The World Council of Churches (WCC) called on the government to “refrain from actions or statements” undermining “the principles of religious freedom, due process, and the peaceful exercise of faith.”
“Reports of force being used within sacred spaces and the detention of clergy raise significant concerns about the protection of religious freedom, the sanctity of worship, and the autonomy of religious institutions,” read a statement released by Rev. Jerry Pillay, the WCC’s general secretary.
“The World Council of Churches stands in solidarity with the Armenian Apostolic Church, whose historic witness and enduring role have long contributed to the spiritual life and resilience of the Armenian nation and the global Christian fellowship. We continue to pray for wisdom and discernment among Armenia’s leaders, for the well-being of its clergy and faithful, and for a resolution grounded in justice, peace, and respect for all,” said the statement.
Pillay, whose Switzerland-based organization unites 352 Orthodox and Protestant churches from around the world, said the authorities in Yerevan should protect “legal rights of all religious leaders and institutions.”
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has been pressuring the Armenian Church’s supreme head, Catholicos Garegin II, and other high-ranking clerics to resign, saying that they have had secret sex affairs in breach of their vows of celibacy.
On June 25, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian and 14 of his supporters were arrested on charges of plotting to topple the government through “terrorist acts.” Two days later, security forces raided the church’s Mother See in Echmiadzin in a bid to arrest another archbishop, Mikael Ajapahian. But they failed to do that after meeting with fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laymen. Ajapahian surrendered to a law-enforcement agency several hours after the unprecedented raid condemned by the Armenian opposition and many public figures.
Ajapahian was charged with calling for a violent regime change. Both he and Galstanian have described the separate criminal cases as politically motivated. Garegin’s office as well as the Armenian opposition have echoed that assessment.
Pashinian hinted on Monday that another raid on the ancient seat of the Catholicos is imminent. He went on to pledge on Tuesday to personally lead the “liberation” of the Mother See.
Pashinian’s detractors say that he declared war on the church is designed to please Azerbaijan and/or neutralize a key source of opposition to his unilateral concessions to Armenia’s arch-foe. They argue that Pashinian unleashed the campaign right after the WCC hosted in late May an international conference in Switzerland on the preservation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian religious and cultural heritage.
Garegin attended and addressed the conference. In a speech, he accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in Karabakh and illegally occupying Armenian border areas. He also denounced the ongoing “sham trials” of eight former Karabakh leaders captured during Azerbaijan’s September 2023 offensive.
Azerbaijan’s top Shia Muslim cleric closely linked to the government hit back at the Catholicos in a letter to the WCC publicized on June 11. Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade claimed that the Armenian Church is spreading “provocative, revanchist propaganda” and inciting Armenians to “fight to the death.”