Papikian effectively abolished late last week the army’s Spiritual Service that had been jointly set up by the Armenian government and the church nearly three decades ago. The move has been widely linked to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s controversial efforts to depose Garegin.
Only four of the 42 chaplains are understood to have backed them. They will now have military ranks and be directly subordinate to military officers in charge of army morale. Papikian confirmed that they will earn more than they did until this month.
Thirty-five other priests and deacons engaged in chaplaincy have already been sent back to the church’s Mother See in Echmiadzin. The remaining three chaplains will remain in the army to complete their two-year compulsory military service.
Speaking to journalists, Papikian claimed that he reformed, rather than abolished, chaplaincy in order to end its “dual subordination.”
“Spiritual service can continue in the army,” said the minister affiliated with Armenia’s ruling party. “They just have to submit to the moral and psychological department of the Armed Forces.”
Papikian’s decision followed reports that he and other senior military officials pressured the chaplains to join a dozen pro-government bishops openly supporting Pashinian’s campaign against the supreme head of the church. The Armenian Defense Ministry effectively confirmed last month meetings held between them. But it said that none of the priests or deacons was bullied to demand Garegin’s resignation.
However, Deacon Artur Gevorgian claimed on Friday that he and 16 other chaplains were told to join Pashinian’s campaign against the Catholicos during a January meeting with Papikian, the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, Lieutenant-General Eduard Asrian, and other senior military officials. In his words, one of those officials hinted that their defection would be rewarded with higher pay.
“Also, the head of the Shirak garrison, a certain General Budaghian, met with me separately,” Gevorgian said in a Facebook post. “He spent about two hours trying to convince me to join that movement but received an explicit refusal.”
Garegin’s office has condemned the chaplains’ expulsion as illegal. It has cited the 2000 charter of the Spiritual Service stipulating that it cannot be disbanded without the Catholicos’s consent. Papikian denied breaking the law and said the church can challenge his decision in court.