EU-based religious freedom forum says pressure on church threatens constitutional rights in Armenia

By Elen Muradyan

An EU-based religious freedom monitor has warned of what it described as an escalating campaign of state pressure against the Armenian Apostolic Church, saying recent actions by Armenian authorities raise serious concerns about religious freedom and church autonomy and threaten constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights in Armenia.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the Vienna-based watchdog The Forum for Religious Freedom Europe (FOREF Europe) said developments in Armenia point to “systematic interference” in the internal affairs of the country’s national church, which it described as incompatible with international standards on freedom of religion or belief. FOREF said the measures taken against senior clergy and church institutions amounted to “grave threats” to constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights.

“These practices are unacceptable legally, politically and ethically,” the organization said, adding that the pressure was “detrimental not only for the church but for the whole country and for the whole nation.” 

FOREF Europe is an independent, secular civil society organization founded in 2005 that monitors and documents violations of freedom of religion or belief across Europe and globally. It regularly engages with institutions including the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and has been involved in advocacy efforts in countries ranging from China and Pakistan to several European states. 

The warning from FOREF comes amid a deepening confrontation between Armenia’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, an institution that has played a central role in Armenian identity and public life for centuries. Since mid-2025, relations have sharply deteriorated, with authorities launching criminal cases against senior clerics, imposing travel bans that prevented bishops from attending a planned assembly abroad, and dismantling the church’s role in military chaplaincy.

See: Armenian authorities impose travel ban on bishops ahead of Austria meeting

Armenian officials have rejected accusations that they are targeting the church as an institution, insisting that legal actions against individual clerics are based on criminal allegations rather than religious affiliation. Critics, including domestic and international rights groups, argue that the scope, timing and coordination of the measures point to unprecedented state interference in church governance.

The issue gained international visibility after Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who is being held in pretrial detention in Yerevan, appealed on Tuesday to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and participants of an international religious freedom summit in Washington. In letters sent from prison, Galstanyan described his detention as politically motivated and linked it to what he called a broader campaign to bring the Armenian Apostolic Church under state control.

See: Jailed archbishop appeals to Vance as rights group warns of pressure on Armenian church

FOREF echoed those concerns, warning that actions taken against the church resemble “authoritarian practices” aimed at subordinating religious institutions to political power. The organization called on Armenian authorities to cease interference in church affairs, release detained clergy held on what it described as dubious charges, and restore respect for religious autonomy. 

“The Armenian Apostolic Church is not merely a religious institution,” FOREF said. “It is a cornerstone of Armenian national identity and cultural continuity. Undermining its independence risks long-term damage to social cohesion and democratic stability.”

As international scrutiny grows, rights advocates say the standoff between the government and the church has become a key test of Armenia’s commitment to democratic norms and human rights at a time of heightened regional and domestic pressures. 

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has also warned of mounting pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church, citing the detention of senior clergy, travel bans imposed ahead of a planned bishops’ assembly abroad, and the abolition of the church’s role in military chaplaincy. CSI said the measures point to unprecedented state interference in church affairs and risk undermining religious freedom in Armenia. 

In recent months Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly questioned the legitimacy of Catholicos Karekin II and called for his dethronement. The statements, followed by criminal cases against senior clerics and other administrative measures affecting the church, have marked the most serious confrontation between the state and the church since Armenia’s independence.