Zartonk Journalist Arpine Hovhannisian
The confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church entered a new phase this week with the arrest of yet another high-ranking cleric. Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, the Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, became the fourth senior church figure to be detained in recent months, after the National Security Service (NSS) took him into custody on Thursday. He is accused of orchestrating the planting of drugs in the backpack of a protester during a 2018 demonstration against Catholicos Karekin II.
Khachatryan was remanded to two months of pre-trial detention on Friday, a day after the National Security Service (NSS) detained him as he left the Investigative Committee, where he had been summoned over a leaked intimate video allegedly depicting him.
His lawyer, Arsen Babayan, argues the questioning was merely a pretext for arrest, calling the charges “absurd,” noting that Khachatryan is accused of arranging planted drugs, yet the criminal case itself refers to the “sale” of narcotics. Babayan insists the case is politically driven and tied to the broader campaign against the Church, which intensified in late May when authorities accused Catholicos Karekin II of violating clerical celibacy.
The Church condemned Khachatryan’s arrest as “fabricated and baseless,” calling it part of a wider wave of politically motivated persecution of clergy.
A Pattern of Detentions and Prosecutions Against Church Leaders
The detention of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan is not an isolated case. Over the past months, several high-ranking clerics have been targeted by law-enforcement bodies, signaling a broader confrontation between Pashinyan’s government and the Church.
Earlier, in October, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, was detained by law-enforcement officials. His arrest was widely viewed by Church representatives as part of mounting pressure on outspoken clerics.
Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese and one of the most vocal critics of Prime Minister Pashinyan, was sentenced to two years in prison in early October. He was convicted of making “public calls to overthrow the constitutional order and seize power by force,” a charge he strongly denies. The case against the 62-year-old cleric highly critical of the government is based on a 2024 interview in which he discussed the need for a coup d’etat in the country.
Meanwhile, the trial of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the head of the Tavush Diocese who emerged as the leader of the nationwide anti-government “Tavush for the Homeland” movement earlier this year, is still underway. Galstanyan faces charges of organizing terrorism and attempting to seize power, accusations his supporters say are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing a major opposition figure.
The Catholicos’s brother and nephew have also been arrested, accused of interfering in this month’s municipal election in Vagharshapat.
With the arrest of Archbishop Khachatryan, one-third of all archbishops based in Armenia have now been imprisoned by Pashinyan’s government.
High-Ranking Priests Show Support for Pashinyan, Omit Catholicos’s Name During Liturgy
The confrontation has also exposed deepening divisions within the Church itself. In recent weeks, two highly symbolic incidents occurred during liturgies attended by Prime Minister Pashinyan, first in the village of Khachik in Vayots Dzor, and later in Masis, where priests deliberately omitted the mandatory mention of Catholicos Karekin II during the service.
Such omissions are rare and considered a serious breach of canon law. The fact that they took place in the presence of the diocesan leaders, Bishop Abraham Mkrtchyan of Vayots Dzor in Khachik and Bishop Gevorg Saroyan of Masis in the second case, intensified questions over whether the acts were spontaneous gestures of protest or coordinated expressions of defiance encouraged by higher-ranking clergy.
On December 4, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that he attends church services on the condition that the name of the Catholicos is not mentioned, and that the National Security Service may also become involved in resolving this issue.
“Because Ktrich Nersisyan [the Catholicos of All Armenians] is a threat to the security of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan told reporters.
These incidents unfolded amid broader tensions inside the Church. In recent months, several priests and bishops have openly aligned themselves with government-critical calls to “liberate” Etchmiadzin from what they describe as entrenched leadership. Others, however, argue that political actors are exploiting internal debates to fracture the Church at a vulnerable moment.
On November 25, the Assembly of Bishops and Diocesan Ordinaries of Armenia was convened in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to address the deteriorating internal discipline. The Assembly specifically discussed the recent liturgies where the Catholicos’ name was intentionally omitted, a move the Church condemned as a grave canonical violation and a sign of disorder within the hierarchy.
10 Senior Clergy Reportedly Condemn Catholicos, Then Meet with Pashinyan
The internal strain reached a new peak when ten high-ranking priests issued a public statement declaring their expectation that Catholicos Karekin II should “voluntarily go on leave.” The statement sharply criticized the Catholicos’ leadership and came just days after the priests met with Prime Minister Pashinyan, raising immediate questions about political involvement in Church affairs.
The lengthy text was published by ArmTimes, a media outlet run by Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, further fueling speculation that the move had government backing.
