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Religious freedom in Armenia — the world’s oldest Christian nation — is facing one of its most serious crises in decades, according to a new report warning of escalating confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (AAHC).
The report, issued by international law firm Amsterdam & Partners, accuses Prime Minister Pashinyan of pursuing an authoritarian campaign to weaken the Church’s influence ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.
It alleges that senior clergy and prominent supporters have been arrested on politically motivated charges, while Church institutions are being systematically undermined.
Among those detained is Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, serving a two-year prison sentence after criticising government policies and supposedly advocating for the overthrow of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as businessman Samvel Karapetyan, one of the Church’s leading benefactors.
Karapetyan — whose assets include Armenia’s electricity company — has been held in pre-trial detention since the summer and stripped of his holdings, after he “made a brief public statement in defence of the Church” on 17 June, according to the report.
It also notes that although Prime Minister Pashinyan’s standing among voters has eroded, the Armenian Apostolic Church remains deeply rooted in national life, with 97.5 per cent of Armenians affiliated with it.
The situation has drawn international criticism. Vice chair of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Freedom Lord Jackson of Peterborough, said: “The idea of committed Christians in the world’s oldest Christian country, and in civilised and modern Europe, thrown into jail for defending their faith is frightening.”
“Christian denominations in Armenia should be able to retain the right to congregate and worship in peace without the threat of violent intimidation and imprisonment or worse.”
He added, “The world is watching for human rights abuses committed against these embattled Christian communities.”
The Armenian Apostolic Church, founded in 301 AD, remains a cornerstone of national identity and is trusted by nearly 60% of Armenia’s three million citizens, according to the report.
However, relations with the government have sharply deteriorated since the country’s defeat in the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh war — a conflict that displaced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians and left many blaming the government for its handling of the crisis.
According to the report, church leaders have been vocal in defending the rights of those displaced and in criticising what they see as Pashinyan’s failure to protect Armenian Christians from ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Having failed to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno- Karabakh in 2023, Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s Prime Minister since 2018, is persecuting those who criticise his leadership and rule…,” the report claims.
“Pashinyan has made it his personal mission to overthrow His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, launching an extraordinary series of online attacks on the present leader of the Church.”
Alison Meuse, a regional analyst and journalist, warned that “the Church has not faced such an existential threat since the harshest years of Soviet purges and consolidation of power,” adding that “history in Armenia appears to be repeating itself.”
The report comes amidst growing international appeals for Armenia to cease what Christian organisations have described as the “persecution” of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In July 2025, Christian Solidarity International (CSI), Coptic Solidarity, and SOS Chrétiens d’Orient issued a joint statement urging the Armenian government to release detained clergy and cease interference in the internal affairs of the Church.
The groups said the government was engaged in an “intensifying campaign” against senior clerics and Church supporters marked by arbitrary arrests, property seizures, and police raids on sacred sites, including the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin — the spiritual centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
As the 2026 elections approach, observers fear the confrontation could deepen divisions within Armenian society.
CSI further alleged that the government is seeking to bring the Church under state control by proposing to replace its Catholicos — the head of the Church — with a state-appointed committee.
Prime Minister Pashinyan has denied targeting the Church, saying his administration is trying to “rescue it from anti-Christian” and “anti-state” elements that have, in his view, taken hold within its ranks.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) also recently weighed in with a statement of “deep concern,” condemning the use of force within sacred spaces and the detention of clergy.
General Secretary General of WCC, Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, affirmed the Church’s “unique and revered role in Armenia’s spiritual and cultural life” and called on the government to protect the rights and dignity of all religious leaders and institutions.
The WCC also urged Armenian authorities to refrain from rhetoric or actions that could further inflame tensions, to safeguard the values of religious liberty and fairness, and to promote dialogue between state and Church.
