"This is a political judgment against the nation's identity." Garik Baghdasaryan

September 10, 2025 Armenian Apostolic Church and St. The campaign against Etchmiadzin threatens to create a serious political and social crisis in Armenia and abroad. Armenians abroad are also upset by the state's persecution of the church and clergy. What is happening today is not legal or logical. What is happening today is an open political reprisal against the Armenian Apostolic Church and its followers. The authorities prove that they have no sanctities and moral barriers," Garik Baghdasaryan, a member of the Armenia Alliance, a supporter of the Holy Struggle, who currently lives in the United States, but continues to fight against the illegalities and political persecutions in Armenia, and especially against the illegal detention of the church and clergymen, started the conversation with us with such sharp qualifications. According to Baghdasaryan's observation, the legal system has turned into a tool of political persecution, a mere mechanism that fulfills the political assignments of the government. He recalls the incidents, persecution and pressures that happened to him in Armenia, when he was targeted by state authorities for his political views, party affiliation and being one of Robert Kocharyan's family relatives. Garik Baghdasaryan emphasizes that the law enforcement system brought him to a dead end and became a direct threat to his life and his family, as a result of which he remained completely defenseless. "This is the description of the leadership of our country, and it is no coincidence that now the Church is being attacked, because the Armenian Apostolic Church is not just a religious structure, the church is our identity, the basis of our statehood, our civilizational axis, and those who support the church are considered by the authorities to be dangerous elements that must be arrested and eliminated," Baghdasaryan is upset, recalling the violence taking place in Etchmiadzin, the clergy and believers of the church. towards followers. According to the member of the Armenia bloc, now is the time to finally rethink where the current authorities are taking our country and take the right direction in the upcoming elections, not to give Nikol Pashinyan a chance to be re-elected. "When the state declares war on the Church, it means that the state declares war on its own people, history, own roots and identity. This is a direct path to the destruction of statehood," emphasizes Baghdasaryan. Garik Baghdasaryan calls on Armenians around the world to unite and support our church and take responsibility for our state, because, according to his wording, now it is not only a question of winning the upcoming elections, but the existence of our identity, state and nation.