An extraordinary situation has emerged in Armenia’s domestic socio-political life. For months now, the individual occupying the office of the prime minister has persistently demanded the resignation of Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. Moreover, he has undertaken repeated attempts to split the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (AAHC) and to remove the Supreme Patriarch by any means—even by force. According to Pashinyan, the reason is that Garegin II allegedly violated the vow of celibacy and has a child. Based on this unsubstantiated claim, he argues that Garegin II could not have held the rank of bishop or archbishop and therefore could not have been elected Catholicos under the Canon Law of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

“Ktrich Nersisyan must vacate the Mother See,” he declares, bluntly advancing a demand to which he has neither constitutional nor moral right—especially in the absence of any evidence. It should be recalled that Nikol Pashinyan, together with his so-called “backpackers,” made his first unsuccessful attempt to depose the Catholicos immediately after coming to power, within the framework of the grassroots “New Armenia – New Patriarch” movement. At that time, no issue regarding celibacy was raised. Instead, several disgruntled clergymen, acting in an emotionally charged manner, accused Garegin II of corruption, business ownership, and other alleged offenses—once again, without presenting any proof.

The current phase of the anti-church campaign, which has continued since June of this year in various forms and culminated in the events of December 18, has once again ended in failure for the authorities. Even the plan involving “rebellious” bishops aligned with the Civil Contract party, together with officers of the National Security Service and large contingents of police forces—through whom Pashinyan hoped to “reach” the Catholicos—proved ineffective. Tens of thousands of faithful followers of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church gathered around the Church, standing ready to defend—and indeed defending—the Mother See and the Supreme Patriarch with their own bodies. Incidentally, according to the latest opinion polls, only 0.8 percent of respondents expressed support for the authorities’ campaign against the Church.

This figure, in essence, reflects Pashinyan’s level of public trust and serves as a serious warning. Yet he draws no conclusions from it. If today his approval rating has fallen to a hopelessly low level, and if, in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections, he is forced to beg for support from European actors, he has no one to blame but himself. And the second—let me not conceal my sin—is us: the misguided citizens who elected Nikol in unprecedented numbers. Alas, the people realized too late that the individual for whom we “took to the streets to reject Serzh” turned out to be a grave misunderstanding—a so-called special emissary whose tenure has brought irreparable human, material, and cultural losses to our nation, losses unseen in the Armenian world for at least a century.

Now this person, instead of repenting, apologizing to the people for the crimes he has committed, and resigning, demands the resignation of the Catholicos of All Armenians—who neither surrendered Artsakh to the enemy, nor sent five thousand bright Armenian sons to their deaths, nor cast the fate of our newly independent state into the abyss of geopolitical uncertainty. How many times has he promised that, should the people so wish, he would stand before the “firing squad”? After the 44-day war in Artsakh alone, there were at least three well-founded demands for the prime minister’s resignation—yet no such appearance ever took place.

The most recent demand, which became the basis of the movement led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, was voiced on May 9, 2024, at a rally of approximately 100,000 people in Republic Square. Yet once again, the people did not see Pashinyan before the “firing squad.” Instead, at one of those rallies, acting on his orders, the prohibited Zarya-3 stun grenade was used against demonstrators. Earlier attempts to remove Pashinyan from office also failed: in February 2021, when the entire officer corps of the General Staff rose in protest at the initiative of Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan; and in April 2022, during the Resistance Movement, under slogans such as “Zartir Lao!” (Wake up, my son!), “Armenia without Nikol,” and others.

He once declared that the moment the people wished it, he was ready to sacrifice his life for the homeland, silently standing before the “firing squad.” This, too, has proven to be nothing more than yet another lie in a long chain of falsehoods.

"Hayatsk Yerevanits" journal