Pashinyan vows to personally lead movement to ‘liberate’ Echmiadzin Church

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday that the Echmiadzin Church, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has been taken over by what he called an “anti-Christian, immoral, anti-national and anti-state group,” and pledged to personally lead a movement to reclaim it.

In a social media statement, Pashinyan declared: “I assume personal responsibility for returning the Armenian Apostolic Church to its true spiritual and national values. Our church must not serve the private political or financial interests of any group.”

The comments come amid rising tensions between the government and religious authorities, with ongoing public debate over the Church’s influence and its role in Armenia’s political life. Pashinyan’s remarks are likely to intensify a widening rift between the state and traditional clerical institutions.