Catholicos Aram I reaches out to Pashinyan as church-state confrontation deepens (updated)

By Lia Avagyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia have exchanged what officials described as “warm greetings,” a gesture widely seen as an attempt by the church leader to ease the deepening confrontation between the government and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Relations between the government and the other sees of the Armenian Apostolic Church—including the Great House of Cilicia—have been comparatively calm.

According to the prime minister’s office, Pashinyan received Archbishop Shahan Sarkissian of the Mother See of Holy Cilicia, who presented him with a book marking the 30th anniversary of Aram I’s enthronement. The Archbishop conveyed Aram I’s blessings and greetings, to which Pashinyan responded with appreciation and “warm regards and best wishes” to the Catholicos.

The cordial exchange came amid escalating tensions following a series of arrests of clergy this week. On October 14-15, six clerics from the Aragatsotn Diocese, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, were detained by law enforcement authorities. Proshyan was later remanded in custody for two months. The arrests followed a criminal complaint reportedly triggered by statements on state television from a priest who alleged that church officials had urged participation in opposition rallies during the 2021 parliamentary election campaign. The crackdown has intensified the standoff between the government and the clergy of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which accuses the authorities of politically motivated persecution.

The rift deepened sharply after the June arrest of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who had publicly defended the Church and Catholicos Karekin II amid Pashinyan’s calls for his removal. Following Karapetyan’s statement, the government swiftly announced plans to nationalize the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA), his largest asset in the country, in what observers described as a politically charged retaliation. Since then, tensions between the Church and the state have spiraled further, culminating in the detention of two prominent bishops—Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan of Shirak and Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of Tavush—both known for their criticism of government policies in late June.

Narek Karapetyan, leader of the newly established political movement “Mer Dzevov” (Our Way) and nephew of detained businessman Samvel Karapetyan, wrote on Facebook that Catholicos Aram I’s real intention is “to resolve the issue of pressure unleashed against the Armenian Church.” He urged the public not to misinterpret the meeting, describing it as “an effort to shield the Church from new attacks.”

Suren Suranyants, head of the Democratic Alternative Party, echoed that view, calling the contact “a clear and public signal that the Cilician Catholicosate does not intend to ignore the deepening church-state crisis and is ready to play an active and responsible role in overcoming it.”

Also read: All four pontifical sees of Armenian Church voice concern over government pressure

The Great House of Cilicia is one of the four sees of the Armenian Apostolic Church, alongside the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Earlier this year, when Pashinyan called for the resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, the other patriarchates, including Aram I’s, expressed support for Etchmiadzin.

While Pashinyan was hosting Aram I’s representative in Yerevan on October 16, bishops and diocesan leaders of Armenia meeting at Etchmiadzin issued a statement directly blaming the prime minister for the campaign against the Church. “The full responsibility for this painful situation lies with the current government and personally the prime minister,” they said, accusing him of spreading “hate speech and intolerance” toward the clergy and violating the Church’s centuries-old order.

Update

The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia late Thrusday evening issued a statement reaffirming Aram I’s condemnation of clergy arrests, confirming that his outreach to the government was aimed at de-escalation. The statement said the Catholicos “once again condemns this unacceptable phenomenon” and instructed Archbishop Shahan Sarkissian, currently in Armenia, to convey his “concern and condemnation” to political leaders, including Prime Minister Pashinyan. It called for the “unhealthy situation between the state and the Church” to end swiftly, emphasizing that “the supreme interests of our nation and Homeland require close and strong relations between the two pillars of our people—the state and the Church.”