Armenian Prime Minister demands reelection of Armenian Church Primate

Nikol Pashinyan. Photo: rbc.ru

On July 3, 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan officially demanded that an extraordinary election be held for the Catholicos of All Armenians – the head of the Armenian Church, according to arminfo.info.

“An extraordinary election must definitely take place. But an extraordinary election for the Catholicos of All Armenians,” Pashinyan wrote on his social media account.

This statement is the latest development in an escalating conflict between the Armenian authorities and the clergy. Recall that back in May, the Prime Minister, at a government meeting, described the condition of Armenian Church temples as resembling “storage rooms” and demanded the “implementation of standards,” declaring that “the real owner of these monuments is the state.”

The Church responded sharply, pointing to the Prime Minister’s incompetence and lack of proper education, as well as to an “internal crisis of public communication.”

The next day, Pashinyan published an extremely crude and offensive message on his Facebook page addressed to Catholicos Karekin II, using obscene language.

He also cast doubt on the chastity and integrity of the episcopate, accusing some hierarchs of breaking their vow of celibacy.

The Prime Minister’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, joined in the attacks, calling the clergy the “main pedophiles of the country.”

Later, Pashinyan stated that the authorities should have a “decisive voice” in the election of the Catholicos and that candidates for the post should undergo a state background check.

He also threatened to release compromising materials against the current Patriarch Karekin II and to take the matter to court.

It has become known that the head of government is initiating the creation of a special coordination group to remove the Catholicos.

The first ten members of this group will be personally selected by Pashinyan, according to criteria of religious sincerity: they, he says, “must believe in God, have read the Bible at least once in their life, observe Great Lent at least once every five years, and pray daily.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a bishop in Armenia was arrested for attempting to overthrow the government.

Read also