Groong Podcast Digest — Week of September 28–4, 2026

• EP591: Hovik and Asbed mark the sixth anniversary of the 44-Day War while examining Armenia’s deepening crisis over historical memory, escalating tensions between the state and the Armenian Church, international concern over election integrity, and Armenia’s isolated position as Azerbaijan demolishes Artsakh’s Armenian cultural heritage.
• EP592: Harut Sassounian examines Armenia’s identity crisis amid escalating conflict between Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, discussing Catholicos Garegin II’s statements at the May 2025 World Council of Churches conference in Bern, state attacks on senior clergy, the constitutional role of the Church in national identity, and Armenia-Diaspora relations following the June 2026 parliamentary elections.

This Week’s Podcast Episodes

Episode 591: From Yerablur to Etchmiadzin: Armenia’s Battle Over Memory | Ep 591, Sep 27, 2026

September 27 marked six years since Azerbaijan launched the 2020 war that devastated Artsakh and culminated in the complete ethnic cleansing of its more than 150,000 Armenian inhabitants in 2023. The hosts contrasted solemn commemorations at Yerablur cemetery with the absence of senior Civil Contract officials and Armenian Public Television’s decision to air a Tata Simonyan concert on the anniversary. They examined the removal of fallen artilleryman Albert Hovhannisyan’s image from Victory Park in Yerevan as part of what they view as a broader effort by the government to erase public memory of the war and its heroes.

At the 81st UN General Assembly, Pashinyan emphasized peace with Azerbaijan, border normalization with Turkey, and the release of Armenian detainees in Baku. In contrast, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov argued that while de facto peace exists, a formal agreement depends on further Armenian steps including constitutional change. The hosts noted Bayramov’s focus on settlement initiatives and transport corridors reflecting broader regional integration plans. They also discussed Netanyahu’s invocation of the Armenian Genocide during his exchange with Erdogan , viewing it as a product of Turkish-Israeli political confrontation rather than a substantive shift toward Armenian concerns.

Election observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe criticized Armenia’s Central Election Commission for annulling results at three polling stations without ordering new votes, noting the excluded ballots could have affected the final outcome and parliamentary mandates. The hosts reviewed PACE’s assessment that the June 7 election offered voters genuine choice but raised serious questions about institutional impartiality and electoral integrity.

Watch/Listen: Episode 591

Keywords: 44-Day War , Artsakh Blockade , Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process, Ethnic Cleansing, Armenian Parliamentary Elections, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, OSCE, Nagorno Karabakh

Episode 592: Harut Sassounian - Armenia’s Identity Crisis: Church, State, and Diaspora | Ep 592, Oct 2, 2026

Harut Sassounian traces the current phase of Church-state confrontation from the 2025 Bern conference through Pashinyan’s public attacks on senior clergy, allegations concerning celibacy, attempts to influence Church leadership, and the government’s report on the alleged Church crisis. Sassounian argues that questions of ecclesiastical discipline belong within the Church unless secular Armenian law has been violated, establishing a critical distinction between state oversight and religious autonomy. The hosts raise Article 18 of the Armenian Constitution and ask whether the Church’s recognized role in Armenian spiritual life, culture, and national identity gives it not only the right but a responsibility to speak on issues such as Artsakh, displaced Armenians, and national policy. Sassounian strongly defends the right of Church leaders and Diaspora Armenians to criticize government policy.

The conversation extends to government power versus ecclesiastical authority, with Sassounian arguing that the state may act when clergy violate Armenian law, but not simply because a cleric is accused of breaking Church rules. The discussion focuses on whether government efforts to remove the Catholicos, alter Church bylaws, or influence succession cross the line from criticism into interference with religious autonomy. Sassounian also addresses a meeting involving Armenian clergy, Armenia’s ambassador in Washington, and Trump’s spiritual adviser, questioning how it was organized and whether clergy used their access to raise the issue of Armenian prisoners held in Baku. He discusses Archbishop Hovnan Derderian’s shifting position in the Church dispute and notes that while Pashinyan did mention Armenian prisoners during his UN speech, the government’s wider handling of the prisoner issue remains problematic.

Armenia-Diaspora relations emerge as badly damaged. Sassounian criticizes the abolition of the Diaspora Ministry, the role of High Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan, government rhetoric about Diaspora aid, and what he views as an increasingly partisan approach to Diaspora engagement. Controversy surrounding Pashinyan’s meeting with Armenian-American college students centered not on whether Armenia’s prime minister should meet students but on transparency, consultation with All-ASA chapters, the appearance of political use of an ostensibly nonpartisan student organization, and restrictions surrounding the meeting. In closing, Sassounian argues that Armenians on opposing political sides must still be willing to communicate and cooperate around Armenia’s security and national interests, recounting his own difficult relationship with former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan as an example of setting personal disputes aside to work for Armenia.

Watch/Listen: Episode 592

Keywords: Armenian Church, Catholicos of All Armenians, Pashinyan, Artsakh, Armenian Diaspora , Church-State Relations, Armenian Identity, Armenia-Diaspora Relations

Stay Connected

For the full, unfiltered stream of Armenia news as it happens, subscribe to the Groong Mailing List on Google Groups. Subscribers receive the complete daily news feed directly in their inbox — expect tens of emails per day covering Armenia, Artsakh, the diaspora, and the broader region.

• Subscribe to the Groong Mailing List
• Support Groong on Patreon
• Find us on all platforms