World Council of Churches Backs Armenian Apostolic Church, Raises Concern Over Government Interference

The World Council of Churches has raised concern over what it called “undue interference” in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, weighing in as a confrontation between Armenia’s government and church leadership increasingly spills into the courts.

The WCC, a global fellowship of Christian churches, said the Armenian Apostolic Church holds a vital place in Armenian spiritual, cultural and historical life, as well as in the broader Christian world.

“As WCC, we express our concern about undue interference in inner church matters,” WCC moderator Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and General Secretary Rev. Prof. Jerry Pillay said in a joint statement.

The intervention comes as Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, faces a criminal case alongside six bishops who serve on the Supreme Spiritual Council.

The first preliminary hearing was held Aug. 7 at a court in Vagharshapat, the city that is home to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The hearing ended shortly after it began when Judge Hakob Manukyan recused himself from the case.

The criminal proceedings grew out of a legal dispute involving Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, the former head of the Diocese of Masyatsotn. Saroyan challenged his removal and sought reinstatement through the courts. Following his defrocking, he is known by his secular name, Arman Saroyan.

The case is unfolding against a much broader confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church, an institution that has played a central role in Armenian national life for centuries.

Relations deteriorated sharply in late May 2025, when Pashinyan and his allies accused Karekin II of violating his vow of celibacy and began publicly referring to him by his birth name. Pashinyan later called for the Catholicos to leave office, and efforts to replace him became part of the ruling Civil Contract party’s election platform.

The WCC stopped short of addressing the criminal case in detail but called for the wider dispute to be resolved in a way that benefits Armenian society.

Bedford-Strohm and Pillay said they hoped for a resolution that would “foster the flourishing of the whole Armenian people.”

“We uphold the Armenian Church and its people in prayer and support during this time,” they said.

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