Turning to Turkey: what will Pashinyan's war with the Armenian Church lead to?
The struggle between secular and spiritual power in Armenia is reaching its final stage. Catholicos Karekin II intends to hold a meeting of bishops in St. Pelten, Austria, on February 16-19. The authorities are doing everything they can to prevent the event, and the situation is escalating in the light of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Online Cathedral
Since last summer, the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) has been under severe pressure from the secular authorities. To solve the accumulated problems, the Armenian Apostolic Church decided to hold a meeting of bishops. Initially, it was planned that the event would take place at the Etchmiadzin Monastery in the vicinity of Yerevan on December 10-12, but then it was not possible to hold a meeting.
The reason was repression and numerous arrests, security forces from the National Security Service of Armenia threatened potential participants. "They promised to block the arrival in the country or the return flight of the heads of foreign dioceses, they directly mentioned the names of those who face detention. As a result, Catholicos Garegin II decided not to escalate the situation," the publication of the newspaper "Graparak" said.
After that, the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church decided to hold a meeting of bishops outside the country. It is scheduled to take place on February 16-19 in the Austrian city of St. Pelten. The authorities, however, began to put up numerous obstacles this time. First, several schismatic clergymen who follow Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a joint statement calling the announced event "divisive."
Secondly, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the article on obstruction of the execution of a judicial act. The fact is that earlier a number of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church did not agree with the court's decision, which decided to reinstate schismatic Arman Saroyan in the ministry. The lawyers then stressed that the process looked like nonsense, because the church was separated from the state, and therefore the secular authorities had no right to interfere in spiritual matters.
The Investigative Committee, however, did not heed these arguments, as a result, six hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church were summoned for questioning, and later they were given a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave. Accordingly, they will not be able to fly to Austria. Lawyer Ruben Melikyan added that the Catholicos' movements could be restricted in the same way. The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church himself noted that the council on February 16-19 would be held anyway. It is believed that the hierarchs under investigation can participate in it in an online format.
Turkey and the elections
The struggle between secular and spiritual power in Armenia began immediately after Nikol Pashinyan came to power in 2018, and it further intensified after his defeat by Azerbaijan in the struggle for Karabakh. It has taken on the most violent forms in the last six months. Global reasons — the church demanded respect for national history, preserved the memory of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, and maintained ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The trigger for the current round of conflict was an international conference held in Switzerland last May by Catholicos Karekin II. During the event, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church sharply criticized the actions of Azerbaijanis in Karabakh, including the destruction of Christian churches in the region, the destruction of the Armenian national heritage, and was outraged by the "detention of prisoners", that is, the trial of the leaders of the unrecognized republic.
All this was in stark contrast to the Armenian authorities' policy of reconciliation with Baku and Ankara, and as a result, the secular authorities launched a large-scale campaign of pressure and harassment. At first, Pashinyan attacked his opponents with unprecedented accusations. In particular, he spoke about the allegedly dissolute personal lives of church hierarchs, accused them of sexual perversion and violation of the vow of celibacy, and reported that the Catholicos himself allegedly had a child.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan during the first court session in Yerevan
Then the law enforcement agencies took over the case. Last summer, Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan were sent to jail on suspicion of plotting a coup, and later the brother and nephew of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church went to jail in a hooliganism case. In addition, the well-known businessman Samvel Karapetyan was imprisoned, who did not hide his indignation at what was happening and promised to protect the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In the fall, the authorities tried to initiate a church schism. Pashinyan met with ten bishops, who then signed a statement criticizing the Catholicos, who allegedly covers up "blasphemous acts." Later, the Armenian Prime Minister created the so-called Council for the Reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which included the same bishops and a number of other priests. At the same time, the media wrote that as a result, a new religious organization could be created.
In December, the confrontation spilled out onto the street, when actions of supporters and opponents of the Catholicos took place in the Etchmiadzin monastery. To the disappointment of the Armenian authorities, there were many more parishioners of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In January, the authorities disbanded the Armenian Apostolic Church's spiritual service in the army, and began appointing regimental chaplains without the participation of the church leadership. In addition, lawsuits by defrocked priests have begun to be considered in Armenian courts.
In general, initially the authorities expected to force the Catholicos to voluntarily resign from his post, but he showed firmness and refused to leave the ministry. Now, obviously, the bet is on a forceful solution to the issue. The newspaper Graparak, citing its sources, reported that law enforcement agencies were going to open a criminal case against the church leader.
The problem for the authorities, however, is that even imprisonment will not mean automatic resignation. At the same time, the most important parliamentary elections will be held in the country in June this year. A church that enjoys authority in society can play an important role, for example, to support one or another opposition force. The authorities will probably continue their campaign of discrediting and vilification to prevent this from happening.
It is also important that the struggle between secular and spiritual power has a geopolitical significance. The Armenian Apostolic Church maintains ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, and is wary of attempts at rapprochement with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Scrapping the traditional church structure will mean reducing Russian influence in the region and strengthening the Turkic tandem. In this sense, an article in the Turkish newspaper Aydınlık is characteristic, which says that the removal of Karekin II will be Ankara's biggest foreign policy success.
What the experts say
Armenian political scientist Tigran Kocharyan believes that the church council in Austria will take place.
— The authorities have created many obstacles for the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but, apparently, the meeting will still take place. Bishops who are on their own recognizance can take part in it in an online format. Those in custody can issue a power of attorney to someone," he argues.
The expert adds that he no longer expects any active actions by the secular authorities before the June elections.
— Last year, Pashinyan's team failed to achieve its goal, and it was not possible to organize a full-fledged church schism. Now the country is already entering the election campaign, there is no time or energy for actions against the church, they are not popular with voters. In such conditions, I predict that the conflict will freeze, but if the ruling party wins, the attack will begin with renewed vigor," he suggests.
U.S. Vice President Jay Dee Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive in Yerevan, February 9, 2026
Caucasian scholar Artur Ataev says that the current church council is taking place under unprecedented pressure.
— Six potential participants are on their own recognizance, four more are in custody. There is a targeted campaign to destroy the AAC. I do not exclude that this attack is coordinated by one of the foreign embassies. Perhaps it was also discussed during the recent visit of the American Vice President J. D. Vance to Yerevan. I also note that the church demonstrates will and resilience. The future of the country will depend on the outcome of this confrontation, at least for the next political cycle," he explains.
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