crime of fathering a child. The Government has since capitalized on this unrest by launching a campaign against Karekin II and establishing efforts to potentially elect a new church leader.

The confrontation has resulted in the detention of several individuals connected to opposition factions, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who now faces charges of plotting acts of terrorism aimed at seizing power. Accusations against the archbishop extend to the publication of a supposed coup plan purportedly involving high-profile figures, including a wealthy businessman, Samvel Karapetyan, who was reported to have pledged allegiance to the Church while asserting political entanglements.

As these crises unfold, Pashinyan has asserted his commitment to nationalizing Karapetyan's influential energy company, Electric Networks of Armenia, signaling that the separation of church and state may come under further scrutiny. The tension has drawn international attention, with Moscow monitoring developments and visibly supporting Karapetyan amid claims of political persecution. The stakes are high for Pashinyan as his leadership faces challenges from within both the government and the religious establishment, marking a significant turning point in Armenia's political landscape.