Since at least May 2025, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has led a campaign to oust the head of Armenia's largest religious community, Catholicos Karekin of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinyan has also tried to subjugate the Armenian Church to the state, despite the Constitutional separation of the state from religious communities. State agencies have pressured clergy to cut ties with the Catholicos and targeted bishops and priests who have remained loyal to him.

On 29 January 2026, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Article 507, Part 2 ("Failing to execute a judicial act or obstructing its execution" by someone in an official position) because the Church leadership had failed to reinstate Gevorg Saroyan as Bishop of its Masyatsotn Diocese. The Church had dismissed and then defrocked Saroyan for backing Prime Minister Pashinyan's calls for a change of leadership in the Church. Saroyan then brought a civil action in court to annul the Church's dismissal decision (see below).

On 31 January, the Investigative Committee issued summonses to six bishops who are members of the Supreme Spiritual Council and one priest requiring them to appear before the Investigative Committee as defendants in the criminal case. It then banned them from leaving the country while the investigation was underway (see below).

The Investigative Committee did not respond to Forum 18's questions as to:
- why it had launched the criminal investigation into the Church's actions, given the constitutionally-guaranteed separation of the state and religious communities, and the recognition of religious communities' autonomy;
- and what reassurance it could give that criminal investigations of church leaders who oppose Prime Minister Pashinyan's interference in the Church are motivated solely by objective, legal criteria and not by political factors or revenge (see below).

The exit bans on the six bishops – while four other bishops have already been arrested on various charges – appear to have been designed to prevent them attending a meeting of the Church's bishops from around the world, planned for 16-19 February in Austria (see below).

"This constitutes yet another clear indication of the campaign launched against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and of the repressive actions being carried out against the clergy," Echmiadzin complained (see below).

Other priests who have been defrocked for supporting Pashinyan's calls for the Catholicos to be removed are challenging their defrocking through the courts (see below).

In several locations, police have protected priests defrocked by Catholicos Karekin for supporting Prime Minister Pashinyan's campaign. Officers have prevented new clergy named by diocesan leaders from entering churches and allowed the defrocked priests to continue using the churches. Officials have pressured priests not to commemorate the Catholicos in the liturgy (see below).

Urged by two ruling party deputies, Parliament in October 2025 removed the status of "public broadcaster" from the Shoghakat television channel. Shoghakat, founded by the Church and co-financed by the state, produced religious and cultural programmes and avoided political issues. In December 2025 the government liquidated the company running the channel and broadcasts halted at the end of the year (see below).

On 29 January 2026, Defence Minister Suren Papikyan signed an Order ending the Armenian Church's Chaplaincy Service within the armed forces. From now on, only chaplains subject to the military rather than to the Church will be approved (see below).

The Defence Ministry has not responded to Forum 18's questions as to why Defence Minister Papikyan decided to abolish the Chaplaincy Service for priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and whether the Minister's decision was connected with the Prime Minister's campaign against Catholicos Karekin and other church leaders (see below).

Article 41 of the Constitution states that "Religious organisations shall have equal rights and shall enjoy autonomy". Article 17 of the Religion Law includes the provision: "In the Republic of Armenia, Church and State are separate." It adds that as part of this separation, the state "Shall not interfere in the activities and internal affairs of church and Religious Organisations as long as they operate in accordance with the law" (see below).

Human rights defenders have condemned Prime Minister Pashinyan's campaign against the Armenian Church leadership. "Today, we are witnessing violations of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the principle of the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms, and the independence of the judiciary, as well as a gross breach of the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (the Church), a right protected by the Constitution and international conventions," 12 non-governmental organisations and 16 individuals warned in a December 2025 statement (see below).

"International human rights law recognises that many religious organisations, including the Armenian church, long predate modern states and that respect for their autonomy - including the freedom to determine their internal structures, leadership, and practices - is a central component of freedom of religion or belief," Isabella Sargsyan, a freedom of religion or belief advocate and one of the signatories of the December 2025 statement, noted in January 2026 (see below).

