Catholicos’s Brother and Nephew Jailed as Pashinyan’s War on Karekin II Intensifies

The conflict between Armenia’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church has entered a new and tense stage. Law enforcement authorities have arrested the brother and nephew of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, intensifying the standoff between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government and the Church leadership based in Holy Etchmiadzin.

According to lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, both Gevorg Nersisyan, the Catholicos’s brother, and his son Hambardzum Nersisyan were detained after being accused of obstructing election campaigning in the city of Vagharshapat, where local elections are currently underway. The Investigative Committee confirmed that criminal prosecution has been launched under Article 211 of the Criminal Code, which covers coercing someone to participate or abstain from campaign activities or obstructing such activities.

The accusations emerged after a pro-government candidate from the “Republic” party, Harutyun Mkrtchyan, claimed on social media that the Catholicos’s relatives interfered with his campaign on November 1. The Nersisyans deny the charges, and their lawyer insists that video footage disproves the allegations. Zohrabyan criticized the investigation for relying on “a single person’s testimony” while ignoring the defendants’ statements and evidence.

A detention hearing for the two men was held soon after their arrest. Judge Arman Babakhanyan ruled to detain Gevorg Nersisyan for one month, lawyer Ara Zohrabyan told. “The judge decided to detain him for one month. The motion for Hambardzum Nersisyan’s detention will be reviewed next,” Zohrabyan said. Later, it was confirmed that Hambardzum Nersisyan, the Catholicos’s nephew, was also detained for one month.

The arrests come during one of the most turbulent moments in modern Armenian church-state relations. Over the past several weeks, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has escalated his public criticism of Catholicos Karekin II, calling for what he described as “spiritual and moral renewal” within the Armenian Apostolic Church.

On Sunday, Pashinyan attended a religious service led by defrocked cleric Stepan Asatryan at the Hovhannavank Monastery, marking the second week in a row that he has joined a ceremony performed by a banned priest. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin previously stripped Asatryan of his priestly status and prohibited him from performing religious rites, later describing his services as a “soul-destroying initiative.”

During the same day, the Church held a solemn ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of Catholicos Karekin II’s enthronement, attended by opposition lawmakers and figures from several political groups.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has accused the government of trying to undermine its spiritual authority and divide the clergy. Church officials have condemned the state’s support for defrocked priests and the “illegal seizure” of monastic properties such as Hovhannavank, which Etchmiadzin says remains Church property.

Church leaders say that the government’s actions—including the arrests of clergy members, support for banned priests, and political rhetoric against the Catholicos—amount to a coordinated campaign to weaken Holy Etchmiadzin.

Archbishop Haykazun Najaryan, speaking during the anniversary liturgy, described the situation as “troubling.” He warned that “the imprisonment of three bishops, the violent seizure of Hovhannavank, and the encouragement of a defrocked cleric’s illegal ceremonies” only deepened the national crisis.

“To weaken Holy Etchmiadzin is to weaken the Homeland,” he said, urging Armenia’s leaders to act with wisdom and restraint to prevent further damage to the country’s unity.

Meanwhile, government representatives, including Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan and Civil Contract lawmaker Vahe Ghalumyan, defended the prime minister’s approach. They accused the Church hierarchy of moral failings and said that the current movement seeks to bring honesty and renewal to the religious institution.

Opposition politicians have accused Pashinyan of deliberately provoking the Church to weaken an influential pillar of Armenian identity. Artur Khachatryan, a lawmaker from the Hayastan alliance, warned that the government’s pressure on the Church could spark a public backlash. “Anything can be expected from evil,” he said, urging citizens to stand in defense of Etchmiadzin.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.