The Fatherland Is Not an Object of Bargaining: Bishop Bagrat Responds to Pashinyan

The clergy has always been a protector of the people and will remain so. I do not know how these matters are divided in their minds, but our example is that of our Lord, who has always served his people. Being a protector in our lives is precisely about service; both I and the entire clergy have been protectors of our people and will always be so,” said Bishop Bagrat, the head of the Tavush Diocese, in an interview with Factinfo, responding to the statements made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

It is recalled that Nikol Pashinyan stated today in Tavush Region: “If necessary, we will make a revolution, another revolution, as many as it takes for the elites, including both religious and political figures, to bow before their own people. You are not masters; you are servants, and you will no longer be masters in Armenia. You all must serve the people humbly. People cannot endure that you have emerged from your homes; they want you to live and breathe with their permission. No, that will not happen.”

When asked whether such statements by the country’s leader divide society and the clergy, Bishop Bagrat said that the leader cannot, with all his efforts, create a division between the people and the church. “Unnecessary irritations or statements made for political purposes and election campaigns cannot have any effect; they will only deepen the existing enmity and hatred among the people, which we do not need. Attempts to justify oneself through statements filled with insults are condemnable,” said the diocesan leader of Tavush.

Responding to another statement by Pashinyan that we also have Artsvashen under Azerbaijani control and that the exclave should be exchanged for another exclave, Bishop Bagrat stated that the fatherland cannot be an object of bargaining in any manner. “This is the highest degree of indignity and disgrace, a sign of being defeated and kneeling. The fatherland cannot be an object of bargaining in any way: this indicates who is a master and who is a servant. The fatherland is not a bargaining chip; you can go ahead and bring back Artsvashen. The issue is that today there is no talk of Artsakh, no talk of the fate of Artsakh. There is no mention of Artsakh at all, what exclave? No one has the right to bargain for the homeland; this is simply the mentality of a defeated and failed individual. Nobody from our people has given the authority to make such bargains,” stated Bishop Bagrat.