Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has congratulated Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on his 75th birthday, wishing him good health and God’s help in his continued service.

The message was issued amid an increasingly tense conflict between the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenia’s authorities, who have called for the catholicos to step down.

In his congratulatory address, Patriarch Kirill described Karekin II as the spiritual leader of the Armenian people and highlighted his contribution to religious life in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora. He also said that the catholicos’s long service had earned him respect throughout the Christian world.

Karekin II has headed the Armenian Apostolic Church since 1999. Under church rules, the catholicos is elected for life.

Hierarchs of the Armenian Church also congratulated their primate during a visit to his residence at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. According to the church’s website, the bishops wished him “long life, strong health, and fruitful and steadfast primatial service, for the consolation of the devout people and the strengthening of the homeland.”

Tensions between the Armenian Church and the authorities intensified following the 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Church criticized the government and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and relations subsequently deteriorated further.

Pashinyan began publicly accusing individual members of the clergy of engaging in political activity and advocating reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The authorities say they seek to remove the Church from politics, improve the transparency of its finances, and change its administrative system.

Critics of the government’s actions, however, view them as an attempt to exert state pressure on the Church and remove its current leader.

The dispute has also escalated on the legal front. In February 2026, Armenia’s prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against Karekin II, accusing him of obstructing the enforcement of a court decision. Six bishops were also named in the case.

The first hearing, scheduled for August 7, was postponed after the judge recused himself. A new hearing has been set for August 28.

At the same time, the Armenian government included plans to reform the Church in its 2026–2031 program. The document explicitly refers to the need to secure the “removal or resignation” of the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and hold a new election for catholicos.

The authorities also plan to adopt a new charter for the Armenian Apostolic Church, strengthen financial transparency, and include the clergy in the state social-security system.