Secretary of Armenia`s ruling faction sees no confrontation between   AAC and  authorities

ArmInfo.  The secretary of the ruling party, Artur Hovhannisyan, does not believe that the campaign launched by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II fits into the logic of the  confrontation between the Church and the authorities. He made this  statement today, October 28, during parliamentary briefings.

Hovhannisyan clarified that the main issue for the ruling regime  remains the presence of clergymen who have violated their vow of  celibacy in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin. In particular, he claims,  the Catholicos of All Armenians, whom the secretary of the ruling  regime deliberately called by his secular name, Ktrich Nersisyan.  "This is precisely our main issue. There is no confrontation between  the Church and the authorities, but there is with those who belittle  the value of the Armenian Apostolic Church," Hovhannisyan assured.

The solution to this issue, as noted by the secretary of the ruling  party, will be the  "liberation" of the Church from such clergy.  Hovhannisyan  emphasized  that there can be no other option. However,  he did not directly answer  whether the Prime Minister's campaign  against the Catholicos would lead to a split in Armenian society. He  simply reiterated that their main goal is the "transformation" of the  Armenian Church. "This is precisely the path we are taking. I say  once again, there is no confrontation between the Armenian Apostolic  Church and the authorities. Our issue lies with certain clergy  members  and we believe that the resolution to this issue is Ktrich  Nersisyan to step down," Hovhannisyan stated. Speaking about the  circulated video footage allegedly featuring Archbishop Arshak  Khachatryan, head of the chancery of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin,  who had previously denied any involvement, Hovhannisyan stated that  he condemned its dissemination.

"Interference in other people's private lives is unacceptable.  However,  we must understand that if  stories like this exist, and  sometimes they prove to be true, we cannot deny the possibility of  something similar happening again," the ruling party secretary  reiterated, without elaborating on his statement.