Opposition MP hails Catholicos Karekin II's message amid tensions

An Armenian opposition lawmaker has praised Catholicos Karekin II for delivering a message of unity and restraint amid escalating tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Tigran Abrahamyan, who represents the Pativ Unem faction, said the Catholicos’ sermon at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin focused on national unity, tolerance and love, sharply contrasting it with the government’s divisive and confrontational rhetoric.

His remarks followed a protest on Thursday by ten bishops aligned with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who demanded the Catholicos Karekin II's resignation outside the Mother See. The move triggered large counter-protests by the church leader's supporters and prompted a heavy police deployment. The clergymen were later forced to leave the church grounds.

“The noise will fade, but the facts and the human faces will remain,” Abrahamyan said, underscoring the church’s dignified and balanced response to the crisis.