Aram Manukyan, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), has claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is attempting to dismantle the Armenian Apostolic Church from within, but that he will not succeed. His comments were reported by Aysor.am.
“Our Church, unlike the army or education system, is not solely Armenian; it’s pan-Armenian. We have twice as many believers or dioceses abroad as in Armenia. It’s impossible, even in theory, to dismantle it,” Manukyan stated.
According to him, Pashinyan’s efforts resemble a destructive meddling aimed at spoiling everything.
“Even if he doesn’t eliminate it, he wants to taint it. Just one hole in a sack of wheat can contaminate and destroy it. His secondary aim is not destruction, but to spoil, weaken, and discredit the system. But I assure you, he won’t succeed,” Manukyan said.
He emphasized that this is not a personal conflict with the Catholicos, but a strategic attack on the Church as an institution.
“His issue isn’t defrocking the Catholicos. His issue is dismantling the Church as a nationwide structure. If it were someone else, he would still be attacking. Violating clerical vows or rituals is just a pretext to cover the fight against the system,” Manukyan stressed.
Earlier, Pashinyan stated on Facebook that the results of the Vagharshapat elections were “an important charge for liberating the Mother See,” adding that “the people will win in the 2026 parliamentary elections.”
