EN
18 November 2025 - 10:28 AMT

Church warns against political manipulation

Father Yesayi Artenyan, Head of the Information Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, stated that some political circles have begun manipulating the name of the Catholicos of All Armenians in connection with the recent municipal elections in the enlarged Vagharshapat community.

He emphasized that the intention behind this is clear and politically motivated. “The Church has never interfered in any electoral process, and there is no need to artificially drag the Church into the political field through such manipulative tactics to justify anti-Church actions,” he wrote.

Preliminary results from the Vagharshapat municipal council elections show that the ruling Civil Contract party received the majority of votes. The party list was led by Argishti Mekhakyan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Facebook that he believes the results of the Vagharshapat elections are an ‘important impulse to liberate the Mother See’ and that ‘the people will win the 2026 parliamentary elections’.