Armenian prime minister сhallenges Catholicos Garegin II over Hovhannavank liturgy Church-State dispute escalates

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly challenged the authority of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II over the defrocking of a priest at Hovhannavank Monastery.

In a statement on his Telegram channel, Pashinyan referred to a decision by Garegin II to defrock Father Aram Asatryan, who had been conducting liturgies at Hovhannavank. Citing the Armenian Church’s Canon Law, the Prime Minister argued that Garegin II himself cannot act as Catholicos because he has allegedly violated his vow of celibacy and is therefore defrocked.

“Someone who has been defrocked cannot defrock others, which means Ter Aram can conduct the liturgy in Ovanavank, and I, just as I did last Sunday, will also participate in the Holy Liturgy in Ovanavank this Sunday,” Pashinyan said.

Since the military defeat in the Second Karabakh War in 2020, Armenia under Nikol Pashinyan has faced mounting domestic pressure. The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) and its leadership increasingly emerged as vocal critics of the government’s handling of security and territorial issues. 

Prime Minister Pashinyan has publicly accused the AAC’s head, Garegin II (also known as Ktrich Nersisyan), of violating his vow of celibacy and therefore lacking moral and canonical legitimacy — moves that reflect a broader institutional power struggle between the state and church. 

The dispute intensified in mid‑2025 when Armenian law enforcement detained senior clergy on accusations of plotting to overthrow the government. On June 25, 2025, the arrest of Bagrat Galstanyan, a prominent archbishop, was reported. He was charged with organising a coup plot while aligned with church figures protesting the government’s reconciliation with Azerbaijan and the perceived erosion of Armenian sovereignty. 

Subsequent arrests followed. On June 27, 2025, authorities sought to detain Mikael Ajapahyan, triggering skirmishes at the AAC’s spiritual centre in Vagharshapat—highlighting how the confrontation spills across religious, legal and political domains. 

Observers interpret the campaign as part of Pashinyan’s pre‑election strategy ahead of the 2026 parliamentary vote: by tightening control over the church and its economic and political networks, the government is consolidating power and neutralising alternative sources of influence in Armenian society.

At the same time, critics argue that the government’s intervention into ecclesiastical territory violates constitutional norms on the separation of church and state, and threatens the institutional independence of the AAC — long viewed by Armenians as a foundational pillar of national identity beyond purely religious functions.

By Vugar Khalilov