New report accuses Armenian government of targeting Apostolic Church

A recent report accuses Armenia’s government of carrying out an escalating campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (AAHC). 

The report, from Christian Solidarity International (CSI), was written by international lawyer and historian Dr Peter Flew following a fact-finding visit to Armenia. It raises concerns about religious freedom, judicial independence and the rule of law, and coincides with major European diplomatic meetings in Yerevan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is accused of using arrests, criminal charges, travel bans and public attacks to pressure the country’s ancient national church and its leadership. 

In the foreword, CSI President Dr John Eibner says the federal government is using “the coercive power of the state” to attempt to impose political control over the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

He warns that Western leaders constructing ties with Yerevan should “judiciously consider the contents of this disturbing report”. 

Dr Flew writes that Armenia is “systematically violating the liberty of faith or belief” in its campaign against the Church. 

He says the prime minister has used hostile rhetoric to undermine the Church’s authority, while bishops, parishioners and supporters have faced detention or legal restrictions. 

At the centre of the dispute is Catholicos Karekin II, the spiritual leader of Armenians worldwide. 

The report says Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract party’s manifesto has sought to remove him and reshape the Church’s internal governance, bringing it under state influence. 

Dr Flew calls this “unconscionable”, comparing it to a secular leader attempting to overthrow the Pope. 

The report also argues that the ruling Civil Contract party’s election manifesto marks a big escalation, and risks crossing legal and constitutional boundaries by turning internal religious matters into state policy.

It further details what he describes as continued attacks on the Catholicos, including public statements questioning his legitimacy, government-backed efforts to encourage dissenting bishops, and pressure surrounding liturgical practices. 

The report says these actions are designed to undermine the Catholicos’ authority and weaken the Church from inside. 

It also points to alleged state interference in Church affairs, including the civil court reinstatement of a bishop removed by the Mother See, criminal charges against senior clergy, and travel bans that prevented Church leaders from attending major ecclesiastical events abroad. 

Legally, the report grounds its criticism in Armenia’s Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights case law. 

It argues that the state must remain neutral toward religious communities and can’t dictate religious leadership, sponsor rival factions or interfere in ecclesiastical governance. 

The report also places the church-state conflict inside Armenia’s wider geopolitical crisis following the wars over Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Dr Eibner argues that the Church stays a serious defender of Armenian national memory and identity, writing that it has served as “the sturdiest bulwark of the Armenian nation since its founding 1,700 years ago”.

He added: “This national church kept the Armenian nation united for hundreds of years when it was stateless. It sustained the Armenian nation throughout the nice Armenian Genocide and the chain of anti-Armenian massacres, pogroms, ethno-religious cleansings that proceeded and followed it.”

CSI says the federal government has portrayed the Church as a national security threat, including by implying links to Russian influence. 

The report rejects those claims, saying the Armenian Apostolic Church shouldn’t be a part of the Russian Orthodox Church and that the federal government has not provided convincing evidence of foreign-directed activity. 

The report highlights several cases, including the continued detention of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, arrests or restrictions involving other clergy, the case of church benefactor Samvel Karapetyan, and incidents involving parishioners during church services. 

It also includes an inventory of individuals described as prisoners of conscience or individuals subject to travel bans, house arrest or supervision. 

A transient response from the British government, cited within the report, notes that it recognises the violations, is monitoring the situation and expects Armenia to act in keeping with its constitutional and legal obligations while ensuring fair and transparent judicial processes. 

However, the report suggests such statements fall in need of directly addressing serious violations of spiritual freedom.

In its conclusion, the report says the infractions are “not isolated incidents”. 

It continues: “Taken together, they constitute a coordinated campaign that undermines the separation of church and state, and violate the autonomy of a non secular community in a fashion incompatible with Armenia’s constitutional order and its international obligations.” 

It warns that the campaign has already produced a human cost, with clergy and laypeople facing intimidation, detention and criminal proceedings. 

“Now is the moment for principled and coordinated motion,” the report concludes. 

It urges Armenian authorities to stop political attacks on the Church, calling on Western governments – including the US – to tie deeper relations with Armenia to respect for religious freedom, transparency, democracy and the rule of law by defending the Church’s independence, pushing for the discharge of detained individuals, and interesting more actively with civil society groups monitoring human rights in Armenia.