Criminal case and Chaplaincy shutdown target Armenian Church leadership

(Horizon Weekly / YEREVAN) — Within a single week, Armenia’s authorities have taken two major steps that have intensified pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church, deepening concerns about state interference in its internal affairs and public role.

Criminal proceedings launched by the Investigative Committee now threaten the Church’s episcopal assembly scheduled for February in Austria. The case follows the January 27 defrocking of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan and his subsequent lawsuit seeking reinstatement as head of the Masis Diocese. Lawyer Ruben Melikyan has warned that the investigation effectively targets the Catholicos and senior clergy and could lead to restrictions on their international activity.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense has terminated the Spiritual Leadership of the Armed Forces, ending more than two decades of organized military chaplaincy. Established in 1997 through the initiative of Catholicos Karekin I and Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, the structure had accompanied soldiers in peacetime and war, including during the 44-day conflict.

ARF MP Gegham Manukyan condemned the decision, stating that Defense Minister Suren Papikyan had effectively overturned an initiative launched under Vazgen Sargsyan. He stressed that chaplains had served alongside troops since 1997, with some killed, wounded, or missing in battle, yet never abandoning their duty. He warned that from February 1, spiritual service in the army would cease entirely.

Manukyan described the move as a deliberate attack on the Armenian Apostolic Church, arguing that authorities failed to pressure clergy into submission and instead chose to dismantle the entire system. He also noted that soldiers would no longer gather at the army’s Kanaker Church and that long-standing spiritual symbols of the military were being severed.

Taken together, the criminal investigation against senior clergy and the elimination of military chaplaincy reflect a growing pattern under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of marginalizing the Church and weakening its institutional presence in public life.