Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is facing widespread condemnation after making vulgar and incendiary remarks targeting senior clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, intensifying an already tense relationship between the government and one of Armenia’s most influential institutions.

The controversy erupted during a cabinet meeting when Pashinyan claimed many Armenian churches resemble “closets” filled with construction debris—without citing specific examples. Church leaders swiftly responded.

Archbishop Makar Hakobyan, head of the Syunik Diocese, noted that many churches visited by Pashinyan are under active restoration. “If there is construction, naturally there will be cement bags and metal items lying around,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan of the Lori Diocese issued a scathing rebuke, calling Pashinyan “the country’s main sick man” and “main traitor.” He tied the comments to recent Azerbaijani condemnation of a Swiss conference focused on Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh—attended by Catholicos Garegin II.

On May 30, the conflict escalated further when Pashinyan posted a crude insult on Facebook, apparently aimed at Bishop Hovnan. In follow-up posts, he accused unnamed clergymen of violating celibacy vows and suggested they be defrocked.

Although the Church’s Mother See in Etchmiadzin has yet to issue a formal response, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan of the Shirak Diocese condemned the remarks, accusing the prime minister of “mental and moral collapse” and a calculated campaign to delegitimize the Church. “They’ve done everything to tarnish the image of the Church and clergy,” he stated.

Ajapahyan also alleged that the attacks were a political signal to Azerbaijan and Turkey: “He is siding with Azerbaijan and giving them a narrative to exploit.”

Former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan called Pashinyan’s comments a “blatant display of hate speech” and warned against passive acceptance. “We must reject both state-sponsored and individual hate campaigns,” he urged, warning that such rhetoric is undermining national identity and constitutional values.

Calls for Pashinyan’s excommunication circulated on social media, underscoring the deepening rift between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.