Pashinyan's spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan did not respond to Forum 18's question why the Prime Minister had interfered in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, given the Constitutional recognition that religious organisations enjoy autonomy. Karen Andreasyan, a former Justice Minister and a former Human Rights Ombudsperson, who works in the Prime Minister's Office as Representative on international legal issues, did not answer his phone (see below).

Political differences between Armenian Church and government

The Armenian Apostolic Church is headed by Catholicos Karekin from the Holy See at the monastery of Echmiadzin near the capital Yerevan. Tensions have been mounting in recent years between the Church and the government, which has been headed since 2018 by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Church had criticised Pashinyan's handling of the 2020 Karabakh war with neighbouring Azerbaijan and its aftermath. Catholicos Karekin called on the Prime Minister to resign and for a government of national accord to be formed.

From May 2024, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan led a protest movement calling for Pashinyan's resignation. Catholicos Karekin relieved Archbishop Galstanyan of his diocesan duties while he campaigned against the Prime Minister, but did not defrock him. The Archbishop was arrested in June 2025 and is awaiting trial on charges of plotting a coup.

"Religious organisations shall have equal rights and shall enjoy autonomy"

Armenia's 2015 Constitution and the 1991 Religion Law (most recently amended in 2011) govern relations between the state and religious communities.

Article 41 of the Constitution states that "Religious organisations shall have equal rights and shall enjoy autonomy. The procedure of creation and operation of religious organisations shall be stipulated by law."

Article 17 of the Religion Law includes the provision: "In the Republic of Armenia, Church and State are separate." It adds that as part of this separation, the state "Shall not interfere in the activities and internal affairs of church and Religious Organisations as long as they operate in accordance with the law, no state agency or person acting on behalf of such agency shall operate within a Religious Organisation."

Article 18 of the Religion Law declares that "The State shall finance neither the activity of Religious Organisations nor of atheistic propaganda. At the same time, the state guarantees the right of the members or employees of Religious Organisations to take part in the civil and political life on an equal basis with other citizens."

One religious community, the Armenian Apostolic Church, has a special law: the 2007 Law Regarding the Relationship Between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy Apostolic Armenian Church.

Article 2 of this Law includes the provision: "The Republic of Armenia recognises the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church as autocephalous (self-governing) within its hierarchal scope."

Armenia's international human rights obligations also require it to respect religious organisations' autonomy. The OSCE / Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Legal Personality of Religious or Belief Communities declare that "states should observe their obligations by ensuring that national law leaves it to the religious or belief community itself to decide on its leadership, its internal rules, the substantive content of its beliefs, the structure of the community and methods of appointment of the clergy and its name and other symbols".

"Deep concern" over "alarming developments"

Human rights defenders have condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's campaign against the leadership of the Armenian Church.

A 10 December 2025 statement, signed by 12 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and 16 individuals, expressed "deep concern regarding the alarming developments that have recently taken place in Armenia".

"Today, we are witnessing violations of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the principle of the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms, and the independence of the judiciary, as well as a gross breach of the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (the Church), a right protected by the Constitution and international conventions," the statement declared.

State interference in the autonomy of the Armenian Church violates Armenia's Constitution, the Religion Law, "international norms on freedom of religion or belief, and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights", the statement noted.

"The authorities' unlawful and unacceptable attempts to influence the formation of ecclesiastical governance bodies and internal decision-making processes are deeply concerning," the statement continued. "Equally unacceptable are attempts to arbitrarily edit or alter the Church's centuries-old traditions, rites, sacraments, canonical order, and other domains of ecclesial life."

Isabella Sargsyan, a freedom of religion or belief advocate and one of the signatories of the December 2025 statement, observes that "the question of the separation between the Armenian church and the Armenian state - or of defining a clear 'wall of separation' between them - has never been seriously addressed".

"International human rights law recognises that many religious organisations, including the Armenian church, long predate modern states and that respect for their autonomy - including the freedom to determine their internal structures, leadership, and practices - is a central component of freedom of religion or belief," Sargsyan noted for the Yerevan-based Regional Center for Democracy and Security on 20 January 2026.

