Yerevan | July 15, 2025 — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is actively searching for a new Catholicos to replace the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Garegin II, according to the head of the Union of Armenians of Russia, Ara Abrahamyan.
“I know he’s holding talks, looking for someone to become the new Catholicos,” Abrahamyan told RIA Novosti. “He goes around persuading people: ‘Speak out against the Church leadership, and we’ll take care of everything.’”
Abrahamyan believes the move is politically motivated, driven by fears that the Church could mobilize anti-government voters in upcoming elections. “But I don’t think it will work,” he said. “The Church is strong.”
He criticized Pashinyan’s attempt to interfere in the Church’s affairs: “Who is the Catholicos? He is an elected figure. If Pashinyan has something to say, he should say it — but it’s not his place to decide. He even said he would personally lead the fight. That’s deeply troubling to Armenians everywhere.”
The prime minister has recently escalated his attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), including a string of vulgar and insulting social media posts in May. He also proposed changes to how the Catholicos is chosen — suggesting the state should play a decisive role in the selection process.
The political tension intensified in June when prominent Russian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan — a vocal supporter of the AAC — was arrested in Yerevan. Authorities charged him with inciting calls to overthrow the government. The arrest sparked outrage across the Armenian diaspora, with community leaders calling the move a “dangerous escalation” and a form of religious persecution.
Karapetyan has since filed a defamation lawsuit against Pashinyan’s press secretary.
Other Church figures have also been targeted. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who led the protest movement “Sacred Struggle” and called for Pashinyan’s resignation last year, was detained. His lawyer called the charges “absurd” and labeled the trial a “political vendetta.”
In late June, Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, was also arrested and charged with incitement to seize power, undermining territorial integrity, and rejecting national sovereignty — allegations he dismissed as fabricated.
Earlier this month, Pashinyan renewed his personal attacks on Catholicos Garegin II and vowed to “personally lead the effort” to remove him.
The deepening rift between the Armenian government and the Church is being closely watched both inside the country and among global Armenian communities, who see it as a clash between political power and centuries-old spiritual authority.
