Armenia’s PM Pashinyan offers to expose himself in escalating Church row

A bitter confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church has seen mass arrests, allegations of coup d’etat and an extraordinary offer from the Head of Armenia to reveal his private parts to prove that he is a Christian.

Earlier this week, Pashinyan told his 1.1 million followers on Facebook that he was ready to expose himself to the head of the Armenian church and his spokesperson, to prove that they were wrong that he was circumcised.

Social media became his favorite means of communication after his coming to power after the so -called Velvet Revolution of Armenia in 2018.

Pashinyan faces central elections next year and the church has become a prominent anti-government voice since Armenia was defeated in a war in 2020 with neighboring Azerbaijan.

His extraordinary offer last Monday followed an article on Facebook of a priest in the southwest city of Masis who alleged that Pashinyan had been circumcised, comparing him to Judas and implying that he was not a Christian.

“I believe that our holy apostolic church must immediately clean up,” said Father Zareh Ashuryan, “of these false” believers “who betrayed the nation, dishonored the memory of their ancestors, violated baptism and replaced the seal of the Holy Cross by the sign of circumcision.”

The confrontation between the Church and the State began at the end of May when the Prime Minister accused the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, of having broken his vow of celibacy and to bet a child, demanding the replacement of the church.

The church has published a statement accusing Pashinyan of having undermined the “spiritual unity” of Armenia, but did not address the claim of the child.

The media affiliated to the government then disseminated photos and names of the alleged daughter of Karekin II, while Pashinyan created a “coordination group” to organize the election of a new church – despite the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the separation of the Church and the State.

When Karekin II came back from a trip to water last week, hundreds of supporters gathered at erevan airport by singing Vehicle (Pontiff).

He called for unity and restraint, saying that they “overcome this difficulty” together.

The crisis then intensified Wednesday, when the security services held 16 people, including Archbishop Bagrat Gallstanyan, a senior religious who leads the Sacred Wrestling Movement. They face allegations of plot of terrorist acts to grasp power.

Among the other detainees are a member of the opposition, a former deputy, a businessman and a blogger.

The Armenia Inquiry Committee alleges that the group plans to establish 250 “aggression groups” of 25 members to carry out attacks and cause mass disturbances, and that “a large quantity of elements and objects intended for criminal activity” were found during the searches.

The Archbishop managed the major anti -government demonstrations last year and a court has now judged that it should spend two months in prior detention. He faces accusations of terrorism planning and trying to overthrow the state.

His lawyers rejected allegations as a “political persecution”.

The arrests followed the publication of what the media affiliated with the government claimed to be a detailed opposition coup plan, involving the church, recently held the Russian -Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, and two former presidents – Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.

Nikol Pashinyan shared a montage of the photos of the four men and said that the event would remain history as a “failed revolution of crooks”.

In a statement, the Republican Party of Sargsyan accused the government of using the “system of application of the law to silence political opponents”.

Samvel Karapetyan, who holds Russian and Armenian citizenship, is one of the richest men in Armenia, with an estimated wealth of $ 4 billion (2.9 billion pounds sterling).

He has the Tashir group, known through Russia for his pizza brand. It is a conglomerate that operates real estate as well as Armenia electrical networks – an important energy distributor in the country.

Karapetyan, one of the most eminent benefactors of the Armenian and recipient apostolic church of High Church Awards, was arrested after making a public video promising his support for the church.

“I have always stood with the Armenian Church and the Armenian people. If politicians do not succeed, intervene in our own way against the Church,” he warned.

A few hours after the press release, the police officers carried out searches in the Karapetyan manor, he was arrested and later accused of asking publicly the seizure of power.

He denied all the accusations against him.

Pashinyan spokesperson suggested that the billionaire had decided to use a “classic manual received from the North” – a clear reference to Russia.

The Prime Minister then announced his intention to nationalize the Karapetyan electrical networks of Armenia (ENA) and he told a meeting of the cabinet on Thursday that the government would begin to take control of it.

“We have to do it quickly and effectively,” said Pashinyan.

After the arrest of Karapetyan, the giant billboards with its photos appeared in Moscow – and the Armenian diaspora of Russia expressed its support for the billionaire.

Russian ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow “watched” the situation “Samvel Karapet Russian”, promising to provide her with a helping assistant to ensure that her legal rights were respected.