Sargsyan highlighted further concerns in a 29 January article for the Talk About: Law and Religion Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. She pointed out that "the government's interference in the religious affairs of the Church and its encroachment on the Church's autonomy constitute clear violations of both the Constitution of Armenia and international law".

Sargsyan noted the Prime Minister's concerns about the conduct of some Church leaders. "While concerns over the moral conduct of clergy may resonate within the religious community, such matters, when they do not constitute unlawful .. behaviour, fall squarely within the Church's internal jurisdiction," she wrote.

"The behaviour and observance of celibacy by clergy members are governed by canonical law, and any alleged violations should be examined through the Church's established procedures rather than through political or state intervention," Sargsyan added.

Referring to the arrests of and accusations against some bishops, Sargsyan noted that the government "has not produced concrete evidence demonstrating that the Catholicos or other members of the clergy have engaged in activities that would constitute offences under the Republic of Armenia's criminal code".

Forum 18 asked Pashinyan's spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan on the afternoon of 5 February why the Prime Minister had interfered in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, given the Constitutional recognition that religious organisations enjoy autonomy. Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February and she did not answer the phone.

Karen Andreasyan, a former Justice Minister and a former Human Rights Ombudsperson, who works in the Prime Minister's Office as Representative on international legal issues, did not answer his phone each time Forum 18 called on 5 and 6 February.

Prime Minister calls for Armenian Church leadership change

On 29 May 2025, at a government session unrelated to the Church, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticised Armenian Apostolic Church leaders. After some bishops condemned his remarks, Pashinyan repeated his criticisms the following day. He called on clergy who violated their vows of celibacy to be defrocked.

On 2 June 2025, Pashinyan called on Catholicos Karekin to resign. He claimed the Catholicos had violated his vow of celibacy by fathering a child. "I raise the issue as a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church because I see a spiritual security issue, and also as the Prime Minister of Armenia because I see a state security issue."

In another post, Pashinyan declared that the Armenian government must have a "decisive say" in the choice of the next Catholicos. He called for future candidates for Catholicos to undergo background checks.

The Church's Supreme Spiritual Council, chaired by Catholicos Karekin, rejected Pashinyan's comments at a 2 June 2025 meeting at Echmiadzin. "The Prime Minister of Armenia has launched yet another campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, using language unbecoming of a statesman - replete with insults and accusations - and positioning himself above the law," its statement read.

"Matters of the Church are governed by ecclesiastical canons and regulations and lie beyond the jurisdiction of state and political authorities," the statement insisted.

On Sunday 9 June 2025, Pashinyan again called for Catholicos Karekin to resign. "As a faithful member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, I believe we must elect a new Catholicos," he said. "Just as we returned the government to the people, we must now return the Church to the people."

The following day, Pashinyan called on followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church to support efforts to reform the Church's leadership. In a public message, he urged the formation of a Coordinating Group to organise elections for a new Catholicos and "liberate" the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin.

"At this stage, we need to establish a Coordinating Group to manage the organisational aspects of this agenda. Members of the Coordinating Group should be followers of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church," Pashinyan declared. "I will personally take responsibility for selecting the first 10 members of the Coordinating Group, based on conversations and assessments regarding the criteria listed above. Later on, the Group itself will determine the procedures for expansion, its structure, and any other necessary matters."

Arrests of bishops

Police and National Security Service (NSS) officers raided the Echmiadzin monastery on the morning of 27 June 2025, the day after Prime Minister Pashinyan threatened to forcibly oust Karekin as head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Officers tried to arrest Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, head of the Shirak Diocese and a vocal critic of the Prime Minister. But they failed to do so after meeting fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laypeople.

Archbishop Ajapahian surrendered to investigators several hours after the raid. They charged him with calling for a violent overthrow of the government. A court jailed him for two years on 3 October 2025.

