Armenian clergy call for "cleansing" Etchmiadzin of Catholicos Garegin II

Senior Armenian bishops have issued a statement addressed to Catholicos Garegin II, accusing him of attempting to shield a top church official embroiled in a scandal involving the circulation of explicit video material.

In their statement, the bishops said an expert examination had confirmed the authenticity of the footage allegedly featuring Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, the head of the Catholicos’ office, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

They asserted that  Ktrich Nersisyan (Garegin II) was seeking to conceal what they described as a “sacrilegious act” by Khachatryan. The bishops also claimed that the Catholicos had violated the vow he made upon his ordination to lead the Armenian Apostolic Church with “straightforward teaching.”

The group appealed to the church’s faithful to “cleanse” the First See of Holy Etchmiadzin of what they called sacrilegious figures and those complicit with them, and said they strongly condemned what they described as the Catholicos’ misguided course.

The scandal comes amid escalating tensions between the Armenian Apostolic Church and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government.

The feud intensified in May 2025, when Pashinyan accused Catholicos Garegin II and senior clergy of moral misconduct and conspiring with opposition-linked oligarchs to undermine the state.

Three archbishops were subsequently detained on incitement charges, prompting protests and criticism from the World Council of Churches.

Pashinyan has framed his campaign as an effort to “liberate” the Church from corruption, promoting a “New Armenia, New Catholicos” initiative for leadership elections.

By Sabina Mammadli