Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II met with representatives of the "Five Human Rights Defenders" initiative at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to discuss what they described as an intensifying campaign of political pressure against the Church by the Armenian government, according to Sputnik Armenia.

The meeting comes amid mounting tensions between the Armenian Apostolic Church and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration, following a series of controversial moves and public statements that Church leaders view as direct interference in ecclesiastical affairs.

In recent months, the conflict has escalated significantly. Prime Minister Pashinyan has publicly criticized the Church’s leadership and proposed reforms that would strip the Church of its autonomy, including placing the process of electing the Catholicos under state control—an unprecedented move in the country’s post-Soviet history.

Adding to the strain, two senior bishops—Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapahyan—were arrested in early July on charges of attempting to seize power and engaging in anti-government activity. Church officials have denounced the arrests as politically motivated and part of a broader campaign to suppress the Church's influence.

Catholicos Garegin II warned that the government's actions pose a threat not only to the Armenian Apostolic Church but also to Armenian statehood itself. He described the anti-Church campaign as systemic and not merely personal, saying it targets a foundational pillar of the Armenian people’s spiritual and cultural identity.

The visiting human rights advocates expressed solidarity with the Church and proposed legal measures to defend its constitutional and religious rights. International observers, including the United Nations, have called for the conflict to be resolved through legal and peaceful means.

Tensions between Pashinyan and the Church have been simmering since 2020, when the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin publicly called for his resignation following the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Prime Minister recently proposed changes to the Church’s charter and has openly stated his intention to lead a movement to remove Catholicos Garegin II from office—sparking widespread protest among the faithful and raising alarms among religious freedom advocates.