The case was based on a June 2025 interview in which Archbishop Ajapahian lamented the Armenian military's failure to topple Pashinyan and thus "save" Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2020 war with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

The authorities arrested three other senior clergymen loyal to the Catholicos and critical of Pashinyan in 2025. These included Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Catholicosate. They face various criminal charges which they reject as politically motivated. Karekin's supporters fear that he too may eventually be arrested.

The December 2025 NGO statement called on the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office "to ensure independent and effective investigations, guided solely by the requirements of the Constitution and the law; and to safeguard the rights of all individuals involved in proceedings, including respect for the presumption of innocence".

Forum 18 asked the Investigative Committee before the start of the working day in Yerevan of 5 February what reassurance it could give that criminal investigations of church leaders who oppose Prime Minister Pashinyan's interference in the Church are motivated solely by objective, legal criteria and not by political factors or revenge. Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February.

Church divisions

Of the more than 30 archbishops and bishops in Armenia and in the worldwide Armenian diaspora, ten openly backed Prime Minister Pashinyan's demands for Catholicos Karekin's resignation in November 2025.

At a meeting with at least seven of these bishops at his residence on 5 January 2026, Pashinyan outlined his plans to reform the Church. He read out a statement – which he signed in his capacity of Prime Minister - specifying the removal of the current Catholicos and the formation of a Coordinating Council comprised of himself and the ten bishops that support him. The statement also condemned the "uncanonical practice of involving the Church in politics and using it to serve various agendas and interests".

On 5 January 2026, the Echmiadzin Catholicosate issued a statement condemning Pashinyan and the bishops who backed him. "The actions undertaken by the Head of the Government of Armenia, under the pretext of bringing the internal life of the Church into accordance with the canons and reforming it, constitute a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and infringe upon the rights of the Church enshrined both in international law and in the legislation of Armenia."

State and church funded TV channel closed down

The Armenian Church founded Shoghakat television channel in 1995. It became a public broadcaster in 2002, jointly financed by the Church and the state. This status meant the channel was widely available on digital TV packages.

Two parliamentary deputies from Prime Minister Pashinyan's Civil Contract party, Taguhi Ghazaryan and Sisak Gabrielyan, presented an amendment to parliament to the 2020 Audiovisual Media Law to remove any reference to a channel with "educational-cultural programmes" as a "public broadcaster".

This effectively abolished the status of the Church's television channel Shoghakat as a "public broadcaster".

"It is apparent that the real reason behind this amendment is the government's decision to exclude Shoghakat TV Company from the list of public broadcasters and the bill submitted to Parliament, with superficial justifications, is clearly designed to serve this purpose," the Union of Journalists of Armenia complained on 21 October 2025.

The Shoghakat channel "has maintained political neutrality and focused exclusively on spiritual, cultural, and educational content, even amidst the most brazen attacks on the Church", the Union pointed out.

"By removing Shoghakat TV from the list of public broadcasters," the Union added, "the government is not only delivering yet another blow to the Church, but is also attempting to limit the reach of a unique TV station dedicated to the preservation and professional presentation of spiritual and national values."

Parliament approved the amendment in the first reading on 22 October 2025 and in the second and final reading two days later. President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the amendment into law on 28 October 2025.

On 25 December 2025, the government issued a decision to halt the broadcasts of Shoghakat's programmes and liquidate the company running the TV station.

The Shoghakat channel ceased to be distributed at the end of 2025, its director Manya Ghazaryan told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 5 February 2026.

National Security Service joins campaign against Church

Prime Minister Pashinyan visited churches and attended Sunday masses led by priests who agreed to avoid uttering Catholicos Karekin's name during those services in breach of a centuries-old canonical rule. Pashinyan admitted in early December 2025 ordering the National Security Service (NSS) to try to censor church liturgies he attended by preventing priests from commemorating the Catholicos.

The NSS appears to have provided intelligence briefings to Pashinyan containing sensitive details of the private lives of members of the clergy.

The NSS – the successor to the Armenian branch of the KGB - publicly accused Catholicos Karekin's younger brother, Archbishop Yezras (who leads the Church's Moscow diocese), of having been an agent of the Soviet KGB between 1986 and 1989. The NSS also alleged he continues to act as a foreign agent.

