Pashinyan presents reform program for Armenian Church

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during a service in one of the AAC churches. Photo: Facebook Nikol Pashinyan

On December 8, 2025, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, published on his Facebook a plan for reforms of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which he called a "roadmap for recovery".

Pashinyan proposed to start with the election of a locum tenens of the Catholicosate – a temporary leader of the Church who performs the duties of the Catholicos of All Armenians during the absence of the acting head. According to him, this should be done strictly in accordance with the internal canonical rules of the AAC.

The second point announced by the Prime Minister was the need to adopt a new Code of Church Rules. According to his plan, the document should include norms of clergy integrity, requirements for financial transparency, guarantees of the Church's apolitical stance, and compliance with tax legislation. Pashinyan also stated that the state would return the taxes and duties paid by the Church.

Separately, he proposed to improve the social conditions for the clergy. This includes access for the clergy to the accumulative pension system, the return of income tax, social loans, and medical insurance.

The final point of the "roadmap", Pashinyan named the election of a new Catholicos of All Armenians according to the new Code of Rules. He noted that the development of the document should take place within the Church, and the government is ready to provide consultations if necessary.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the authorities of Armenia announced their intention to seize the Hovhannavank Monastery from the Church.

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