A growing confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church is exposing deep divisions within Armenian society and raising questions about the country’s future direction.
The rift began after Azerbaijan regained control of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, prompting the exodus of most of the region’s ethnic Armenian population – an event many Armenians viewed as a national tragedy. As church leaders echoed public anger and questioned the government’s actions, they increasingly found themselves in the authorities’ crosshairs: priests have been arrested, senior clergy accused of plotting against the state, and supporters of the church dispersed by police.
Critics say that the campaign mirrors a broader pattern seen elsewhere in the post-Soviet space, including in Ukraine and Moldova, where traditional churches have become obstacles to political projects backed by the West.
RT’s Roman Kosarev traveled to Armenia to examine why a conflict involving one of the world’s oldest Christian churches has become one of the defining political battles in the country today.