Harut Sassounian - Armenia’s Identity Crisis: Church, State, and Diaspora | Ep 592, Oct 2, 2026 [EP592]
Scheduled for Friday, Oct 2, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Geopolitics | Series: cog, video
Groong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Church-State conflict and Garegin II
- Bern, Artsakh, and national identity
- Government plans to “reform” Church
- Pashinyan’s meeting with All-ASA
- Armenia-Diaspora relations after June 7
Episode 592 | Recorded: September 30, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #GareginII #NikolPashinyan #Artsakh #ArmenianDiaspora #ChurchState #ArmenianIdentity
Show Notes
Summary
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Harut Sassounian about Armenia’s identity crisis amid escalating conflict between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church. We discuss Catholicos Garegin II’s statements at the May 2025 World Council of Churches conference in Bern, Pashinyan’s public attacks on senior clergy, the constitutional role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and the deeper geopolitical questions surrounding Armenia-Diaspora relations following the June 2026 Armenian parliamentary elections.Wrap-up
Links and Resources
That’s our show , we hope you found it helpful. We invite your feedback and your suggestions, you can find us on most social media and podcast platforms.
Thanks to Laura Osborn for the music on our podcasts.
Guests
Harut Sassounian
Harut Sassounian, who is the Chairman of the board of trustees of HyelD. He’s also the publisher of The California Courier newspaper, and the president of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization which has delivered over one $1.06 Billion in humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh since 1989.
Hosts
Hovik Manucharyan
Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.
Asbed Bedrossian
Asbed Bedrossian is an IT professional, and for years oversaw the central IT enterprise infrastructure and services at USC. His decades of experience spanned across IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.
Asbed founded the Armenian News Network Groong circa 1989/1990, and co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.
