Pashinyan reportedly dissatisfied with chief of staff over church row

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is reportedly unhappy with the performance of his Chief of Staff, Arayik Harutyunyan, amid mounting tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to local daily Zhoghovurd, responsibility for a behind-the-scenes campaign to remove Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has been placed on the Prime Minister's Office, with Harutyunyan overseeing the effort. The campaign reportedly aims to sideline the incumbent church leader and identify a replacement more amenable to the government’s agenda.

However, sources close to the administration told Zhoghovurd that Pashinyan is displeased with the lack of progress, as no concrete steps have been taken to unseat the Catholicos. Instead, the government’s confrontational stance has provoked growing hostility from the clergy and worsened relations with the Church.

The same sources warned that if Harutyunyan fails to deliver results, his removal from the post cannot be ruled out.

In a bold and controversial statement, Pashinyan is said to have vowed to personally lead the effort to “liberate the Church from the Antichrist group” — a reference to what he views as entrenched elements within the ecclesiastical leadership resisting reform and alignment with his administration.

Tensions between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church have been escalating since the country's defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War. The Church has increasingly criticised Pashinyan’s government, accusing it of undermining national identity and moral values amid efforts to normalise relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye. In turn, Pashinyan has accused the Church leadership — particularly Catholicos Karekin II — of political interference and corruption, even calling them an “Antichrist group.”

The conflict reached a new level in mid-2025, when senior clergy were detained on charges of plotting a coup, and Pashinyan vowed to “liberate” the Church.

By Vugar Khalilov