Armenia’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which describes itself as the country's largest pro-Western conservative party, has accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of launching a systematic campaign to undermine and repress the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In a Feb. 1 press release emailed to Zeale News, the NDA said recent government actions violate Armenia’s constitution as well as international human rights standards that protect religious freedom.
“In recent days, we have been witnessing yet another series of dangerous steps by the current collaborationist regime,” the group said, “aimed at deepening systematic pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.”
Among its claims, the NDA pointed to the suspension of clergy activity within the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the country’s armed forces. The party said military chaplains have for years provided spiritual support to servicemen during wartime and postwar challenges, and warned that their removal could undermine morale within the armed forces.
“This step is a blow to the spiritual well-being of the soldier and will lead to a weakening of the moral and spiritual atmosphere within the army,” they said.
The NDA also alleged that the government has initiated politically motivated criminal cases against senior clergy members, in part to prevent them from traveling to a bishops’ assembly scheduled to take place in Austria. The party called the actions “blatant interference” in the Church’s internal and canonical life.
According to the NDA, the measures reflect a broader effort to subordinate the Church to state control under the guise of reform.
“All of this fits within the broader policy directed against the Church, carried out by Nikol Pashinyan, who illegally occupies the post of Prime Minister. This policy is disguised under slogans of ‘church reform,’” the group said, “but in reality seeks to deprive the Church of its independence, authority, and national mission, turning it into a government-controlled, ‘pocket’ structure.”
The accusations come amid broader political tensions in Armenia. According to OC Media, Armenia’s parliament — dominated by Pashinyan's Civil Contract party — passed amendments to the Electoral Code on Jan. 23 that grant the Central Electoral Commission authority to deny or revoke accreditation for domestic election observers deemed insufficiently politically neutral.
Opposition lawmakers warned the changes could be used to sideline independent monitoring groups and consolidate government control over the electoral process. They also raised concerns about the neutrality of the commission itself, noting that its chair, Vahagn Hovakimyan, is a former member of Pashinyan’s ruling party, OC Media reported.
“This is yet another attempt to bring the electoral processes entirely under the government’s control and to legalise election fraud,” Artsvik Minasyan, the secretary of the opposition Armenia Alliance faction, said, according to OC Media. The faction boycotted the parliamentary session in protest.
OC Media reported that the ruling party rejected the criticism, saying the amendments followed consultations with several groups and were intended to prevent “fake” observation missions. Armenia’s next parliamentary elections are scheduled for this June.