Newspaper: Fear of fiasco leads Pashinyan to abandon Etchmiadzin showdown

The risk of failure reportedly prompted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to abandon plans to “storm” Etchmiadzin on December 28.

According to Caliber.Az, Hraparak newspaper cited a source as saying that concerns over a potential fiasco led the prime minister to reverse course. As a result, the outlet claims, Pashinyan announced the previous day that he would instead attend a liturgy at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Garni, located in Kotayk Province.

Hraparak further reports that after information surfaced about a possible visit by the prime minister to Etchmiadzin accompanied by security forces, dissatisfaction emerged within the Armavir regional administration. The newspaper notes that many members of the ruling Civil Contract party, as well as their supporters, opposed exerting pressure on the Church.

It should be noted that Hraparak is an opposition publication. Armenian authorities and pro-government media have repeatedly accused the newspaper of deliberate disinformation.

These developments come against the backdrop of a prolonged and deepening rift within Armenia’s political leadership, as relations between Prime Minister Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church have steadily deteriorated since Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War.

In the aftermath of the conflict, senior members of the clergy openly criticised the government’s conduct during the war and called for Pashinyan’s resignation. While Catholicos Garegin II appealed for national unity, he did not distance the Church from opposition-led protests, a position that further strained relations with the authorities.

Tensions intensified in 2021 and 2022, when prominent clerics, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, became associated with protest movements challenging Pashinyan’s legitimacy and opposing concessions in negotiations with Azerbaijan. During this period, the government increasingly accused segments of the clergy of political activism and of interfering in state affairs.

Following Armenia’s loss of full control over Karabakh in 2023, the confrontation escalated further. Senior church figures continued to criticise the prime minister, while Pashinyan and members of his administration publicly accused the Church leadership of serving external interests, particularly Russia, and of promoting what they described as “revanchist” narratives. Pro-government media outlets intensified their attacks on Garegin II, openly questioning his moral authority and leadership.

By 2024 and 2025, the standoff had entered a more confrontational phase. Pashinyan publicly questioned Garegin II’s suitability to remain Catholicos, while law enforcement agencies detained or questioned several high-ranking clerics on allegations ranging from incitement to suspected coup plotting. The prime minister also began attending church services in which the Catholicos’s name was omitted, a move widely viewed as a serious violation of Armenian Apostolic Church canon law.

Toward the end of 2025, pressure on the Church leadership increased further, with pro-government figures publicly calling for Garegin II’s resignation and discussions emerging over possible interim leadership arrangements within the Church.

By Tamilla Hasanova