Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church: By  weakening the Church, the Armenian authorities are breaking the last  backbone of the nation`s resistance

ArmInfo. By weakening the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), the Armenian authorities are breaking the last backbone of the nation's resistance. According to a  report received by ArmInfo, Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan, Chairman of the  Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church,  stated this while commenting on the situation surrounding the AAC  following the bishops' assembly in St. Polten, Austria.

He recalled that in recent months, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan has been using all available state levers of power to  interfere in the affairs of the Church, and in this process, he has  not hesitated to even trample on the Constitution of the Republic.  Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan characterized the events as blatant terrorism  by the state apparatus against the clergy. He pointed out that  Pashinyan, for several months, has essentially used the state  platform as a tool to split the Armenian Apostolic Church. "His  public blackmail, brazen labels, and ultimatums are a de facto attack  on the independence of the Church and the spiritual security of the  Armenian people," he emphasized.

According to him, this is not a so-called "reform," but an attempt at  takeover, carried out through force, with the goal of turning the  Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin into a docile appendage of his own  government. "However, the Armenian Apostolic Church is not an office  of the ruling Civil Contract party.  The Catholicos' throne is not a  pocket toy or a "personnel reserve" for the Prime Minister. The  centuries-old church charter is not a menu that can be adapted to  suit political tastes. The Armenian Constitution clearly separates  religious organizations from the state. This is not a market, but a  constitutional requirement.  Anyone in power acting in this direction  is guided not by state interests, but by a morbid obsession with  wielding power over everything," the Chairman of the Pan-Armenian  Council asserted.

He emphasized that the Prime Minister's public demand for the  resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the barrage  of fabricated accusations against clergy and supporters of the Church  are a shameful political order, and the subsequent so-called "roadmap  for reforms of the Armenian Apostolic Church" is merely a pathetic  attempt to remove the Catholicos. The Chairman of the Pan-Armenian  Council also noted that the full arsenal of state repression has been  deployed in recent days to achieve this goal.  Specifically, he  recalled the travel ban imposed on the Catholicos of All Armenians to  attend the Episcopal Assembly in Austria under the pretext of  fabricated criminal charges, calling this a display of shameful  cynicism. "This is a pathetic attempt to strangle the Armenian  Apostolic Church with the state's bludgeon.  As a result of these  actions, His Grace was unable to preside over the Episcopal Assembly  planned for Austria,"  Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan noted.

He also stated that Pashinyan's tenure has become a never-ending  cycle of national losses: the loss of Artsakh, the distortion and  rewriting of Armenian history, the exclusion of the history of the  Armenian Church from educational programs, and the deliberate  inculcation of disbelief in society. "Today, this destructive machine  has moved on to its main goal-the destruction of the Church itself.  The statement of the Bishops' Assembly of February 17-19 is a death  sentence for you. The bishops clearly stated that this was a  completely illegal criminal prosecution of the AAC. This is no longer  our opinion; it is a harsh slap in the face to the authorities by the  collective Supreme Leadership of the Church. We will not allow those  who squat before an external enemy to force a 'factory of division'  to operate within. By weakening the Church, you are breaking the last  backbone of the nation's resistance. Therefore, we will be merciless  to the perfidious schismatics within the Church. These 'perverts,'  who hide behind treachery and sell their faith in exchange for the  praise of political figures, will just as easily betray their  homeland tomorrow. This destructive style of work is treason, and  nothing more,"  Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan emphasized.

In connection with the above, he stated that the Pan-Armenian Council  for the Protection of the Armenian Church is  calling for an end to  the fabricated chain of criminal cases, travel bans against clergy,  and administrative intimidation that are hindering the activities of  the Armenian Apostolic Church. They are also demanding an end to  turning the internal affairs of the Armenian Church into a subject  for "political bazaar" at the level of the Armenian Prime Minister.  "Church issues are resolved in canonical courts, not in government  halls or on Facebook posts," the Pan-Armenian Council emphasized.

Furthermore, the Council called for an end to political persecution,  the immediate release of all clergy and citizens persecuted by the  authorities for defending the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the  prosecution of those clergy who have betrayed the Church. "Any action  that sows discord within the Armenian Apostolic Church must be met  with a strong response. No one has the right to serve as a Trojan  horse for the authorities, hiding behind the guise of 'sacredness.'  Attempts to bring the Armenian Church to its knees using the levers  of state power will end in disgrace and the final collapse of the  state's authority. A state is strong not when it desecrates holy  sites, but when it understands its size and limits. The demand is  simple:  stop the government's incursion into the Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin. Return the state to the purview of the Constitution,"  the Pan-Armenian Council concluded.

Recall, in May 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan launched  a broad anti-church campaign, demanding the resignation of the  Catholicos of All Armenians. As part of this campaign, several clergy  members were arrested. Moreover, a group of bishops joined Pashinyan  in demanding the resignation of the Catholicos of All Armenians. In  this regard, on December 1, the Catholicos of All Armenians announced  the convening of a bishops' assembly on December 10-12 to discuss  recent events related to the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and  issues related to internal church life. However, on December 8, the  Mother See of Etchmiadzin announced its indefinite postponement,  given the government's repression of the clergy, including arrests.  Then, Karekin II decided to convene the bishops' assembly  in the  Austrian city of St.  Polten on February 16-19.

It is worth noting that a couple of days before the Council, the  Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia launched a criminal case  against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and banned him from  leaving the country. The grounds for this were lawsuits filed by  defrocked clergymen Aramayis Tahmazyan and Stepan Asatryan against  the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). The day before the criminal case  against the Catholicos of All Armenians was opened, the Armenian  Prime Minister told journalists that he would not allow the  Catholicosate to leave Armenia.