Tag: Armenian Church
Last updated: May 29, 2026
The Armenian Apostolic Church, founded in 301 AD when Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, is among the world’s oldest Christian institutions. Its spiritual center is the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and it is led by the Catholicos of All Armenians, currently Garegin II.
Groong has covered the Armenian Church across more than 80 episodes, from its theological and cultural role in Armenian identity to its increasingly contested political position. Coverage includes the church’s response to the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war, the emergence of tensions between the Catholicosate and the Pashinyan government, and the dramatic events of 2025 in which multiple senior archbishops were arrested.
A central theme in recent coverage is the Pashinyan government’s effort to weaken the Armenian Apostolic Church under the framing of institutional reform. Critics argue that the government has used legislative and legal mechanisms to reduce the church’s influence in Armenian public life — stripping its exemptions, challenging its land holdings, and targeting clergy through the court system — in what many observers describe as a politically motivated campaign to neutralize a powerful institution that has historically commanded broad public trust.
The arrests of multiple senior clergy in 2025 form the sharpest edge of this confrontation. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan led a mass opposition movement before his arrest in June. Archbishops Mikayel Ajapahyan and Arshak Khachatryan and Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan were also arrested later that year. These events have made the church-state relationship one of the most closely watched dimensions of Armenian domestic politics heading into the 2026 parliamentary elections.
Renewed Hostilities in Artsakh | Ukraine | FM Arabat Mirzoyan in Antalya | Ep #128 - Mar 13, 2022 [EP128]
Posted on Monday, Mar 14, 2022 | Category: Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Artsakh, Syria, Iran, Armenian Church | Series: WIR
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 13, 2022
Topics:
- Renewed Hostilities in Artsakh
- Update on Ukraine
- FM “Arabat” Mirzoyan in Antalya
Guest:
- Dr. Pietro Shakarian
Host:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
- Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
Episode 128 | Recorded: Sunday, March 13, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220313.html
Renewed Hostilities in Artsakh | Ukraine | FM Arabat Mirzoyan in Antalya | Ep #128 - Mar 13, 2022 [EP128]
Posted on Monday, Mar 14, 2022 | Category: Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Artsakh, Syria, Iran, Armenian ChurchANN/Groong Week in Review - March 13, 2022
Topics:
- Renewed Hostilities in Artsakh
- Update on Ukraine
- FM “Arabat” Mirzoyan in Antalya
Guest:
- Dr. Pietro Shakarian
Host:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
- Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
Episode 128 | Recorded: Sunday, March 13, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220313.html
Ukraine | Heritage Destruction | NKR Law | Arresting Arayik | IRI results | Ep #121 - Feb 20, 2022 [EP121]
Posted on Sunday, Feb 20, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, Ukraine, Iran, Artsakh, