Media: Armenian Catholicos refuses to step down, even if arrested

The Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II (Ktrich Nersisyan), has stated within church circles that he will not step down from his position, even if forced to lead the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) from prison.

Garegin II emphasised his readiness to resist any pressure, including a potential arrest by Armenian law enforcement authorities, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Yerevan-based newspaper Zhoghovurd.

This statement comes in the wake of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's repeated public accusations that Garegin II has been "defrocked" for violating his vow of celibacy—allegedly fathering a child—and unlawfully "seizing the patriarchal throne," with Pashinyan urging the Catholicos's immediate resignation and mobilising supporters to facilitate his removal from the Etchmiadzin residence.

The standoff, which has intensified since May 2025, pits Pashinyan's secular government against the AAC, highlighting deep societal rifts over the 2020 and 2023 military defeats to Azerbaijan, territorial concessions, and Pashinyan's pro-Western foreign policy shift. Church leaders and opposition figures view the pressure as an authoritarian bid to consolidate power ahead of 2026 elections, while Pashinyan portrays it as a moral and anti-corruption crusade to "liberate" the church from a "dogmatic, antichrist, anti-national" clique.

By Khagan Isayev