Will the Armenian people continue to remain in a stupor if Pashinyan imprisons Catholicos Garegin II? Harut Sassounian
06-08-2026 13:48 Armenia Politics
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is crossing all red lines by exceeding his powers.
Over the past eight years, Pashinyan has violated hundreds of laws and numerous provisions of the Constitution. Meanwhile, a large number of Armenians have found themselves behind bars not for violations of the law, but simply for disagreeing with him—a fundamental right that should be guaranteed for every citizen in a democratic country.
Pashinyan has made it clear that the laws do not apply to him. He has boastfully claimed that he can violate any law, and no judge can stop him.
Since seizing power in 2018, Pashinyan has brutally attacked the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and its spiritual leaders. Despite his un-Christian behavior, he often quotes the Holy Scriptures to mislead his naive followers. According to the Bible (Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12, Psalm 91:11-12), the devil also, citing the Holy Scriptures, urged Jesus to throw himself down from the temple tower, assuring him that the angels would save him. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."
Although rumors about the Catholicos having a child had been circulating for a long time, Pashinyan, after coming to power and waiting seven years, only exploited that gossip when it served his narrow political interests. For more than a year, he has been abusing his official position in an attempt to overthrow His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II.
Pashinyan has made public calls, issued personal threats, and even used obscene language on his Facebook page to force the Catholicos to resign. After failing in all these attempts, he resorted to blackmailing 10 high-ranking clergy to win them over to his side and turn them against the Catholicos. Under the guise of "reforming" the Church, he has formed a "civil committee" aimed at overthrowing the Catholicos. It is sheer absurdity that someone who is extremely incapable of governing the country is trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the Church and decide who will be the next Catholicos. This is none of his business.
Naturally, all of this is a gross violation of the Constitution of Armenia, which enshrines the separation of church and state. However, by establishing an authoritarian unilateral rule, Pashinyan stubbornly tries to impose his will. In early January, when Catholicos Karekin II and a commission of six bishops dismissed Bishop Gevorg Saroyan of the Mashtots Diocese, Pashinyan urged him to reject the church's internal decision and go to court. Subsequently, the church hierarchy declared him defrocked on January 27.
The court unlawfully instructed the Catholicos not to dismiss Saroyan and prohibited Karekin II from leaving the country, depriving him and the six bishops of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the opportunity to participate in a crucial episcopal assembly in Austria. Despite this, the assembly took place, and 25 bishops from around the world expressed their support for His Holiness the Catholicos, condemning the judicial persecution of the Church by Pashinyan's government.
The preliminary hearing for the trial of the Catholicos and the other six bishops is scheduled for August 7 at 16:00 in the Vagarshapat (Ejmiadzin) court. This is an unprecedented phenomenon in independent Armenia, where criminal prosecution is being carried out against the Catholicos. During centuries of rule, neither the Ottoman Empire nor Tsarist Russia ever prosecuted any Catholicos. The only exception was the murder of Catholicos Khoren I, who was suffocated by agents of the Soviet secret services on April 6, 1938.
Taking the Catholicos to court is a blatant injustice and a gross abuse of power by Pashinyan's government. For more than 1700 years, Armenians have proudly claimed that Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity. However, his government now treats the church hierarchy as criminals.
The only good news is Catholicos Karekin II's statement that he will not resign, even if arrested and imprisoned. He will continue to serve as the legitimate Catholicos even in captivity.
Over the past eight years, Pashinyan's government has taken a number of unprecedented anti-church steps:
- In 2018, it revoked the diplomatic passports of clergy.
- It removed the subject "History of the Armenian Church" from the curriculum of public schools.
- In 2024, it terminated the service of spiritual ministers in penitentiary institutions.
- It halted the service of clergy in the Armed Forces.
- It plans to confiscate all church buildings and property.
- Security forces conducted searches in the territory of Holy Ejmiadzin to arrest the archbishop.
- It has arrested and detained several high-ranking clergy on false charges.
- Violating the regulations of the National Assembly, the authorities did not allow the Catholicos to deliver a blessing at the opening of the session on August 2, 2026.
- It has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and fines from the Church for the purchase of candles by believers, despite the fact that the Church is a non-profit organization and candle buyers are actually making donations.
Judge Hakob Manukyan must dismiss the charges against the Catholicos and the six bishops on August 7, so as not to become an accomplice to Pashinyan's abuses. Otherwise, Judge Manukyan will become an object of international ridicule when the European Court of Human Rights ultimately records that his verdict violated the Constitution of Armenia.
Meanwhile, both Armenians in Armenia and in the Diaspora must awaken from their long slumber and raise their voices in protest. If they continue to remain silent even after the arrest and imprisonment of the Catholicos, they do not deserve to have either a Church or a Homeland.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
