Former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan Urges Pashinyan to Stop Church Raid & Release Jailed Archbishops

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is escalating its confrontation with the Armenian Apostolic Church — the spiritual foundation of the Armenian nation for over 1,700 years.

This week, former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan publicly urged Pashinyan to abandon his controversial plan to take over the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the sacred headquarters of the Church, and instead release two imprisoned archbishops and others he described as “political prisoners.”

At the center of the tension is the government’s aggressive campaign to remove Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, the spiritual leader of the Church. Pashinyan has accused the Catholicos of violating monastic vows and called for his resignation. However, many believe this is just a political move to silence one of the last powerful institutions in Armenia that dares to challenge the Prime Minister’s decisions — especially his concessions to Azerbaijan.

The showdown reached a new level when Pashinyan called on his supporters to gather in Etchmiadzin and “free” the Church headquarters. His message was widely seen as a direct threat against the Church, which has stood as a symbol of Armenian identity, unity, and survival — even in the darkest times of history.

The office of the Catholicos called Pashinyan’s message an “attempt to incite attacks and violence.” Meanwhile, opposition leaders, Church defenders, and members of civil society say they are prepared to physically defend the Mother See if Pashinyan’s rally goes forward. The Prime Minister has not announced a date yet, but his intentions remain unchanged.

In a sharply worded statement, Ter-Petrosyan described the government’s planned rally as a “provocation aimed at crushing the Church through a mob.” He said the Prime Minister is playing with fire, pushing the country toward chaos, and acting like an autocrat obsessed with power. “It is opposition political forces that usually instigate unrest, whereas in Armenia the exact opposite is happening,” said Ter-Petrosyan. “Suffering from megalomania, Pashinyan, as a rule, himself inflames the situation.”

Ter-Petrosyan added that instead of fighting the Church, Pashinyan should take immediate steps to calm the political atmosphere by freeing Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, billionaire philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, and other critics of the government who are now behind bars.

The former president emphasized that releasing these individuals would be seen as an act of wisdom, not weakness. “Otherwise, Mr. Prime Minister, you would be solely responsible for possible clashes and bloodshed,” he warned.

Pashinyan’s political allies dismissed Ter-Petrosyan’s warning. A member of his Civil Contract party, Arusiak Julhakyan, claimed there is no political crisis at all — just a “legitimate government” facing a so-called “terrorist clique.”

But many Armenians disagree. They see the government’s campaign against the Church as not only dangerous, but also illegal. Legal experts say that Pashinyan is violating Armenia’s Constitution, which guarantees the Church’s independence from government interference.

On Tuesday, lawyer Ara Zohrabyan submitted a formal request to Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan to launch a criminal case against Pashinyan for abuse of power, undermining the constitutional order, spreading hate speech, and violating religious freedoms.

“Pashinyan does not make secret of presiding over all this,” Zohrabyan said, pointing out that prosecutors and courts seem to act immediately after the Prime Minister posts about something on Facebook. Notably, Vardapetyan previously served as Pashinyan’s legal adviser, raising serious concerns about the fairness of the justice system under his rule.

One of the jailed archbishops, Mikael Ajapahyan, is accused of calling for violent regime change — a charge he strongly denies. On June 27, security forces stormed the Mother See in an attempt to arrest him. Hundreds of priests and faithful rushed to protect the Church grounds, preventing Ajapahyan’s arrest. He later turned himself in peacefully.

This brutal raid on the holiest site of the Armenian Church shocked the nation. For many, it symbolized the government’s growing hostility toward the Church and the values it represents — faith, tradition, and the spiritual heart of Armenia.

As the standoff continues, many Armenians are asking: Why is the government treating the Church like an enemy? Why is the Prime Minister focusing on imprisoning archbishops instead of uniting the country in these uncertain times?

For now, the Church remains strong, supported by a people who remember that it was the Church — not the state — that preserved Armenian identity through centuries of foreign rule, genocide, and exile. Any attack on it is not just an attack on religion, but on the soul of the Armenian nation.

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