Armenia’s PM accuses head of Church of fathering child in febrile political row

The Liberal government of Armenia has never been an ally of the deeply conservative Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), but when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has made extraordinary allegations against a name -free clergy, he opened a deep fracture.

“Your grace, go dripping you with your uncle’s wife. What do you want from me?” said Pashinyan.

He also accused the supreme spiritual leader – Catholicos Karekin II – to break his vow of celibacy and to parry a child, calling him to resign. The BBC approached the church to comment but did not have an answer.

Until now, the Church and the Government had found a way to coexist, but the row threatens to divide an Armenian society already polarized – and still affect the outcome of the elections of next year.

This could also harm peace talks that have the potential to restore the entire Southern Caucasus region, after the bitter defeat of Armenia in a war against Azerbaijan.

Armenia would be the first nation to make Christianity state religion, after its king was baptized in 301ad. Although there is a separation of the Church and the State by law, the Armenian Constitution recognizes the AAC “as a national church”.

The Church did not address the allegations but said that the Prime Minister had sought to silence his voice. “He reiterated that the government has no say in matters of church governance.

If it is true, the allegation of Pashinyan would make Catholicos unfit for its functions. Under the church regulations, only the monks that have made a vow of celibacy can be elected Catholicos.

For these reasons, Pashinyan now demands Karekin’s resignation, despite his competence on the Church. He presented no evidence but threatened to release him.

Pashinyan also attacked other members of the upper clergy, in particular by accusing an archbishop of having had an affair, with the extraordinary allegation of “deceiving” with his uncle’s wife.

The opposition parties and two of the former presidents of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrossian and Serzh Sargsyan, joined the church and condemned Pashinyan’s decision against her.

Government relations with the Church deteriorated after defeat in the 2020 war against neighboring Azerbaijan, when Karekin II joined calls for various political factions for the Prime Minister to withdraw.

Pashinyan remained in power and the church became a leading anti-government voice.

Recently, Karekin II demanded the right to return for the Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan which she resumed in 2023.

The Prime Minister’s allies are not satisfied with such interventions, as they contradict the government’s position in the talks during the peace.

Pashinyan puts pressure on a rapid peace treaty that would see the two countries abandon mutual affirmations. But the Azerbaijani media have seized the nationalist opposition requires as proof that Armenia is not ready for peace.

The Armenian church benefited from becoming a hub for dissent. With personal rivalries between the leaders of the opposition parties, he attracts unhappy people from the authorities.

Political analysts in Armenia suggest that this could be a real reason for the sudden attack of the government against the church.

The next general elections are scheduled for June 2026, and the anti-church campaign could be a preventive strike against the conservative opposition.

The Prime Minister himself has linked his position to politics: “We have returned the State to the people. Now we have to return the Church to the people.”

When a powerful benefactor spoke in support of the church this week, the government quickly moved against it.

The Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapete threatened to “intervene in the countryside against the Church in our own way” if opposition politicians do not defend him.

A few hours later, his residence was searched and on Wednesday, he was accused of “making public calls to overthrow the government”. He denies the accusation.

The conflict between the political and spiritual leader of Armenia is a very sensitive question far beyond its national borders, because the Church has hundreds of parishes in the diaspora, from Russia and Ukraine to Western Europe, the Middle East and America.

While rumors about the presumed secret family of Karekin have long circulated in tabloids, for years, more serious accusations have been made by the parishes of the diaspora.

They allegedly alleged that church leaders extorted monthly payments and micro-managerial dioceses that enjoyed operational autonomy.

In 2013, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem accused Karekin II of having no spiritual value and taking care of his material well-being. The Church said allegations were false.

Until recently, Nikol Pashinyan has largely remained above the fray. “I believe that the government has no place in the internal problems of the Church,” he said shortly after taking office in 2018. After years of respect for this commitment, the Prime Minister could have changed his mind.

Whatever the result of this row, it is likely to deepen polarization in a society that has already been fractured, not only by political struggles, but by corner problems to be allied in Russia or in the West and by tensions between the residents of Armenia and the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.