Armenian lawmaker urges protection of Church amid scandal involving top cleric

Armenia’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ruben Rubinyan, has called for the protection of the Armenian Apostolic Church amid a growing political controversy involving Catholicos Garegin II.

According to Caliber.Az, Rubinyan, a senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, commented after reports emerged that Armenia’s prosecutor’s office is investigating a recorded telephone conversation between Archbishop Natan Ovannisian and former priest Agan Erndzhakyan. 

The recording reportedly contained damaging allegations against the head of the church.

“The Mother See has confirmed the authenticity of the recording. Yet to lay bare a 1,700-year-old sacred institution under the feet of Kocharyan and a Russian businessman for political gain – in whose interest?” Rubinyan wrote on Facebook.

He added: “The Armenian Apostolic Church must be defended from Ktrich Nersisyan [Garegin II]. His anti-church campaign must end. The oath-breaker must step down.”

Armenia is experiencing a significant church-state crisis, marked by escalating arrests of senior clerics from the Armenian Apostolic Church. The most prominent of these is Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, nephew of Catholicos Karekin II, who was detained along with 12 other clergymen from the Aragatsotn Diocese. He faces charges including coercion, large-scale theft, and obstructing electoral rights.

This crackdown follows the June 2025 arrest of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly calling for the overthrow of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government. The Armenian Apostolic Church condemned the trial as politically motivated, viewing it as part of a broader anti-church campaign.

Prime Minister Pashinyan has denied accusations of targeting the Church, instead accusing Catholicos Karekin II of illegitimately holding office. The Church leadership has rejected these claims, asserting that the arrests are part of a systematic effort to undermine its functions.

By Aghakazim Guliyev