Nikol Pashinyan has intensified his public campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church and Catholicos Karekin II, making serious allegations and calling for a complete overhaul of the Church’s leadership. In a controversial statement, Pashinyan accused the Catholicos of violating his monastic vow of celibacy and fathering a child—a claim he vowed to substantiate if challenged.
According to Pashinyan, such a violation would disqualify Karekin II from serving as bishop or Catholicos under the Church’s own canon law. “Ktrich Nersisyan must vacate the Mother See,” he declared, now calling for the election of a new Catholicos whose moral character would be pre-vetted.
Presenting himself as a devoted member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Pashinyan appealed to the faithful to unite and “peacefully liberate” the Mother See and restore sanctity to the Church’s leadership.
His remarks are part of a broader pattern of provocative commentary. On May 30, during a government meeting, Pashinyan referred to churches and religious sites as mere “storage rooms,” diminishing their spiritual and cultural significance. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin swiftly issued a rebuttal, stating that such remarks undermine the Church’s role as a guardian of Armenian identity, language, and historical memory—especially at a time when Armenian sacred sites in Artsakh remain under Azerbaijani occupation and threat.
Church leaders, including Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan and Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan, strongly condemned Pashinyan’s statements. Hakobyan even suggested that the timing of the remarks may have been intended to distract from an international conference in Switzerland focused on preserving Artsakh’s spiritual and cultural heritage. The implication: Pashinyan’s rhetoric may be inadvertently—or deliberately—aligned with external efforts to erode Armenian national identity.
Meanwhile, the Initiative of Five Human Rights Defenders has accused Pashinyan of attempting to bring the Church under state control, in violation of constitutional principles guaranteeing Church-state separation. They cite recent social media posts in which Pashinyan argued that the Republic should play a decisive role in selecting the Catholicos. Legal experts warn that such actions could constitute a serious offense under Armenian law, though expectations for impartial enforcement remain low amid concerns of political bias within law enforcement institutions.
This internal crisis unfolds as Azerbaijan continues its campaign of external pressure. At a recent Council of Qadis meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani religious leader Allahshukur Pashazade falsely claimed that key Armenian religious sites—including the Mother Cathedral of Etchmiadzin—are located on Azerbaijani territory. The Armenian Church categorically rejected the claims as false, inflammatory, and dangerous.
