Political analyst warns of efforts to destroy Armenian church

Political analyst Edgar Elbakyan has raised alarm over what he describes as unprecedented attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church and its clergy calling it far more aggressive than the anti-church campaign of 2018.

Speaking at a rally in support of Catholicos Karekin II at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport on Tuesday night, Elbakyan claimed that the current Armenian leadership seeks to dismantle the church. According to him, the authorities aim either to seize control of the church's leadership and replace Karekin II or to restructure the ecclesiastical hierarchy from the top down.

He warned of a possible creation of a "rival Catholicosate," where defrocked clergy could be used to establish a parallel spiritual leadership, potentially based in a monastery like Geghard.

“This may sound like a nightmare, but there is a clear strategic goal to either destroy the church or significantly weaken its influence by promoting secularism and sowing disbelief among the faithful,” Elbakyan stated.