Opposition MP: number of chaplains dropped by 80–90%

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tigran Abrahamyan, Secretary of the “I Have Honor” parliamentary faction, responded to Defense Minister Suren Papikyan’s recent statements by noting that the number of military chaplains has dropped by 80–90% following a defense ministry decision.

Referring to the claim that dual subordination was unacceptable in the army, Abrahamyan pointed out that other entities operating within the armed forces also fall under external jurisdictions.

“The Ministry of Defense says the chaplaincy’s former status caused dual subordination to both the army and the Mother See, and that’s why they went down this path.

First, I must state that this ‘solution’ has domestic political motives. As a result of the decision, the institution of military chaplains has collapsed — their actual number has been reduced by roughly 80–90%.

Second, if Papikyan is concerned about dual subordination, I’d like to know what happens with the military counterintelligence unit of the National Security Service, which operates within the army under the NSS, not the Defense Ministry,” Abrahamyan wrote.

In an earlier conversation with reporters at the National Assembly, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan denied claims that chaplains were asked to align with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s proposed church “reform agenda,” calling such suggestions false. He added that assertions about discontinuing spiritual service in the army were also untrue. Spiritual support could continue, he said, but chaplains must now fall under the Moral-Psychological Directorate of the Armed Forces.