"Archbishop Yezras Nersisyan currently maintains contacts with representatives of foreign special services, which may pose a threat to the security and interests of the Republic of Armenia," the NSS told the pro-government website Civic.am on 19 December 2025. "Based on the above, the National Security Service, within the framework of the powers vested in it by law, is taking necessary measures to eliminate the aforementioned threats."

The news website published what it claimed had been Yezras' KGB agent record card. Although the format of the card matches KGB record cards from the 1980s, the image the NSS handed to the website is in Armenian. KGB documentation of its agents was always in Russian.

On 29 December 2025 (re-sent on 4 February 2026), Forum 18 asked the NSS for a copy of the original Russian version of any KGB record card for Yezras. Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February.

The NSS provided no proof of Yezras' involvement in current activity as an agent of a foreign power.

The December 2025 NGO statement called on the Police and NSS "to carry out their functions independently and strictly in accordance with the demands of the Constitution and the law".

Defence Ministry abolishes Church's army chaplaincy

In 1997, the Armenian Church and the state agreed a jointly funded military chaplaincy, with priests provided by the Church. As of January 2026, 42 priests and deacons were serving at military units as chaplains. Of these, 34 had been appointed by Echmiadzin, while the remaining 8 were deacons who were conducting military service.

As tension mounted between the government and the Armenian Church, some military chaplains complained that Defence Ministry officials had pressured them to renounce loyalty to Catholicos Karekin.

On 29 January 2026, Defence Minister Suren Papikyan signed an Order (seen by Forum 18) cancelling the July 2000 Order on the Chaplaincy Service, issued by the then Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Papikyan instructed that from 1 February 2026, the service of the head of the Chaplaincy Service and priests "appointed by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church" was terminated.

Papikyan ordered that in future, chaplaincy services would be offered by those who have completed religious education by the Armenian Church and who had been called up for military service. These priests would be military officers directly responsible to the army rather than to the Church.

Military chaplain Fr Psak Mkrtchyan noted on Facebook on 30 January that he had received "calls and messages from many of you" asking why liturgies would no longer be celebrated at St Gregory of Narek Church of Kanaz Military Hospital in Yerevan. "I would like to clarify. By order of the Defence Minister, the Spiritual Leadership of the Armed Forces, which has provided its spiritual service for 20 and more years, has been dissolved. We are relieved of our duties as clergy."

Forum 18 asked the Defence Ministry on 5 February why Defence Minister Papikyan decided to abolish the Chaplains Department for priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and whether the minister's decision was connected with the Prime Minister's campaign against Catholicos Karekin and other church leaders. The Defence Ministry acknowledged receipt of the questions. Forum 18 had received no response to its questions by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February.

Police protect defrocked priests

In several locations, police have protected priests defrocked by Catholicos Karekin for supporting Prime Minister Pashinyan's campaign. Officers have allowed the defrocked priests to continue using the churches and prevented new clergy named by diocesan leaders from entering.

On 6 January, police (and the town's mayor) protected a defrocked priest who served the Christmas liturgy in Holy Mother of God church in the central town of Talin. Officers prevented a new priest from entering to hold a service.

Police do not take action against those who disrupt services at Echmiadzin or other churches whose clergy remain loyal to Catholicos Karekin. Police looked on at Echmiadzin on 18 December 2025 when aggressive men tried to break into the cathedral as Karekin was leading a service.

Investigative Committee investigates bishop's defrocking

On 10 January 2026, the Church dismissed Bishop Gevorg Saroyan as head of its Masyatsotn Diocese. He had backed Prime Minister Pashinyan's calls for a change of leadership in the Armenian Church. Police were seen outside the diocesan offices in Masis, apparently to prevent the Church leadership's enforcement of the dismissal.

Saroyan led the liturgy at St. Thaddeus Church in Masis on Sunday 11 January. Pashinyan also attended, along with many officials. Many employees of Vedi District local administration of Ararat Province - run by a senior member of Pashinyan's Civil Contract party – appear to have been pressured to attend. One middle-aged man – who had been undergoing hospital treatment - told reporters that he and fellow workers of the local utilities department were "required" to come to the Masis church on the occasion, local media reported.

