Armenian Vice Speaker casts doubt on Catholicos staying in office

Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan has said he considers it unlikely that Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II will remain in his post until the end of the year.

Rubinyan expressed scepticism about the Catholicos’s prospects of staying in office, according to Armenian media cited by Caliber.Az.

“I do not consider it likely that Ktrich Nersisyan has any chance of remaining on the throne. I believe he will step down in a Christian manner,” Rubinyan said.

He declined to comment on whether a New Year address would be delivered by the Catholicos, stressing that “this position is currently de facto vacant.”

Tensions between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church began to worsen visibly after Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, when senior clergy openly criticised the government’s handling of the conflict and called for Pashinyan’s resignation. Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II supported appeals for national unity but did not distance the Church from opposition-led protests, deepening friction with the authorities.

Relations deteriorated further in 2021–2022 as senior church figures, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, became associated with protest movements challenging Pashinyan’s legitimacy and opposing concessions in negotiations with Azerbaijan. The government increasingly accused parts of the clergy of political activism and interference in state affairs.

Following Armenia’s total loss of control over Karabakh in 2023, the confrontation intensified as the top clergymen kept slamming the premier’s rule. Pashinyan and members of his team began publicly accusing the Church leadership of serving external interests, particularly Russia, and of encouraging “revanchist” narratives. Government-aligned media escalated criticism of Karekin II, questioning his moral authority and leadership.

In 2024–2025, the standoff entered a more confrontational phase. Pashinyan openly questioned Karekin II’s suitability to remain Catholicos, while law enforcement bodies detained or questioned several high-ranking clerics on charges ranging from incitement to alleged coup plotting. The prime minister also began attending church services where the Catholicos’s name was omitted — a significant breach of Armenian Apostolic Church canon law.

By late 2025, pressure on the Church leadership had intensified further, with public calls from pro-government figures for Garegin II’s resignation, discussions of interim leadership arrangements,

By Khagan Isayev