'Garegin II could declare himself Catholicos-in-exile' - debate in Armenia
AAC bishops’ council to be held in Austria
Armenia has seen intense debate over the decision by the Mother See to hold a council of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church abroad rather than at its own residence. The Mother See of Etchmiadzin said the meeting of clergy will take place from 16 to 19 February in the Austrian city of St. Pölten.
“It was decided to hold the council outside Armenia, in Austria, given the campaign launched against the Church and the pressure on the clergy. We assume that certain pressure could be exerted,” said Esayi Artenyan, head of the Mother See’s information service.
All 56 bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church received invitations to attend the council. This includes 10 clergymen who have aligned themselves with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s movement to reform the Church.
In response, they issued a statement calling on all invitees to boycott the event. They described it as an “adventure”.
One of them, Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, head of the Armenian Diocese of the Baltic States, warned of possible consequences in an interview with the pro-government website civic.am.
“How do we know he will not leave Austria for somewhere else and declare himself Catholicos-in-exile there?” he said. “Given his mindset and the position of his closest circle, such steps are possible.”
Political analyst Ruben Meghrabyan said the Catholicos scheduled the bishops’ council outside Armenia in an attempt to extend his time in office.
The bishops’ council was originally due to take place on 10–12 December 2025, but organisers postponed it. At the time, the Mother See said it took the decision in response to “pressure on clergy”.
Bishops’ councils traditionally take place in Armenia. Local media note that the previous council held abroad took place during the tenure of Vazgen I. The Church held the council in Cairo on 5–8 March 1956.
However, priest Ararat Poghosyan, who did not join the church reform movement, said that people should not view holding the council outside Armenia as “an unprecedented or problematic step, or a deviation from church canons”.
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‘They see themselves outside Armenia’: ruling party MP says
Ruling party Civil Contract MP Sargis Khandanyan rejected accusations from the Mother See against the authorities.
“The government did not exert pressure on any institutions in Armenia. There was certainly no pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church,” he said.
Khandanyan said an opposite process had begun instead. He described it as a “positive initiative” to reform the Church, which part of the clergy has joined.
At the same time, he said he was puzzled by the decision to hold one of the Church’s main gatherings abroad.
“This is also an argument that confirms those making such decisions see themselves outside Armenia,” he said. “In essence, their goal is not to promote Armenia’s independence, sovereignty, or its international standing.”
‘Do not give in to provocations by a group serving foreign interests‘
The bishops who refused to take part in the meeting in Austria said in a statement that the Catholicos’s residence is located in Etchmiadzin. They said there are no grounds for convening the council abroad.
“No one has the right to move such an important gathering outside the country, discrediting the Holy See of Etchmiadzin and Armenian statehood,” the statement said.
They explained that they would not take part in the event because the Mother See has still not responded to questions raised by the prime minister and by the bishops themselves. These questions concern scandalous incidents linked to senior members of the clergy. As the bishops wrote, “serious accusations have also been made against the person occupying the throne of the Catholicos.” They added that the Mother See has so far remained silent and has taken no steps.
Clergymen who have joined the church reform movement called for the cancellation of the council abroad, which they said is “sowing division” within the Church.
They also said it was essential to
- “find realistic ways to end the destructive confrontation between the senior clergy and the state,
- unite all forces and resources to implement the long-awaited reform of the Church,
- resist moral and psychological pressure, and not give in to provocations by an anti-national group still operating within the Mother See, serving foreign interests and dividing the Armenian Church.”
For more than six months, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly raised the issue of removing Garegin II from the throne. He first said Garegin II could not lead the Church because he had broken his vow of celibacy and has a daughter. He later put forward another accusation. Pashinyan alleged that the Catholicos has ties to foreign intelligence services.
The prime minister made a similar accusation against Garegin II’s brother. Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan heads the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese. In December 2025, the pro-government website civic.am published a copy of a document which it said showed that the Catholicos’s brother had cooperated with the Soviet KGB under the codename “Karo”.
However, Armenia’s National Security Service of Armenia did not provide journalists with information on any links between Garegin II or Archbishop Ezras and foreign intelligence services. In response to media inquiries, the agency said information obtained through operational intelligence activity constitutes a state secret.
‘Catholicos-in-exile’ scenario
In December 2025, the popular Telegram channel Bagramyan26 wrote about what it described as “unrest in Russia ahead of a possible resignation” of the Catholicos.
“According to information we are receiving, Russian security agencies believe that Nersisyan will soon lose control over the situation in Armenia. They expect that he will be forced either to resign or to leave the country. In that case, officials are working through a scenario in which Ktrich Nersisyan [the Catholicos’s secular name] does not renounce the Catholicosate. Instead, he moves to Russia as Catholicos and declares that he will govern remotely.
They are even working through a scenario in which the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese and the Diocese of Southern Russia of the Armenian Apostolic Church would be merged. The aim is to create the appearance of a so-called ‘Catholicosate in exile’, similar to the seat in Antelias [Lebanon — Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia]. This would make it possible to deliver another blow from outside and split the Armenian Apostolic Church.”
The channel also reported that the Catholicos’s brother, Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan, organised a meeting of clergy in Moscow. It said he presented the plan to priests in order to “test” their position.
“Most of the clergy expressed bewilderment,” the channel wrote. “They said such a step would amount to a schism for the Armenian Apostolic Church, one from which the Church would not recover for a long time.”
“Even so,” it added, “Ezras insisted that this scenario represents the main alternative. He said it is, in a sense, imposed [by Russian security services] and must be carried out.”
Political analyst’s comment
Political analyst Ruben Meghrabyan commented on the situation as follows:
“Garegin II, who still occupies the throne of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, fully understands the crisis of which he himself is the author. He has decided to try to extend his tenure by moving the council of bishops outside Armenia, to Austria. Of course, this will not save him. Everything is already clear: who did what, what he is doing now, and why.
Of course, we have every reason to expect the bishops there to express their views. But the fate of the Armenian Apostolic Church is decided in Armenia itself. This is the Armenian Church, the Church of the Republic of Armenia, which has dioceses all over the world. That is what the Catholicos of All Armenians has forgotten.
The first step in reforming the Church must be his departure into an honorary retirement. An honorary one — while this is still possible, while he has not yet missed that chance.”
AAC bishops’ council to be held in Austria
AAC bishops’ council to be held in Austria
