Oldest Christian Nation Allegedly Persecuting Bishops, Businessman For Defending Christianity. Daily Caller

An allegation of sexual impropriety poured fuel on the fire of a massive political feud in the world’s oldest Christian nation, entangling a prime minister, top church clergy and even a billionaire businessman.

The feud began in May when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused apostolic church head Catholicos Karekin II of secretly fathering a child. As Armenia’s Apostolic Church pushed back on the allegations, tensions only escalated, leading to mass arrests of clergy members and allegations of a planned coup in June.

Included in the arrests was one of Armenia’s richest men, Samvel Karapetyan, who had previously accused the prime minister of openly persecuting the nation’s preeminent religious institution.

“Our religion is very peaceful, and taking bishops to jail is not what we want, in the 21st century, in our country,” Narek Karapetyan, Samvel’s nephew and director of Tashir Capital, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s a religious freedom problem for us.” (RELATED: Trump Brings Peace To Yet Another Corner Of The World)

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.