Armenian leader steps up pressure on priests over top cleric's name in liturgy

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he plans to attend liturgies this coming Sunday and on all Sundays thereafter.

As reported by Armenian media and cited by Caliber.Az, Pashinyan explained that he would be absent only in cases involving work obligations or other unavoidable circumstances. He added that he will no longer disclose in advance which church he will visit, noting the broader objective he expects from supporters of reform within the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Exceptions will be situations involving work or other insurmountable reasons. I will no longer announce where I will attend the liturgy, because supporters of renewing the Armenian Apostolic Church must attend liturgies in every church and, with Christian love, speak and engage with the priests so that during the service they do not mention the name of Ktrich Nersisyan (Garegin II),” he said.

Pashinyan emphasised that this should become the primary focus for those backing the church-renewal agenda in the near future.

Since October 2025, Pashinyan has attended services in different churches across Armenia almost every Sunday. These liturgies are conducted either by priests whom Garegin II has already stripped of clerical rank or by clergy who are in conflict with the higher leadership of the Armenian church.

At all of these services, the officiating priests refrain from mentioning Garegin II.

In late December, Pashinyan also stated that it is acceptable and permissible for parishioners to express protest when the Catholicos’s name is mentioned in Armenian churches.

By Tamilla Hasanova