Civilnet
By Alexander Pracht
Several regional leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including bishops and archbishops, issued a joint statement on Saturday calling for the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II. The appeal came two days after their meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday.
“We expect that Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, out of love for our Church and our people, will soberly assess the current situation, avoid leading our people and our Church into unnecessary turmoil, and voluntarily retire, thus allowing new elections to be organized,” the statement said.
It was signed by ten senior clerics of the Armenian Church. Among them are Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, Patriarchal Vicar of the Ararat Diocese; Archbishop Abraham Mkrtchyan, Primate of the Vayots Dzor Diocese; Archbishop Arakel Karamyan, Primate of the Kotayk Diocese; and Archbishop Sion Adamyan, Primate of the Armavir Diocese. Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, Primate of the Artsakh Diocese, also joined the appeal.
“I was, am, and always will stand by my flock in the struggle for its violated rights. [...] I am convinced that together we will continue the struggle to defend our violated rights and to fulfill the cherished dream of returning to our homeland,” Bishop Abrahamyan said in a separate comment announcing his support.
Other signatories included Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church in the United States, and Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, the Church’s primate in the Baltics.
The episode is the latest sign of tensions between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the ruling Civil Contract party. Catholicos Karekin II called for Pashinyan’s removal in late 2020 following Armenia’s defeat in the war against Azerbaijan.
Tensions escalated sharply in May this year, after Pashinyan publicly urged the Catholicos’s removal, accusing him of violating his vow of celibacy and calling for the “cleansing of the Church.” The remarks came amid government criticism of alleged mismanagement and using the Church's tax exemptions for illicit business activity. In the months since, several senior clerics who expressed support for Pashinyan were defrocked by the Church, that is, stripped of their ranks and removed from service.
Last month, police arrested the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the Catholicos’s nephew, on charges of coercing clergy to join anti-government protests, an offense carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Proshyan joined two other regional Church figures already in custody, Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan of Tavush and Mikael Ajapahyan of Shirak. Ajapahyan was convicted last month of inciting a violent change of government and sentenced to two years in prison, while Galstanyan is currently standing trial on charges of plotting an armed coup and a terrorist act.
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