Pashinyan absent from Etchmiadzin protest calling for removal of Catholicos Karekin II
Etchmiadzin protest for Karekin II resignation
A protest took place at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, calling for the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II from the throne. Ten archbishops and bishops initiated the rally. They share the view of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that the Catholicos should step down. The prime minister did not attend the protest. Earlier, at the start of his movement for what he called the renewal and purification of the church, he said the protest would reach Etchmiadzin.
Outside the cathedral, believers who support the demands of the ten clergymen gathered alongside supporters of Karekin II. Opposition leaders who back the Catholicos mobilised his supporters. Some demonstrators voiced support for the patriarch. Others called on him to leave.
Speaking at his regular morning briefing, Mr Pashinyan said he saw no need to take part in the protest. He also rejected claims that he had instructed members of the clergy to demand the patriarch’s removal. At the same time, he said he welcomed their courage and would support their struggle.
The prime minister said the day’s events showed that the church was facing a crisis that needed to be resolved. He added that the crisis would persist for as long as Ktrich Nersisyan, the secular name of the Catholicos, remained on the throne.
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Police formed a cordon between supporters and opponents of the Catholicos’s removal
The service at the Cathedral and the protest were scheduled for 17:00. The service, however, started later. Bishops arrived at the cathedral even later and announced the protest. A large number of police officers accompanied them.
The Catholicos and other clergy managed to walk from his residence to the cathedral. Police officers parted the crowd to allow them through.
Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, head of the Diocese of the Baltic States, addressed the crowd outside the cathedral on behalf of the bishops. He confirmed that they had come to demand the removal of the Catholicos from the throne.
“We submitted the letter calling for the Patriarch’s removal to the secretariat. Our mission today ends here. Next time, we will come here with you to pray in the Cathedral for the strengthening and enlightenment of our people and our clergy,” he said.
In his address at the Cathedral, the Catholicos of All Armenians said the church must resolve all emerging problems within the framework of canon law. He said individual groups must not use pressure.
“Today, unfortunately, some people made another attempt to exert pressure, including some members of our clergy. Yet the faithful remain steadfast and fearless. This noise will never undermine our mission or our programmes, which aim to enlighten the church and our country,” Karekin II concluded.
Opposition figures say authorities want to strip the church of its independence
Several figures arrived to express support for the Patriarch and to attend the service at the Cathedral. They included:
- Levon Kocharyan, an MP from the Armenia faction and the son of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan.
- They also included former ombudsman Arman Tatoyan, who now presents himself as a politician.
- Another attendee was Narek Karapetyan, coordinator of Our Way (Mer Dzevov) political movement and the nephew of imprisoned billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian businessman accused of calling for a seizure of power.
Former ombudsman Arman Tatoyan said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had initiated the protest by ten senior clergymen. He stressed that Pashinyan had no right to interfere in the church’s internal affairs.
“Pashinyan’s goal is to subordinate the church to himself. We need a state where the government does not interfere in the internal affairs of the church and only upholds the law. In that case, the clergy will not seek to occupy any positions. That is the solution,” he said.
Tatoyan added that international mechanisms should be used to protect the church.
Narek Karapetyan arrived in Etchmiadzin accompanied by a large group of supporters.
“Their intention is to strip the church of its independence so it cannot pursue a national policy. They are doing this as a result of agreements with external forces,” he said, referring to Turkey.
Karapetyan said the clergy calling for the Catholicos’s resignation were acting under pressure from Pashinyan. He argued that the authorities held “compromising material” on them, which explained their actions.
Pashinyan says the Catholicos is controlled from outside and must step down
During a morning briefing, Pashinyan reiterated his claim that the Catholicos has links to foreign intelligence services.
“It’s obvious. Is it news to you that the Catholicos is controlled from abroad? Haven’t you noticed the facts? Follow the news closely and you will see them,” he stressed.
Reporters asked whether such a controversial claim should lead to a court case. The prime minister replied that authorities are considering “many nuances,” including those related to international relations.
Regarding claims that the Patriarch’s brother, Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan, acted as a KGB agent during the Soviet era, he pointed to already published documents confirming this.
“We cannot open a case for being a KGB agent. He was a citizen of the USSR. The question is whether he currently collaborates with foreign intelligence. Operational intelligence work is underway, and all necessary measures are being taken. All issues will be resolved in the course of the investigation,” he said.
Earlier, the Armenian prime minister said from the parliamentary podium: “I don’t need a Catholicos who will obey me. I need a Catholicos who will not answer to a senior lieutenant of a foreign intelligence service and will not report daily to lieutenants of a foreign intelligence service.”
The prime minister said he learned about the protest by ten bishops from statements made by the clergy and that they had not coordinated with him. He added that the bishops did not join his call to remove the Catholicos but created their own programme:
“Those programmes simply overlap to a large extent. What connects me to the ten bishops? Only the programme to reform the Armenian Apostolic Church. We reached a consensus that it cannot be implemented without removing Ktrich Nersisyan from the throne.”
Pashinyan said he does not see a split within the church or among the people. He described the events as “freeing the Mother See from a few sectarians.” The prime minister called Karekin II and his closest associates “sectarians” and said they had “occupied the holy throne.”
Despite these statements, and despite accusing the Catholicos of violating his vow of celibacy, the prime minister said he is willing to meet him. He added, however, that the meeting would only discuss the issue of his “dignified departure.”
Statement from ten bishops: “Karekin II’s resignation is necessary”
The bishops called on the faithful to join their “just demand for the resignation of Karekin II, which has become an urgent necessity.”
They stressed that they are protesting against a “destructive process aimed at deliberately undermining the reputation and authority of the church.” They also emphasised that they reject “any attempts or efforts to serve foreign interests within the Armenian Church.”
Archbishops and bishops said the time had come to take a clear and decisive stance on the problems facing the church and to stop the “decline of the Mother See.”
“The current dire state poses a threat to our national and state security interests,” the clergy’s statement read.
Pashinyan’s plan: steps to renew and reform the church
Ten days before the protest in Etchmiadzin, the Armenian prime minister published a “roadmap for church renewal” on his Facebook page. He outlined the steps he believes should follow Karekin II’s departure:
- Electing a Catholicos locum tenens according to the mechanisms in place within the Armenian Apostolic Church;
- Adopting a church charter;
- Electing the Catholicos of All Armenians in accordance with the new charter.
“The charter should be discussed and adopted by the church body with the appropriate authority. If the locum tenens requests it, the government will provide advisory support in drafting the charter,” Pashinyan noted.
The prime minister also listed issues that he believes the new charter should address. These include clergy conduct rules, financial transparency within the church, ensuring the church’s apolitical status, and social guarantees for the clergy.
Commentary
Journalist Tatul Akopyan commented on the situation:
“It is very sad that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has become a centre of confrontation between the authorities and the opposition. The hatred I see in Facebook posts, whether from Pashinyan’s supporters or those of Kocharyan [former Armenian president], cannot lead to positive outcomes.
Ten bishops with a controversial past have, unfortunately, become tools in Pashinyan’s hands.
It is also unfortunate that the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, and some senior clergy, including diocesan heads, have aligned with Kocharyan’s camp. The mutual hatred between Pashinyan and Kocharyan and their obsession with power knows no bounds.”
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