Armenian PM accuses church leader of “betraying Jesus Christ”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly accused Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II of “betraying Jesus Christ.”

“Ktrich Nersisyan [Garegin II] betrayed Jesus Christ, betrayed the Holy Armenian Church, its followers and his faithful flock. He is not the Supreme Patriarch, he is an ordinary traitor who betrayed Jesus Christ," Pashinyan said, speaking to journalists after a government meeting, Caliber.Az reports. 

Tensions between Armenia’s secular leadership and the Armenian Apostolic Church have intensified since the country’s political crisis after the 2020 Karabakh war. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been one of the most prominent critics of Catholicos Garegin II, accusing him and senior clerics of political interference, corruption and undermining national unity.

Pashinyan has publicly demanded reforms within the church, called for early elections for the position of Catholicos and described Garegin II and his circle as followers of “schism and sectarian thinking.” 

By Sabina Mammadli