Samvel Karapetyan- Recent developments surrounding the Armenian  Church are a national disgrace

ArmInfo. What's happening around the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) is a universal disgrace, a national disgrace. Samvel Karapetyan, businessman and leader of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, told reporters in Yerevan on  August 20, in response to a request to comment on the fact that the  new government program includes a section on combating the AAC and  the removal of the Catholicos.

"I have already said that what is happening around the Armenian  Church is a universal disgrace, a disgrace to our nation. It is  simply a disgrace," Karapetyan stated, commenting on assertions by  ruling party members who claim they received a mandate during the  elections to regulate church affairs or carry out "reforms."

Addressing the Armenian government's 2026–2031 action program, which  explicitly outlines intentions to remove the Supreme Patriarch or  appoint a new Catholicos under the guise of church reforms,  Karapetyan expressed his conviction that the current authorities will  only succeed in reforming themselves.

On August 19, the Armenian government published the draft program,  which features a specific section dedicated to the "reform" of the  Armenian Apostolic Church. Among the stated objectives of the  authorities are the taxation of the AAC, the removal of the  Catholicos, and the election of a new patriarch. The program was  unanimously approved during the Cabinet session on August 20 and will  be submitted to the parliament for formal endorsement.