Amsterdam Calls on the World to Protect the Armenian Church from Government Interference
An international lawyer stated that the Armenian authorities are interfering in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church and attempting to change its governance structure.
On August 27, international lawyer Robert Amsterdam called on the international community to protect the Armenian Apostolic Church from government interference. This is stated in a statement by the international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, published on Facebook.
Amsterdam stated that the Armenian authorities have placed issues of "spiritual security" and Church reform on the political agenda, and have proposed launching a parliamentary investigation into an alleged "systemic crisis" within it. This came after months of pressure on the clergy, criminal cases against clergymen, and demands by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.
"This is not reform. This is an attempt at a political takeover of an independent religious institution," Amsterdam stated. According to him, the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church must be determined by its own ecclesiastical structures and traditions, and not by the decisions of the current authorities.
The lawyer called on governments, religious leaders, and human rights organizations to publicly speak out in defense of the Church. "The Church does not belong to Nikol Pashinyan. It does not belong to his government. It belongs to its faithful, and its independence must be protected," Amsterdam emphasized.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists previously reported that Amsterdam called the trial of the head of the Armenian Church a moral catastrophe.
