A 1,700-Year-Old Institution Under Attack
The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church has survived Persian conquests, Ottoman genocide, and Soviet oppression. Today, it faces an unprecedented threat from Armenia’s own government. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has launched a systematic campaign to overthrow the Church’s spiritual leader, silence its supporters, and undermine the constitutional protections that recognize its sacred role in Armenian national life.
This is not a theological dispute. This is a constitutional crisis that threatens religious freedom, democratic governance, and the rule of law in Armenia.
Why This Matters
The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church is not merely a religious institution—it is the guardian of Armenian identity, recognized by Armenia’s Constitution as having an “exclusive mission in the spiritual life of the Armenian people, in the development of their national culture and preservation of their national identity.” For over seventeen centuries, through empires and atrocities, the Church has stood with the Armenian people as a source of unity and resilience.
Today, 79.4% of Armenians trust the Church—the highest trust level of any institution in the country. By contrast, only 27.8% trust the government. Unable to accept this reality, Pashinyan has chosen persecution over accountability.
In Armenian life, we are one and united, always and forever – one nation, one faith, one church.”
– His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
Arrest of Samvel Karapetyan: On June 18, 2025, authorities arrested Samvel Karapetyan, one of Armenia’s most respected philanthropists and a major Church benefactor. His crime? Making a brief public statement defending the Church, saying “we will participate in our own way” if politicians failed to protect it.
These innocuous words—clearly expressing democratic political engagement—have been twisted into charges of “inciting the overthrow of the government,” punishable by up to five years in prison. Karapetyan has been detained for over four months in Yerevan-Kentron prison, a notorious Soviet-era facility that once housed the KGB. Courts have repeatedly extended his detention despite an appeals court ruling that his initial arrest was unlawful.
The government has simultaneously seized his businesses, including the forced nationalization of Electrical Networks of Armenia—a company his family rescued from bankruptcy with $700 million in investments and which now employs 7,000 Armenians. When an international arbitration tribunal ordered Armenia to halt the expropriation, the government defied the ruling.
Mass Arrests of Clergy: The persecution extends far beyond one philanthropist. Since June 2025, Armenian authorities have arrested multiple senior Church leaders:
- Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan (arrested June 25) on charges of plotting a coup, along with 17 parishioners
- Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan (arrested June 28, convicted October 3) sentenced to two years in prison for analytical comments made over a year earlier
- Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan (arrested October 15), nephew of the Catholicos, along with 12 other clergy on charges of coercing participation in public gatherings
When security forces attempted to arrest Archbishop Mikael at the sacred grounds of Holy Etchmiadzin on June 27, hundreds of priests and parishioners formed a human shield to protect him, forcing armed units to retreat. The next day, the archbishop voluntarily surrendered to spare his flock from violence.
Why This Is Happening
The Church’s offense is clear: it dared to criticize Pashinyan’s catastrophic failures in defending Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2020 and 2023, Azerbaijan launched military operations that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of over 100,000 Armenian Christians and the ongoing destruction of their ancient churches and monasteries. The Armenian Apostolic Church, fulfilling its constitutional duty to preserve Armenian culture and identity, has defended the rights of displaced Armenians and condemned the erasure of their heritage.
Pashinyan, whose approval rating stands at just 13%, cannot tolerate this legitimate criticism. Rather than accept accountability, he has launched a campaign to silence the most trusted voice in Armenian society. His “Real Armenia” project seeks to rewrite history and national identity to absolve himself of responsibility for losing Nagorno-Karabakh.
The International Response
Global religious and human rights organizations have condemned Armenia’s actions:
The World Council of Churches stated it “stands in solidarity with the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church” and expressed “significant concerns about the protection of religious freedom, the sanctity of worship, and the autonomy of religious institutions.”
Christian Solidarity International, Coptic Solidarity, and SOS Chrétiens d’Orient jointly demanded Karapetyan’s “immediate and unconditional release” and called for an end to “all interference in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church.”
Freedom House has documented Armenia’s declining judicial independence and the use of arbitrary pre-trial detention as political intimidation.
Yet the persecution continues, with parliamentary elections scheduled for June 2026 creating urgency for Pashinyan to eliminate opposition voices.
What Must Happen Now
This persecution must end immediately:
- Samvel Karapetyan must be released, all charges dropped, and his businesses restored
- All detained clergy must be freed and charges dismissed
- The campaign against Catholicos Karekin II must cease, with full respect for Church autonomy
- Armenia must honor its constitutional commitments and international human rights obligations
The Armenian people deserve better than a government that persecutes their most sacred institution and imprisons those who defend it. The international community must hold Armenia accountable to its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Religious freedom is not negotiable. Constitutional protections are not suggestions. The rule of law is not optional.
Stand with the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. Demand justice for Samvel Karapetyan and the detained clergy. Defend religious freedom in Armenia.
