Armenia moves to shut down church-linked TV channel

Armenian authorities are moving toward the closure of the church-affiliated television channel Shoghakat, a decision that has been placed on the government’s official agenda.

According to Caliber.Az, the newspaper Zhoghovurd reported that the authorities intend to liquidate the Closed Joint-Stock Company “Spiritual and Cultural Public Television Company,” which has been broadcasting the audiovisual programme Shoghakat since January 2011.

“Today, by a decision placed on the government’s agenda, the authorities will liquidate the Closed Joint-Stock Company ‘Spiritual and Cultural Public Television Company,’ which has been broadcasting the audiovisual programme Shoghakat since January 2011,” the newspaper wrote.

The move comes amid a prolonged and deepening rift within Armenia’s political leadership, as relations between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church have steadily deteriorated since Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War.

In the aftermath of the conflict, senior clergy openly criticised the government’s handling of the war and called for Pashinyan’s resignation. While Catholicos Garegin II appealed for national unity, he did not distance the Church from opposition-led protests, a stance that further strained relations with the authorities.

Tensions intensified in 2021 and 2022, when prominent clerics, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, became associated with protest movements challenging Pashinyan’s legitimacy and opposing concessions in negotiations with Azerbaijan. During this period, the government increasingly accused segments of the clergy of engaging in political activism and interfering in state affairs.

Following Armenia’s loss of full control over Karabakh in 2023, the confrontation escalated further. Senior church figures continued to criticise the prime minister, while Pashinyan and members of his administration publicly accused the Church leadership of serving external interests, particularly Russia, and of promoting what they described as “revanchist” narratives. Pro-government media outlets intensified their criticism of Garegin II, openly questioning his moral authority and leadership.

By 2024 and 2025, the standoff had entered a more confrontational phase. Pashinyan publicly questioned Garegin II’s suitability to remain Catholicos, while law enforcement agencies detained or questioned several high-ranking clerics on allegations ranging from incitement to suspected coup plotting. The prime minister also began attending church services where the Catholicos’s name was omitted, a step widely viewed as a serious violation of Armenian Apostolic Church canon law.

Toward the end of 2025, pressure on the Church leadership increased further, with pro-government figures publicly calling for Garegin II’s resignation and discussions emerging over potential interim leadership arrangements within the Church.

By Tamilla Hasanova