Pashinyan Joins Defrocked Priest in Unauthorized Liturgy, Escalating Government’s Clash with the Armenian Church

A deepening confrontation between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church erupted again this weekend when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended an unauthorized liturgy led by a defrocked priest at Hovhannavank Monastery, in open defiance of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The incident followed weeks of growing tension between state authorities and the Church. The conflict began when Father Aram — whose secular name is Stepan Asatryan — publicly attacked the Church’s leadership in September, accusing the clergy of moral decay and violations of sacred canons. Throughout his years of service, he had never made such statements and had always obeyed the Catholicos, including during his own ordination.

On October 21, after a review by the disciplinary committee, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin officially defrocked Father Aram for grave violations of Church order and vows. The Supreme Spiritual Council called on law enforcement to prevent any unlawful actions and to preserve the sanctity and spiritual peace of Hovhannavank Monastery.

However, instead of accepting the Church’s ruling, the defrocked priest refused to leave the monastery and announced plans to conduct a major liturgy on Sunday, October 26. He openly declared support for Prime Minister Pashinyan’s political campaign against the Catholicos of All Armenians, saying, “A Catholicos who is himself defrocked cannot defrock me.”

Governor of Aragatsotn Province Sergey Movsisyan and Civil Contract MP Emma Palyan arrived at Hovhannavank in open support of the defrocked priest. Palyan told reporters that the ruling party planned to “return the Catholicosate to the rightful Catholicos,” despite admitting that they currently have no replacement candidate.

Such remarks further confirmed fears that the government is attempting to interfere in Church affairs and weaken the independence of the centuries-old Armenian Apostolic Church.

The crowd that gathered around Hovhannavank was largely composed of Civil Contract party supporters repeating Prime Minister Pashinyan’s claim that the Catholicos of All Armenians has “no authority” to defrock priests. Several of them became aggressive when questioned by journalists, while others shifted the discussion toward political topics unrelated to religion — echoing government propaganda that attempts to discredit the Church and justify the state’s failures on national issues, including Artsakh.

The current incident is widely seen as part of a larger government campaign against the Church and its leadership. Several senior clergy — Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, Archbishop Mkrtich, and Chancellor Garegin Arsenyan — remain behind bars. All of them have publicly spoken out against Prime Minister Pashinyan’s policies and defended the Church’s role as a guardian of Armenia’s national identity and moral values.

Despite these warnings, Pashinyan announced on Sunday morning that the so-called liturgy at Hovhannavank would be “the beginning of the liberation of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.” His statement was seen as an unprecedented act of hostility toward the Church and a direct challenge to the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II.

Before the ceremony began, police units were deployed throughout the area. According to lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, officers were stationed near the homes of several priests and prevented clergy from the Aragatsotn Diocese and members of the Monastic Council from entering the monastery. Two priests were detained and later released only after confirming they were not headed to Hovhannavank.

Zohrabyan said that he and others were blocked from approaching the monastery by police and ruling party supporters, effectively turning a sacred space into a stage for political spectacle.

The Armenian Report’s journalist Ani Khachatryan was present at Hovhannavank from the early morning hours to cover the developments on the ground, witnessing the growing police presence, the arrival of government officials, and the unfolding tensions between clergy, citizens, and supporters of the defrocked priest.

As of now, Stepan Asatryan — who was formally defrocked by the Mother See — continues to conduct the unathorized liturgy, attended by Prime Minister Pashinyan, government officials, and a heavy police presence. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has already declared the act canonically invalid and a violation of sacred order.

During the ceremony, the defrocked priest addressed Pashinyan directly, attempting to frame his actions as divinely guided. His words were widely criticized by clergy and theologians as blasphemous and politically manipulative.

The Armenian Apostolic Church, which has preserved the nation’s identity through centuries of hardship and foreign domination, now faces internal pressure from its own government — a struggle that many see not as a matter of faith alone, but as a fight for the soul of Armenia itself.

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