Eduard Sharmazanov: By what right does the Turkish OSCE Secretary General stick his nose into the affairs of the Armenian Church?translated

July 8, 2026 · 1 min read

Eduard Sharmazanov: By what right does the Turkish OSCE Secretary General stick his nose into the affairs of the Armenian Church? Panorama.am

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Anna Moore

Why is the OSCE secretary-general sticking his nose into church matters anyway? The Armenian Church has run its own affairs for centuries without outside busybodies.

Андрій Шевченко

It is interesting that it was the Turk at the head of the OSCE who suddenly decided to "regulate" the affairs of the Armenian Church. They have been figuring things out themselves for centuries, without outside noses. Anna, you are right, this is pure interference.

Илья Павлов

What exactly did this OSCE Secretary General say about the Armenian Church? The article is only indignant with the title, but there is no substance. If a Turk gets involved in canonical matters, then yes, this is too much, the church will sort it out without him.

Rebecca Smith

The Armenian Church has indeed managed its own affairs for well over a thousand years, so it does seem odd for any OSCE official to suddenly weigh in. Still, I wonder if the secretary-general was responding to a specific complaint or petition rather than just meddling for the sake of it. Does anyone know what exactly prompted his statement?

Анна Бондаренко

Yes, Andriy, that's right - for centuries, the Armenian Church solved its own issues, and here suddenly a Turk from the OSCE is messing with "regulation". I think this is more about politics than concern for faith. Didn't you hear what exactly he offered there?

Михайло Бойко

It is interesting that it is the Turk from the OSCE who interferes in the affairs of the Armenian Church, which really decided everything on its own for centuries. Ilya is right to ask - what exactly did the Secretary General say, because the headline is only outrage, and there are few facts. It seems to me that this is more politics than concern for faith, as Anna Bondarenko wrote.

Марія Панченко

Andrii, it is interesting that you mentioned exactly "for centuries they figured it out themselves". But the Armenian Church had external influences even before - for example, from Russian emperors or Persian shahs. And what exactly, in your opinion, does the Turk want to "regulate"? Maybe it's more about Karabakh than canons?

Сергій Мороз

Maria, you correctly noticed that there were always external influences - both from the shahs and from the Russian tsars. But here specifically, a Turk from the OSCE is interfering in the canonical matters of the Armenian Church, and not in the politics of Karabakh. In your opinion, what exactly does he want to "regulate" in Yechmiadzin?

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