Political analyst slams Pashinyan for attending defrocked priest-led liturgy

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan faced sharp criticism after attending a liturgy led by defrocked priest Aram Asatryan at the Hovhannavank Monastery on Sunday, a service the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has deemed illegal.

In a social media post on Monday, political analyst Suren Surenyants said Pashinyan’s participation amounted to endorsing an unlawful act and reflected his government’s tendency to place “political expediency above constitutional order". He warned that the move set a “dangerous precedent”, calling it part of a broader pattern of “institutional dismantling” aimed at consolidating state control.

During a livestream earlier on Sunday, Pashinyan said the service would mark the start of “the practical phase of liberating the Holy See of Etchmiadzin”, which that Surenyants interpreted as an attempt to seize control of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The mass drew only a few hundred attendees, which the analyst said underscored the lack of popular support for the government’s anti-church policy. He also stated the authorities rely increasingly on administrative pressure and media manipulation, warning of possible changes against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and his arrest.