Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has annulled the regulation governing the military chaplaincy, terminating spiritual service and the work of regimental chaplains in the Armenian Army effective February 1, by order of Defense Minister Suren Papikyan.
The military chaplaincy was established on November 13, 1997 through a joint initiative of Catholicos Karekin I and then Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan. A memorandum signed that year between the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Ministry of Defense defined the clergy’s role within the armed forces, with Archimandrite Vrtanes Abrahamian appointed as the first army chaplain. Ministry regulations adopted in 2000 later formalized the system.
For over two decades, chaplains served alongside soldiers in barracks and combat zones. Several were wounded, killed, or went missing during service.
The Defense Ministry has also proposed restructuring the chaplaincy by placing clergy under the authority of the deputy commander for educational affairs, requiring military rank, and subjecting them to standard service regulations. These changes would remove chaplains from the oversight of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and make them directly accountable to Defense Ministry officials.
The decision was announced by ARF Supreme Body of Armenia member and “Armenia” faction MP Gegham Manukyan, who said stated that senior officers pressured chaplains to join the “church reforms” formed by Pashinyan and his government advocating the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.
Further details were provided by Father Psak Mkrtchyan, who said that, by ministerial order, the Spiritual Leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia has been dissolved and clergy members relieved of their duties.
The chaplaincy also held institutional and symbolic significance. Since 2011, clergy participated in Armenia’s Independence Day military parades, and the cross of King Ashot II the Iron was designated the guardian and patron sacred relic of the Armenian Army. Its status now remains unclear.
The move marks a further escalation in the actions of Pashinyan’s government against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
