Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., where he delivered a speech and answered questions of the speaker, Armenian Government press office reports.
In his speech, the Prime Minister, in particular, noted:
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear participants of the International Religious Freedom Summit,
It is an honor for me to have this opportunity to share my views on this very important topic.
From my perspective, religious freedom is about democracy. There can be no democracy without religious freedom, because being free means to be free in one’s perception of God and one’s perception of religion.
But to be free, on the other hand, means tolerance of the religious views of others, and one without the other can lead to religious fanaticism and extremism.
To believe in God or not is a matter of personal faith and personal freedom. How to believe in God, through which religion, is a matter of personal faith and personal freedom.
Of course, the United States is an exemplary and leading country in ensuring religious freedom for all religions. It was with this understanding that Armenia joined the US-inspired International Alliance for Religious Freedom and Belief, in February 2020, during the first administration of President Trump.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The main religious institution of the Republic of Armenia is the Armenian Apostolic Church, and this is natural, because Armenia is the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion, and this was done back in 301 by the Armenian King Tiridates III. Since then, the Armenian Apostolic Church has played a significant role for our people.
In Armenia, we also have the Armenian Catholic Church, we also have the Armenian Missionary Association of America, which operate freely and enjoy great respect in our society. There are also other religious organizations based on Christianity, and they operate freely.
I would also like to mention that Armenia is home to the largest Yazidi community in the world, and the world’s largest Yazidi temple was recently built in Armenia. We have the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church, Russian Molokans, and pagans in Armenia.
The Jewish community of Armenia, although small, plays an important role in our diverse society with its spiritual life centered around the Yerevan Synagogue.
In the center of our capital, Yerevan, we have a functioning Muslim mosque, which is a very important part of our cultural heritage.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Religious freedom is a very important part of democracy in Armenia. In terms of regional relations, three of the four neighboring countries – Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan – have predominantly Muslim populations. Our other neighbor, Georgia, has a predominantly Christian population with a large Muslim community. This shows how important religious tolerance is for the stability of our region.
Fortunately, despite political and ethnic contradictions, we have a good tradition of religious tolerance and respect in our region, and this makes lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus more realistic. And we hope to transform our regional disputes into regional dialogue, and religious freedom is one of the tools that can make this a reality.
Thank you for your attention.”
Prime Minister Pashinyan then answered questions from speaker David Curry.
David Curry - Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for being here today, it is an honor for us. The most critical question today is how to achieve peace in the complex neighborhood you live in. I would like to congratulate you on the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative. Tell me, please, what are the prospects for the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - Thank you once again. This is a really good opportunity and an honor for me to have this conversation. Yes, we have initiated a program that we have called “Crossroads of Peace”. It is first of all about opening our regional communications, but it is not only about communications, because if we look at the issue from the perspective of religious tolerance, it is also about communication between people, because when transport communications are open, this is first of all an opportunity for people to interact with each other. This is a very important factor for a sustainable and lasting peace. This is an open proposal addressed to the countries of our region, and of course, we are working with each of them to implement this project.
David Curry - It's amazing. For millennia, Armenia has been in the midst of this crossroads of Abrahamic religions. Beyond economics, how can Armenia culturally become part of an interfaith dialogue between Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - I have already mentioned that we have different religious communities in our country. Of course, there is no tension between different religious communities in our country. Of course, there are certain forces, as everywhere, that are trying to take provocative steps from outside, but our institutions are reacting effectively to them, not allowing anyone to sow tension between religious communities.
A real dialogue is taking place in our country. As I have mentioned, we have the largest Yezidi community in the world, and this community is a very important part of our country, our national heritage. Of course, we have huge respect for Muslims, Jews, and other religious groups. I have already said that the largest religious institution in Armenia is the Armenian Apostolic Church, but we also have the Armenian Catholic Church, and other churches. This is a very important tradition for us.
David Curry - It has been years since Armenia transitioned from being part of an empire to becoming an independent state. How have the Armenian people emotionally accepted the fact that they have become a truly independent state while remaining interconnected with the rest of the region?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - You know, this is a really important issue. Now we are trying to bring the ideas of statehood, independence closer to our people. Because you are right, these are absolutely different things when you are a citizen of an empire and when you are a citizen of an independent and democratic country. For a long time, for several centuries, Armenia did not have an independent statehood, and 30 years ago we began to build our independence, and now we are in the process of creating a sustainable and institutional democracy. It is not an easy path, but it is extremely important. But we are doing it, as I mentioned, we are a striving democracy, which shows that democracy has a great future in Armenia.
David Curry - We had a short conversation backstage and I learned that you like to ride a bike, which I myself used to do years ago. I have been to Armenia several times, I have seen that beautiful country, I have even glanced at the disputed territories, where tragic events have taken place in recent years. I would like to see Armenia as a travel country, where people would come... What kind of future awaits you, do you think Armenia will one day become an attractive country for traveling?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - Yes, of course. By the way, we are working on organizing a professional tournament, maybe it will be called Tour to Armenia…
David Curry - Can I get royalties for that?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - Yes, of course. But organizing a professional tournament will take time, maybe several years, that is why we have decided to organize an amateur cycling race from the south to the north of Armenia this year, and I invite you all to participate. It will be a very good opportunity to see the beautiful nature of the Republic of Armenia, and we would like to see you all in our country.
David Curry - Thank you for coming here. Your attendance means that you believe in religious freedom, that everyone has the right to practice their religion. What is your final message to these people who have different beliefs, but believe that people have the right to practice the faith that comes from their hearts. What would you say to encourage them?
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - You know, for me the values of the Holy Bible, the New Testament are very important and actually the beginning of my political activity was based on it. When I was in prison, as a political prisoner, the Bible was the force that helped me overcome that ordeal. Of course, it is very important to be guided by the Bible, for me, in particular, the New Testament, how to behave in everyday work.
Of course, it is not easy, particularly in politics, but we are trying to have value-based policies, be it domestic policy, economic policy, foreign policy. For this, religious tolerance and freedom are very important. It is very difficult to imagine democracy without religious freedom. Thus, we see Armenia as a democratic country, a real democratic country, with a vivid political dialogue, regional dialogue, dialogue with different people, countries and civilizations.
We will work to make Armenia a very bright place for different people to come, to engage in dialogue, to ride bikes, to enjoy nature, food and see the holy places. Our religious center is Etchmiadzin, and as I mentioned, in 301 AD Christianity was adopted by the Armenian king, which was the first time that any country adopted Christianity as a state religion. All the places that are connected with these events are now in Armenia, they are holy places, and I invite you to visit them, and in Khor Virap, where our first patriarch was detained as a Christian, it was persecution, but after some time the king realized that Christianity is the best religion, and he made the appropriate decision. So I invite you all to see all the holy places and interconnect with this very rich and important history.
David Curry - I have been to some of them, they are very beautiful holy places. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for your commitment to peace.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - Thank you.
