Pashinyan announced the beginning of the process of transforming the Armenian Apostolic Church

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced plans to "improve" the Armenian Apostolic Church, which includes the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, the adoption of a new charter, and the election of a new head of the church.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the church at a government meeting on May 29, and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for insulting the church.

On January 4, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on his Telegram channel that he had signed a document with 10 bishops demanding the resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II on the creation of a coordinating council for the renewal of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

To implement their plans, Pashinyan and the bishops approved a roadmap for the so-called "improvement" of the church, which calls for "promoting the church's transformation agenda."

The roadmap implies that the adoption of the "improvement program" will be followed by the removal of the Catholicos. Following this, new elections for the Locum Tenens of the Catholicos are to take place, followed by the adoption of a church charter that establishes "mechanisms for maintaining established principles, ensuring financial transparency, and the proper conduct of the clergy." Ultimately, according to the roadmap, the election of a new Catholicos should finally take place "in accordance with the established procedure."

Earlier, the court sentenced Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to two years in prison.

For more information on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government, see the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".