Pashinyan: Armenian Apostolic Church currently has no Catholicos;  there is a person who holds this status unlawfully

ArmInfo. The Armenian Apostolic Church currently has no Catholicos, as stated by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  during a briefing on November 6.

Refusing to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's awarding of  the Order of Alexander Nevsky to Archbishop Yezras Nersisyan, the  head of the Russian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and  brother of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Pashinyan noted  that any country is free to award whomever it wishes, including an  Armenian archbishop. The RA Prime Minister did not rule out the  possibility that Yezras Nersisyan may have Russian citizenship.  Pashinyan pointed out that he had recently called the archbishop an  agent from the parliamentary rostrum. "It's a well-known fact that he  really was a KGB agent during Soviet times," Pashinyan said.

He added that it's surprising that journalists aren't seeking a  clarification from Ktrich Nersisyan (the secular name of Catholicos  Karekin II - ed.) for the fact that he fathered a child after taking  a vow of celibacy, and therefore cannot be a Catholicos. "Ktrich  Nersisyan is not a Catholicos. The Armenian Apostolic Church today  has no Catholicos. There is a person who holds this status  unlawfully," Pashinyan said.