Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to your words, or to His?
You be the judges!
Supporters of the Armenian Apostolic Church have staged a protest against the Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, due to his government’s treatment of the church. The protest took place at a Council of Europe meeting, where Mirzoyan was speaking.
Mirzoyan was also questioned by British Conservative MP, Sir Edward Leigh, who suggested the Armenian government was guilty of violating freedom of speech and religion in the country.
Relations between the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Church have been strained since Pashinyan came to power following the “Velvet Revolution” in 2018. Relations declined still further after Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and subsequent territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in 2023–2024.
The leader of the Church, Catholicos Karekin II, has criticised the government’s foreign policy failures and apparently given support to opposition protesters. The government in turn, has cracked down on what it perceives to be dissent, with the Church’s bishops reportedly being arrested. One of them, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, was sentenced to two years in jail in September for supposedly encouraging the overthrow of the government by undemocratic means.
Armenian prosecutors justified his imprisonment by pointing to a number of statements made by the archbishop appearing to call for a coup. Protesters accused Pashinyan of “political persecution and the imprisonment of individuals for their political or religious positions undermine democracy, public trust, and the rule of law” and called in a petition for “an immediate end to political repression in the Republic of Armenia”.
Pashinyan, has claimed that his government is attempting to save the Church from “anti-Christian” and “anti-state” activists. He has further said that the Church will come under greater government control, with the intention of creating a “real, pure, and state-centred Church”. Critics have accused Pashinyan of acting like a Soviet-era dictator.
At a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Sir Edward Leigh questioned Foreign Minister Mirzoyan about his government’s actions. He described the Armenian Apostolic Church as “one of the last bastions of independent thought” in the country.
He accused Pashinyan of trying to create a church that is “banned from dissenting from the state … to this end he has arrested a third of the bishops of Armenia. How is this anything other than a violation of the democratic rights of freedom of religion and freedom of speech that the Council of Europe is supposed to uphold?”
In response, Mirzoyan stated that Leigh was referring to a “rumour” that needed to be “clarified”. He said, “There is no persecution of clergymen in Armenia.” He added, that some clergy had called for the violent overthrow of the government and threats against leaders—including himself—and that legal action was taken because of these actions, not their religion.(Source: Christian Today, Edited version)
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”(Acts 4:18-20,NIV)
God, confront the Armenian government for attempting to control believers through a communist-like mindset that labels only non-critical, compliant churches as ‘pure churches’. Protect these believers as they face threats to their freedom of religion, and grant them boldness to proclaim the gospel faithfully despite government pressure. Raise up the Armenian Church with the courage of the early believers who declared, “We cannot keep silent about what we have seen and heard,” so that your truth and glory may shine brightly through their witness. May the churches stand firm in reverence for You, speak boldly, and bring honor to the name of Jesus throughout the nation.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
