Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has renewed his campaign to reform the Armenian Apostolic Church, calling for the resignation of its head, Catholicos Karekin II, and proposing the creation of a coordinating council to oversee changes. 

Tensions between Pashinyan and the Church have escalated over the past year, and the prime minister’s latest move that has drawn sharp rebukes from the Church. The escalating standoff between Armenia’s government and its national Church has raised questions about the separation of state and religious authority in the country. 

Previously, Pashinyan published a detailed roadmap for reforming the Armenian Apostolic Church on December 8, which proposed structural, legal, financial, and political changes designed to reshape church governance. 

Pashinyan read the latest statement at his residence over the holidays, accompanied by ten senior clergy members who have publicly supported his initiative. A video of the statement and church hymns was posted on the prime minister’s official social media accounts on January 5.

The joint statement by Pashinyan and the clergy outlined a five-point reform plan, including the “announcement of the reform agenda”, “removal of the actual head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church”, the election of a Locum Tenens, adoption of a new Church charter, and the subsequent election of a new Catholicos. The plan also established a “Coordinating Council” composed of the signatory clergy to manage organisational functions related to the reforms.

The statement cited concerns over “the failure of Karekin II and members of his close circle to live according to and preach the principles of the gospel, the disruption of spiritual life, and the manifestation of tolerance toward the glaring facts of moral corruption”. It also condemned what it described as “the unacceptable and uncanonical practice of involving the Church in politics and using it to serve various agendas and interests.”

Pashinyan has long criticised the Church, claiming in December 2025 that Karekin II was “controlled from outside” and asserting that his brother had allegedly been a KGB agent during the Soviet era. The Supreme Church Council has labeled these accusations a “shameful anti-church campaign”, warning that such interference threatens national values and could have “devastating consequences”. 

In May 2025, Pashinyan accused the Catholicos and other senior clergy of violating their vows of celibacy. 

In November, Armenian authorities detained the brother and nephew of Karekin II, on charges of coercing individuals to participate in election campaigning or obstructing political campaigns. 

Other senior clerics to be detained include Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who was arrested in June on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, a move condemned by the church as politically motivated.

In October, Armenian security forces raided several diocesan offices and detained over a dozen clerics, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, a cousin of the Catholicos, for allegedly inciting unrest.

The 2025 arrest of Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan followed the influential tycoon’s public criticism of what he called the government’s “attack” on the church and vowed to intervene if political leaders failed to act.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin responded on January 5, calling Pashinyan’s proposed reforms a breach of Armenia’s constitution. “The actions taken by the head of the Armenian government under the pretext of regulating and reforming the internal life of the Church directly violate the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and violate the rights of the Church, both internationally and under Armenian legislation,” the statement said.

The statement also criticised the involvement of bishops in what it called “anti-Church processes” and condemned pressure applied to clergy. It accused the ten bishops supporting Pashinyan of avoiding dialogue with the Catholicos and the Supreme Spiritual Council, despite invitations to meet. “It must be emphasised that the regulation and reform of the Church are not within the jurisdiction of a self-declared council, but are strictly under the authority of the Armenian Apostolic Church and its supreme governing bodies,” the Church said, warning that “such reckless actions may lead to a schism, with painful consequences”.