Opposition MP accuses Armenian authorities of fueling divisions in church

Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has accused the Armenian leadership of attempting to undermine the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin by fueling internal divisions and conflict.

In a social media post on Thursday, Abrahamyan, a member of the Pativ Unem faction, claimed the authorities were employing long-standing tactics of destabilization, drawing parallels to political developments that followed the 2018 change of power.

He argued that such policies contributed to Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war, the loss of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the weakening of state institutions and the country’s growing dependence on external actors.

“The government’s primary objective is not public security, sovereignty or territorial integrity, but the retention of power at any cost,” Abrahamyan wrote.

He emphasized that the Armenian Apostolic Church continues to enjoy broad public support, arguing that this backing would ultimately prove decisive in resisting political pressure.

Abrahamyan’s remarks came after ten senior clerics aligned with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a second public statement on Wednesday, calling for a December 18 protest at the Holy Etchmiadzin to formally demand the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II.