With Pashinyan's encouragement, Saroyan challenged the dismissal in court. The Court of General Jurisdiction of Civil Cases of Armavir Region ruled on 16 January that he must be reinstated pending its verdict on the lawsuit. It also said the Church must not try to stop him from performing his duties in any way, including "the management of the financial resources of the Masyatsotn Diocese and the execution of financial transactions, until the adoption of a final judicial act within the case".

The Investigative Committee notes that the decision was served on the Chancellery at Echmiadzin on 19 January.

Echmiadzin rejected the court decision, insisting that the Church takes such decisions based on its own canons.

On 27 January, the Church's Supreme Spiritual Council defrocked Bishop Gevorg.

Some of the 24 parish priests serving in the Masyatsotn Diocese claimed that local government officials and other Pashinyan loyalists in two provincial communities pressured them to pledge allegiance to the sacked primate, Radio Free Europe's Armenian Service noted on 28 January.

Saroyan's defrocking led the Investigative Committee's General Department for Investigation of Particularly Important Cases to launch a criminal investigation on 29 January into non-compliance with a court decision, according to an announcement that day on the Investigative Committee website.

Criminal Code Article 507, Part 2 ("Failing to execute a judicial act or obstructing its execution" by someone in an official position) carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison.

The Investigative Committee did not formally charge Catholicos Karekin or anyone else, saying instead that "procedural and evidentiary actions are being carried out" as part of the investigation.

"The court has no right to order anything to the Mother See or make other decisions regarding it," Marine Farmanian, a lawyer critical of the government, told RFE's Armenian Service on 29 January. "A secular court can't deal with ecclesiastical rules."

Forum 18 asked the Investigative Committee before the start of the working day in Yerevan of 5 February why it had launched the criminal investigation into the Church's actions, given the constitutionally-guaranteed separation of the state and religious communities, and the recognition of religious communities' autonomy. Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February.

In contrast, the Investigative Committee does not appear to have launched an investigation into Edvard Stepanyan, a resident of Garni (and local administration employee) who attended a liturgy on 28 December 2025 led by a defrocked priest and attended by Pashinyan. Asked what he thought would force Karekin to bow to government pressure and resign, Stepanyan responded: "They should hit him on the head with a stone and kill him."

The Office of the Prosecutor-General told RFE's Armenian Service the following day that it had launched a preliminary inquiry into the death call.

Forum 18 also asked the Investigative Committee if it has launched a criminal investigation into Stepanyan's comments and if not why not. Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day in Yerevan of 6 February.

Other defrocked priests have brought civil suits to court to have the Church decisions annulled. Aramayis Takhmazyan (Fr Tade Takhmazyan) and Stepan Asatryan (Fr Aram Asatryan) filed suits with the General Jurisdiction Court of Armavir Region, hetq investigative news website noted on 6 February.

Bishops' exit ban obstructs Armenian Church conference

Catholicos Karekin planned to hold a bishops' conference at Echmiadzin from 10-12 December 2025 to discuss the crisis. However, he had to postpone the meeting after further arrests of bishops.

Karekin then set the bishops' conference for 16-19 February in the Austrian city of Sankt Pölten.

In connection with the Investigative Committee's investigation into the Church's defrocking of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan (see above), the Investigative Committee issued summonses on 31 January to six bishops who are members of the Supreme Spiritual Council and a priest, requiring them to appear before the Investigative Committee as defendants. The seven were banned from leaving Armenia.

"This constitutes yet another clear indication of the campaign launched against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and of the repressive actions being carried out against the clergy," Echmiadzin noted in a 31 January statement.

"Within the framework of the criminal prosecution, the departure from the country of members of the Supreme Spiritual Council holding episcopal rank has been blocked," the statement added. It described this as a "gross violation of fundamental human rights". It called on the state to respect the Church's autonomy. (END)

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