The Epiphany in Armenia is celebrated amid a standoff between Etchmiadzin and the authorities.

A standoff has arisen at a church in Tallinn: supporters of the "Civil Contract" are preventing an active priest from entering the church to conduct the Christmas liturgy, insisting on a defrocked priest conducting the service. The head of the party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, announced his intention to lead a religious procession in Yerevan to express his support for the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," 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 primate.

The situation at the Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Talin is tense. Police have blocked the entrance to the church and are preventing Priest Hayk Sahakyan from entering. Earlier, Talin Mayor Tavros Sapeyan announced that the defrocked Priest Tade Tahmazyan, who now bears the secular name Aramais, would celebrate the liturgy today, News.Am reports.

The mayor also arrived at the church. He stated that they would not allow Priest Hayk Sahakyan to enter the church, as Father Tade was scheduled to celebrate the Christmas liturgy. Sahakyan was also not allowed to enter the church on December 31, 2025.

Supporters of Nikol Pashinyan gathered outside the church and are preventing the current priest from entering the temple, blogger Mikael Badalyan reports.

The Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, made a statement from prison. "What happened on December 31, 2025, in the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Talin was not just an incident or a misunderstanding. It was an open, deliberate, and systemic sacrilege directed against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its sacred canonical order, the inviolability of the sanctuary, and the spiritual dignity of the faithful people. The action, orchestrated by Talin Mayor Tavros Sapeyan and defrocked Aramayis Tahmazyan, and carried out with the direct support of law enforcement, is a gross act of lawlessness, a dangerous manifestation of arbitrary power and anti-church mentality, where sacrilege and violence are presented as "legitimate actions." The invasion of a sacred site, the violation of church order, and the blatant disregard for spiritual authority not only contradict the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Armenia but also testify to a serious distortion of state thinking. This is an example of street pressure, provocation, and aggression against spiritual values that destroy public harmony and undermine the foundations of the rule of law," Aysor.Am quotes him as saying.

By the Patriarchal decree of His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II of December 2, Priest Tade Tahmazyan, the spiritual shepherd of the Talin region, was defrocked, the press office of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin reported on December 3, 2025.

The basis for this decision was a report by the Administrative Council of the Aragatsotn Diocese and the conclusion of the Commission on Church Awards and Disciplinary Issues of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Among the arguments that formed the basis for this decision were the following: Tahmazyan discredited the Armenian Church and the clergy, undertook anti-church actions; - during liturgies, he arbitrarily removed part of the which mentions the names of the Catholicos of All Armenians and the diocesan primate, effectively defying the order; showed disobedience towards church authority. Prior to this, on November 9, 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a liturgy for the repose of the souls of all Armenian fallen soldiers at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Talin, led by Priest Tade Tahmazyan, writes News.Am.

Nikol Pashinyan announced his intention to lead the procession in Yerevan

According to him, the procession has three goals: to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ, "to record our fidelity to the sacred tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church," and "to express support for its reform," Armenia Today reports.

"With this procession, we must express our attitude toward the practice of the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and his inner circle, who are using the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as an instrument of hybrid struggle by foreign forces against the Republic of Armenia, its independence, sovereignty, and statehood, and we must clearly state the unacceptability of such practices and our will that we will no longer allow them to continue. <...> "I will lead this procession, and I hope that you will be present, come, participate, because this is a very important event, and I invite all of you," News.Am quoted him as saying in a publication dated January 5.

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".