Why Should the State Subordinate the History of the Apostolic Church? Says 'My Step' MP

According to the newspaper 'Hraparak', we asked 'My Step' MP Nazeli Baghdasaryan how she feels about removing the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church from the school curriculum.

She responded, "I am completely in favor of it." Why? She explained, "Because the history of the Armenian Church cannot be viewed separately from the history of Armenia. If the 'History of the Armenian Church' is removed and included in 'Armenian History', that is perfectly normal."

However, are you aware that the 18th clause of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia would be violated in that case, as it states that the Armenian Apostolic Church has a unique mission in the spiritual and cultural life concerning Armenian identity? There is also a law adopted in 2007 regarding the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Church, where Article 8 states that the Church can participate in the development of educational programs about the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"There is no legislation that would universalize the subject of teaching the Armenian Apostolic Church. I also believe that it should be taught within the framework of 'Armenian History'."

If that is the case, then why didn't 'My Step' inform the public about this during the elections? The people did not give you a mandate for transferring 'The Armenian Language' and 'The History of Armenia' to the autonomy of universities or for removing 'The History of the Church'.

"First, for any state, religion and state are separate." So why do you connect it with history, when history is about the Armenian state? "No, that's not the case. We emphasized in our electoral program what our approaches are—there is no teaching about the history of Armenian statehood either, is there? So why should the state subordinate the history of the Apostolic Church?"

For more details, refer to the newspaper's current issue.