Pashinyan claims Catholicos of All Armenians defrocked for breach of celibacy

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. Photo: newsarmenia

On October 22, 2025, during a speech in the Armenian Parliament, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II (secular name Ktrich Nersisyan) “has been defrocked,” accusing him of violating his monastic vow of celibacy, News–Armenia reports.

The statement came amid the ongoing conflict surrounding Fr. Aram Asatryan, parish priest of the village of Ohanavank, who was recently defrocked by decision of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Responding to a question as to why he planned to attend the Liturgy to be celebrated this Sunday by Asatryan, Pashinyan emphasized that he considers Asatryan a legitimate priest, while regarding the Catholicos himself as a “usurper of the throne.”

“Ktrich Nersisyan was defrocked long ago and is no longer a member of the clergy,” the prime minister declared, calling on Karekin II to explain why he “has a wife and children.”

Pashinyan also stated that in today’s Armenia it is “difficult to find a place for spiritual life,” and noted that the village of Ohanavank, where Fr. Asatryan serves, has become for him a symbol of “true faith and moral purity.” He underlined that he intends to personally receive Communion from the priest who had been defrocked by order of the Catholicos.

On October 21, the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin reported that Fr. Aram Asatryan, rector of Ohanavank, had been defrocked for public statements discrediting the Armenian Church, as well as for disciplinary violations and insubordination to ecclesiastical authority.

Fr. Asatryan’s name has also appeared in a criminal case against representatives of the Aragatsotn Diocese, accused of participating in opposition rallies. In the course of the investigation, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and several diocesan employees were arrested.

Against this background, Pashinyan’s statement about the alleged “defrocking” of Catholicos Karekin II marks an unprecedented step that has sharply escalated tensions between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a court had found a hierarch of the Armenian Church guilty of incitement to overthrow the government.

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