The Church-State Rift Is Testing Armenia's Future

The Oct. 3 sentencing of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan to two years in prison has revealed a stalemate in the conflict between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the most sensitive issues in Armenia today. In recent months, this case has become emblematic of a broader struggle for power, identity and influence in a country still scarred by the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Pashinyan regularly accuses the church hierarchy of turning the church into “a state within a state” and clinging to structures dating back to the Soviet era that are resistant to any reform.  Read Full Article »