Pashinyan is forming a new leadership for Armenian Church – media

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Photo: NewsArmenia

On 21 November 2025, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan informed a close circle that he is forming a group of clergy who are discussing the internal situation of the Armenian Apostolic Church and developing a plan for its reorganization, News.am reports.

According to the publication, citing the Armenian newspaper Zhoghovurd, this group has been assigned to raise issues during internal discussions that are directed against the entourage of Catholicos Karekin II and the Church hierarchy. Sources indicate that such actions may create conditions for pressure on the head of the Church.

The newspaper notes that these steps may provoke tensions within the Armenian Apostolic Church and could lead to attempts to remove the Catholicos from his residence in Etchmiadzin. At the same time, Zhoghovurd reports that Pashinyan is confident that pressure on the Church’s leadership will continue to increase.

Sources also told the publication that the group is expected to be headed by Stepan Asatryan (Ter Aram), a defrocked cleric who has reportedly been given guarantees of freedom of action by the authorities in exchange for his participation in the campaign against the Catholicos and the possibility of being reinstated.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Armenian authorities declared their intention to confiscate the Hovhanavank Monastery from the Church.

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