Eight senior clergy met with Pashinyan on 27 November, hours after outlets circulated the image of a lengthy declaration, reportedly signed by around ten bishops and archbishops.
That narrative accused Catholicos Karekin II of attempting to conceal an intimate leaked video allegedly involving high-ranking clergy, specifically Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, who has now been detained.
The timing and alignment of these events have raised alarms within the Church, where many see the coordinated criticism as part of a broader attempt to pressure or sideline the Catholicos at a politically sensitive moment.
The 27 November meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan and the senior clergy triggered widespread concern within the public. Several of the priests who attended had previously been linked to corruption scandals, while others had faced persistent rumors of violating clerical celibacy, making their sudden unified stance against the Catholicos all the more contentious.
One of them, Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, is the head of the church’s largest Ararat Diocese encompassing Yerevan. Kchoyan had long caused controversy with his extravagant lifestyle and reportedly close ties with Armenia’s former government. He was charged with fraud and money laundering but not arrested in August 2023.
Another rebel, Bishop Arakel Kyaramian, is believed to be the biological father of Argishti Kyaramian, a Pashinian ally who headed the Investigative Committee until last December.
27 Bishops Publicly Affirm Loyalty to Catholicos, Condemn Political Interference
On December 4, twenty-seven bishops issued a statement expressing their loyalty to the Catholicos. They described attempts to resolve internal Church matters through political interference as unacceptable and dangerous.
“We consider any attempt to resolve internal Church matters through political interference unacceptable and dangerous, regardless of the justification. All issues related to the governance and internal life of the Church must be resolved without exception through fraternal love, the high consciousness befitting apostolic bishops, and the competent ecclesiastical and conciliar bodies, in accordance with the established canonical procedures of our Holy Church,” the statement reads.
The senior clergy also said they find “intolerable and condemnable the arbitrary omission of the mention of the Catholicos of All Armenians during the sacred ritual of the Divine Liturgy.”
“We are confident that the unity and peace of our Holy Church stand above personal, group, or other interests, and will be strengthened through the communion of love, the path of truth, and justice. We are convinced that through the collective efforts of our episcopate, we will find effective solutions for the benefit of our Holy Church,” the statement concludes.
International and Local Rights Groups Condemn Political Detentions Targeting Armenian Church Leadership
The growing number of politically sensitive detentions, particularly those targeting clergy and church leaders, has alarmed civil society organizations in Armenia.
In October, several prominent human rights groups, including Protection of Rights Without Borders and the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Armenian Committee warned that the authorities were increasingly misusing criminal justice tools to pressure critics, clergy, and opposition figures.
In an October 19 joint statement published on Forrights.am, the organizations said they “strongly condemn the selective, punitive, disproportionate, and unlawful application of criminal justice mechanisms”, arguing that recent cases amounted to “gross violations of fundamental human rights.”
The groups cited several politically contentious prosecutions, including the sentencing of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan for public remarks and the continued detention of billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, arrested shortly after expressing support for Catholicos Karekin II.
Following his arrest, the government moved swiftly to nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), Karapetyan’s main asset in the country, and opened new criminal cases against him and his associates.
Human rights advocates warned that such cases risk “distorting the rule of law” and eroding trust in the judiciary. They urged Armenian authorities to halt politically driven prosecutions and ensure that courts remain free from government pressure.
The arrest of high-ranking clerics has also drawn condemnation from international religious organizations. On 5 December, Christian Solidarity International (CSI), a human-rights organization focused on religious liberty, issued a statement denouncing the detentions as part of an escalating campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
It condemned Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan’s detention, describing it as part of “an escalation in the Armenian government’s campaign against the national church.”
CSI noted that one-third of all archbishops based in Armenia have now been imprisoned by the government, and called for the immediate release of Archbishop Khachatryan, as well as Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, and “all other political prisoners in Armenia.”
In its statement, CSI also stressed the importance of preserving the Church’s independence, urging authorities to end what it characterized as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s campaign to depose the Catholicos. The organization said the autonomy of the Armenian Church, and of all religious groups, “must be respected,” warning that continued government interference could further destabilize the Church and undermine religious freedoms in the country.
The arrests of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan and other senior clerics highlight the growing entanglement of Armenia’s religious institutions in political conflict. Many of the charges against the priests, some dating back years, appear selective and politically motivated, suggesting a deliberate effort to weaken the Armenian Apostolic Church and assert state influence over its leadership.
The unfolding crisis also puts into question the independence of the judiciary, as the prosecution of religious figures who openly oppose Prime Minister Pashinyan raises broader concerns about the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human rights in Armenia.
