Some Church Leaders Live in Shameful Luxury, Says Pashinyan

The topic related to the Church is very sensitive. This is purely about the Church conforming to its own rules. This was noted by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a meeting held at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, addressing the observation that there is a hostile attitude from the Armenian Church towards the government.

“We want transparency, accountability, and compliance with the rules of the Armenian Apostolic Church. I mean the compliance of church leaders, as their non-compliance makes them more vulnerable to external influence, and, excuse my phrasing, makes them tools for external influence. We just want conformity between the church, its officials, and its leaders.

No one knows how our Church is financed, how much money comes in, and how it is spent. Do you know what the biggest problem is? Some church leaders live in shameful luxury, while some ordinary clerics live in poverty, and that is an issue; it damages the moral atmosphere of our country. We want a values-based society, but it is impossible to have a values-based society when the epicenter of our value system is compromised, and we need reforms. We need our Church to be transparent before our society, and there should be tools to verify the morality of the clergy and others.

Our agenda is completely transparent without any hidden or covert agendas,” he said.

Pashinyan rejected claims that the government and the prime minister act against the Armenian Apostolic Church. “That is impossible because I am a follower and believer of the Armenian Apostolic Church. I believe in Jesus Christ. Recently I declared that Jesus Christ is in my heart, and I cannot act against Jesus Christ or my Church. That is my Church; you know, and our Church, more than 90% of our government members are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and we want the Church to be compliant, transparent, accountable, honest, and value-based.”