Tensions between Armenia’s authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church have intensified after the government published a reform plan calling for the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the election of a new church leader.

The 74-page report, titled On the Crisis in the Armenian Church, was prepared by the office of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. It criticizes Karekin II and the church leadership, according to TASS.

The authorities accuse the catholicos of violating church discipline, failing to take action against certain clergy members and not convening a National Ecclesiastical Assembly for many years. The report also alleges that the church leadership has established a closed system of governance and engaged in political activity.

It further raises allegations that Karekin II violated his vow of celibacy, citing reports in Armenian media and statements by individual members of the clergy. The catholicos has rejected the accusations.

The government’s proposal outlines a multi-stage reform process. It calls first for the creation of a coordinating group, followed by efforts to remove Karekin II and appoint an interim leader. A National Ecclesiastical Assembly would then be convened to approve reforms and elect a new catholicos.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin strongly condemned the report, describing it as an unlawful intervention by the state in the internal affairs of the Church. Church officials said the document relies on allegations and material published in the media and on social networks.

Etchmiadzin called the report “unconstitutional, uncanonical and illegal” and accused the authorities of attempting to exert political pressure on the clergy and the Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Church maintains that questions concerning its internal structure and reform must be decided exclusively by its highest canonical bodies rather than by state institutions.

Etchmiadzin has called on the government to end what it described as the persecution of clergy and Karekin II, respect Armenia’s Constitution and international law, guarantee freedom of conscience and religion and abandon ultimatums. It proposed resolving existing disagreements through dialogue.

The report was published amid criminal proceedings involving Karekin II and six bishops. In February 2026, Armenian prosecutors opened a case connected with the enforcement of a court ruling in a dispute over the head of the Masisotn Diocese. An indictment was submitted to the court in July.

The confrontation between the government and the Church has deepened since 2020, when Etchmiadzin called on Pashinyan to resign and criticized his policies following the military events surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The dispute over Karekin II has therefore expanded beyond criminal proceedings into a broader public debate over the future governance of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The authorities insist that reform is necessary, while the Church’s leadership views the proposed changes as an attempt by the state to interfere in its affairs.