Ruling Party in Armenia Releases Anti-Church Platform Calling for Removal of Catholicos of All Armenians

The ruling Civil Contract Party in Armenia has released a political platform that calls for the removal of the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, and outlines a politically led roadmap for restructuring the Armenian Apostolic Church. The document, released ahead of the June elections, marks a significant escalation in state interference in religious affairs, according to critics.

The platform lists the removal of the “de facto head” of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as its 10th political objective. The document avoids using Karekin II’s ecclesiastical title, instead referring to him in diminished terms that observers say reflect a broader effort to undermine both the office and the institution.

Beyond leadership change, the party platform proposes a series of sweeping church reforms, including the appointment of a Catholicos Locum Tenens, the drafting of a new church charter, and the eventual election of a new Catholicos under revised structures. The proposed charter would introduce mechanisms for financial oversight and clerical discipline—areas traditionally governed internally by the church.

Legal experts and religious freedom advocates warn that such proposals constitute direct political interference in a religious body’s internal governance. Armenia’s constitution recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church’s unique role in national life and enshrines the principle of separation between church and state.

This dual framework is further reinforced by the 2007 law on church-state relations, which explicitly recognizes the church’s right to self-governance. Critics argue that any attempt by a political party to predetermine leadership changes or impose structural reforms violates these protections.

The development marks the latest flashpoint in an ongoing conflict between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church. During the past year, tensions have escalated significantly, with the government becoming increasingly hostile in its efforts to curtail the church’s independence.

Earlier this year, Armenian prosecutors opened a criminal case against Catholicos Karekin II. In addition to the criminal charges, the Catholicos was also banned from traveling abroad, according to lawyer Ara Z.

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