Opposition factions of the National Assembly of Armenia will not participate in the work of the investigative group investigating the "crisis in the Church"

ArmInfo. The opposition factions "Armenia" and "Strong Armenia" will not participate in the work of the investigative group created by the ruling "Civil Contract" faction to investigate the "crisis in the Church." This was announced at a parliamentary session on October 6 by faction leaders Narek Karapetyan and Anna Grigoryan.

According to the opposition, the creation of such a commission is illegal and unconstitutional.

It should be noted that, according to the draft resolution, the commission, which will be headed by former Chairman of the NA Committee on European Integration Arman Yeghoyan, should include 11 parliamentarians: 7 from the ruling faction, 3 from the "Strong Armenia" faction, and and 1 from the Armenia faction. Now, in essence, only representatives of the ruling party will be present on the commission.

It should be noted that relations between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church are in a state of deep and open political confrontation, which sharply escalated in 2024-2026. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the ruling party accuse the church leadership and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II personally of interfering in politics, deviating from the canons, and attempting to destabilize the situation in the country (including supporting anti-government protests). At the end of September 2026, the Prime Minister's Office published an official report on the "crisis in the Armenian Apostolic Church," containing accusations against the senior clergy and a reform plan that envisages the replacement of the Catholicos and the adoption of a new church charter. In October 2026, the Armenian parliament, at the initiative of the ruling Civil Contract faction, created a special investigative commission to study the situation in the church and develop legislative changes aimed at "stopping the takeover of the Church." The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin called the government's initiatives and report illegal, unconstitutional, and gross pressure on an autonomous religious organization. The Church insists that the state has no right to interfere in internal affairs and decide the issue of replacing the Catholicos.