Armenian PM warns Catholicos: step down or be removed by the people

Pashinyan and Karekin II. Photo: 1news.az

On 20 September 2025, at the congress of the Civil Contract party, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the Armenian Apostolic Church must return to a pro-government orientation and that the current Catholicos, Ktrich Nersisyan (secular name Karekin II), should resign. News.am reported the remarks.

“He must leave voluntarily, without public pressure, and if not, he will leave under the influence of the people,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister mentioned that senior clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church are in prison. However, according to him, their imprisonment is connected with the “dictatorship of law and justice.” He argued that archbishops, like everyone else, had the right to hold marches, demonstrations, and make statements, but the state is obliged to respond when the law is ignored.

Pashinyan also claimed that part of the Church’s leadership “remains trapped in an imperial logic,” and that Karekin II, having been raised in an atheist state, “simply does not believe in God and treats Him as a brand to be sold at diaspora fairs.”

“We will convince Ktrich Nersisyan that God exists, and that the people hold power over him. It is only a matter of time, and here we must act delicately,” the Prime Minister threatened.

He also called on those clergymen who support his position to prepare to join in its implementation.

Earlier, Pashinyan described Karekin II’s continued presence in office as “spiritual pollution” and declared that the Armenian Apostolic Church needs “spiritual renovation.”

The UOJ previously published an analysis on what is happening in the Armenian Church and why.

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