Do we Armenians differentiate between the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the history of the Armenian people? This is what Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated in his speech during the first meeting of the task force for relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church at the Government today.

In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan particularly stated the following: “I am glad for this meeting and attach great importance to it. After our discussions, the Supreme Patriarch and I came to the conclusion that it is necessary to set up a task force to deal with the relations between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church and discuss and solve the emerging issues. Of course, it is needless to mention the major role and importance of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church in the lives of Armenians. I would like to say that preservation of our national identity is among the major provisions stated in the pre-electoral platform of Armenia’s ruling My Step Alliance.”

The Prime Minister attached importance to in-depth discussions in order to make the activities of the task force effective. “We need to try to understand every situation, listen to all the arguments and make substantiated decisions. As far as, say, education is concerned, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin had recommended introducing history of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church as a subject in the school curriculum. The first question that comes to mind is the following: Do we Armenians differentiate between the history of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church and the history of the Armenian people? If yes, how and why do we differentiate it? The list of questions can go on.”