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Akbar Novruz

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly accused Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II of betraying Jesus Christ and the Armenian Apostolic Church, Azernews reports.

“Ktrich Nersisyan [Garegin II] betrayed Jesus Christ, betrayed the Holy Armenian Church, its followers and his faithful flock. He is not the Supreme Patriarch, he is an ordinary traitor who betrayed Jesus Christ,” Pashinyan told journalists after a government meeting.

Tensions between Armenia’s secular leadership and the church have intensified following the country’s political crisis after the 2020 Karabakh war. Pashinyan has repeatedly accused Garegin II and senior clerics of political interference, corruption, and undermining national unity.

The Prime Minister has called for reforms within the church, demanded early elections for the position of Catholicos, and described Garegin II and his circle as followers of “schism and sectarian thinking.” This public confrontation highlights the growing divide between Armenia’s government and the influential religious institution.

Tensions are high in Armenia between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, led by Catholicos Garegin II, stemming from post-2020 war fallout, with the government accusing the church of corruption, political interference, and hindering national unity, while the church opposes Pashinyan, leading to government calls for reforms, arrests of clergy, and societal division over the church's historical role versus modern state governance.

This conflict touches on Armenia's identity, with Pashinyan pushing for secular authority and accountability, framing it as a reform movement, while critics warn it risks a deeper political crisis and undermining national identity.