Armenian defense minister violates law by his decree - lawyer 

ArmInfo.  Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, with his order to abolish the Spiritual Service of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the country's Armed Forces, violated Article 10 of the Law "On Relations between the  Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church," which  stipulates that the Armenian Apostolic Church has the right to have a  permanent spiritual representative in military units. This was stated  by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan.

He recalled that on November 13, 1997, former Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin I and former Armenian Defense Minister Vazgen  Sargsyan established the Spiritual Service of the Armenian Apostolic  Holy Church in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. The  lawyer added that the Charter of the Spiritual Service entered into  force by Order No. 728 of the Minister of Defense of Armenia dated  July 19, 2000, and on September 14, 2000, the Charter was approved by  the Catholicos and the head of the Armenian Ministry of Defense.

Zohrabyan also noted that, according to the Charter, the goals of the  Spiritual Service were: familiarizing the personnel of the Armenian  Armed Forces with the Gospel of Christ and the principles of the  Christian faith in accordance with the Creed, church rules, and  traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church; and educating  personnel in Christian moral principles and a national-patriotic  spirit.

He also noted that 42 clergymen participated in the spiritual service  of the Armed Forces, of which: 8 were conscripts to the rank of  deacons, and 34 were volunteer clergymen appointed by the Throne,  including 1 archpriest, 16 priests and 17 deacons.

"By Order No. 159 of Defense Minister Suren Papikyan dated January  29, 2026, the order of the Minister of Defense dated July 19, 2000,  was declared invalid. With this order, the Ministry of Defense  effectively suspended the activities of the spiritual service of the  Armed Forces. Only 8 of the 42 clergy will serve as conscripts under  the coordination of the Department of Moral and Psychological Support  of the Armed Forces; the remaining 34 will no longer serve. With this  decision, Papikyan violated the requirement of Article 10 of the Law  "On Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian  Apostolic Holy Church," according to which the Armenian Church has  the right to have a permanent spiritual representative in military  units," he noted.

According to the lawyer, Papikyan even violated paragraph 5.1 of the  Regulation on Spiritual Ministry, approved by the Minister of  Defense, which stipulates that spiritual ministry is dissolved with  the blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians and by order of the  Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.

"As we see, the minister couldn't disband this ministry alone. The  reason for this process was that the regimental commanders refused to  join Nikol Pashinyan's anti-church program at the request of the  Ministry of Defense. This is the legal aspect. And the moral and  psychological aspect is that this government has effectively targeted  the national church. Instead of doing everything possible to protect  the army from this shameful persecution, they are doing the exact  opposite. The army leadership, instead of doing everything possible  to have true Christian soldiers, is doing the exact opposite and  interfering in the internal affairs of the Church. A true Christian  warrior, a believer in Christ, is not afraid of death, will not  abandon a friend in need, will not run away out of cowardice, and  will be ready to die a martyr's death for his God and homeland. One  warrior of such quality will be stronger than a hundred enemy  soldiers. Can you imagine the enormous harm this government is  causing our country? Believe me, we will pay for this policy that is  destroying the church. "together with the whole country, and we will  pay a huge and heavy price," Zohrabyan concluded.