When the State Hunts a Church: Armenia’s Steady Break with the Rule of Law

Armenia is facing a profound rule-of-law crisis as the government escalates pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church, according to Dr. Kevork Hagopjian. Recent actions—including criminal cases against outspoken clergy, armed raids on Holy Etchmiadzin, and open political campaigns to force the Catholicos to resign—reflect a pattern of state interference that contradicts both Armenia’s Constitution and its international human-rights obligations.

The article warns that this is not simply a church–state dispute, but a test of whether any independent institution in Armenia can remain outside political control. As the government promotes dissident clergy, sidelines critics, and uses scandals and accusations for political leverage, it risks setting a dangerous precedent: if the Church can be reshaped by state power, so can any civil society body.

Ultimately, the unfolding confrontation raises a fundamental question about Armenia’s democratic future—whether the government accepts legal limits on its authority, or whether it seeks to redefine institutional autonomy on its own terms.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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