YEREVAN, Armenia – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Thursday, January 8, 2026, dismissed growing accusations that he is abusing his powers and violating Armenia’s constitution in his drive to oust the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II.
Pashinian’s Campaign and Intensified Accusations
Pashinian has faced such accusations from the church, Armenian opposition, and other critics since he began pressuring Catholicos Garegin II to resign in June. These criticisms intensified after he signed a joint statement on Sunday with renegade bishops, pledging to maintain pressure in his official capacity as prime minister. Prior to this, he had claimed to be campaigning against Garegin as an ordinary follower of the church.
Constitutional Concerns and Critics’ Arguments
Critics argue that Pashinian’s campaign violates constitutional provisions guaranteeing the autonomy of the ancient church and its separation from the state. They also contend that the powers of Armenian state officials are defined by the constitution and other laws, and that changing the heads of religious organizations is not among them.
Pashinian scoffed at these arguments when addressing journalists after chairing a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan.
“Where is it written about the prime minister’s powers?” he questioned. “For example, does the prime minister have the authority to hold news briefings? … Look it up. It’s interesting to know where it is written.”
He further declared, “I bridge the institution of the prime minister with the institution of the citizen, with the institution of the follower of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, with the institution of the New Testament, with the institution of prayer.”
Neither the constitution nor an Armenian law on the government’s structure and activities mentions such a spiritual mission for the prime minister.
Previous Admissions and Allegations
Last month, Pashinian effectively admitted to ordering the National Security Service (NSS), the former Armenian branch of the Soviet KGB secret police, to attempt to censor church liturgies he attended. He also stated earlier that intelligence briefings presented to him by the NSS contain sensitive details of the private lives of Armenian priests.
Some of these priests are reportedly among the ten archbishops and bishops who openly supported Pashinian’s demands for Garegin’s resignation in November. In his joint statement with them, Pashinian again refrained from directly urging supporters to converge on the main church cathedral in Echmiadzin, adjacent to Garegin’s official residence, in an effort to force the Catholicos’s resignation.
Counter-Protest and Church’s Stance
The pro-government bishops organized such a gathering outside the cathedral on December 18. However, their participants were significantly outnumbered by thousands of other individuals who rallied in support of Garegin. The Catholicos made it clear on Tuesday that the church remains “firm and unshaken” in the face of Pashinian’s “repressions.”
Pashinian on Thursday declined to specify how he now intends to depose the defiant Catholicos.
“You say that Ktrich Nersisian (Garegin’s original name) has no intention of leaving,” he told the press. “We are going to do something to make him change that intention.”
Source: https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33643348.html
