Armenians express strong trust in army, church: poll

PanARMENIAN.Net - Aram Navasardyan, director of MPG LLC, the full member of Gallup International Association in Armenia, has presented results from a nationwide survey conducted between November 27 and December 5.

According to the findings, 81.8% of respondents rated the Armenian army positively, while 77.7% expressed a positive opinion about the Armenian Apostolic Church.

When asked “To what extent do you approve of the following institutions?”, 63.4% said they “fully approve” of the Armenian Armed Forces, and 18.4% said they “rather approve.” In total, 81.8% offered a positive assessment of the army.

As for the Armenian Apostolic Church, 63.3% said they fully approve of its activities, and 14.4% said they “rather approve.” This brings the total positive rating to 77.7%.

The results come amid tensions within the Church. A group of senior clerics, including bishops and archbishops, have publicly accused Catholicos Кarekin II of attempting to cover up an incident involving the Chancellor of the Mother See, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan. They claim Karekin II has violated his oath and have called for his resignation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with the dissenting clergy and expressed support for their stance.