Political scientist Suren Surenyantswrites:
An event took place in the recent history of the Republic of Armenia, which can be considered unprecedented in terms of legal, political and cultural aspects. A criminal prosecution has been initiated against the Catholicos of All Armenians, his exit from Armenia has been restricted, thus the holding of the Episcopal meeting scheduled for February 16-19 in Austria has been put in actual danger. This step is a direct intervention in the pan-Armenian governance system of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The prosecution of the criminal fabrication coincides in terms of time and content with Nikol Pashinyan's public statement, according to which he "will not allow Catholicism to be taken out of Armenia." This wording has no legal or canonical justification. It is a manipulative political thesis, the purpose of which is to legitimize forceful intervention against the Church.
We are actually dealing with a situation where a political decision is retroactively wrapped in a legal formulation, and the law enforcement system is involved not in the process of serving justice, but political reprisal of the government.
In this sense, the target of criminal prosecution is not only the person, but also the institutional autonomy of the Church.
During the Soviet years, the Armenian Apostolic Church was subject to systematic pressures, clergy were persecuted, churches were closed, but even under the conditions of the USSR, the authorities avoided initiating open criminal prosecution against the Catholicos of All Armenians, especially in order to prevent his international activities or disrupt the holding of Episcopal meetings.
In this context, the methods used in the conditions of independent Armenia are not only unprecedented, but also qualitatively rougher. We are talking about the purposeful neutralization of the Pan-Armenian Institute by brutal use of legal and administrative levers.
The minimal task of the authorities is the overthrow of the Episcopal Assembly or at least the undermining of its legitimacy. That meeting is of pan-Armenian importance and can be turned into a consolidation platform for the formation of critical positions towards the political line pursued by the government. Disruption of the meeting gives the government an opportunity to gain time and deepen pressures from within.
The ultimate goal is the institutional division of the Church through the discrediting of the Catholicos, the use of legal and repressive mechanisms, as well as the sowing of mistrust between the Diaspora and the Mother See. The purpose of this is to weaken the pan-Armenian structure and make it manageable, pushing it out of the central role of national life.
The ongoing process is an institutional attack by the state against the Church's autonomy, the consequences of which can be profound and long-term.
A state that strikes at its national pillars is disintegrating from within, regardless of the presence of external threats.
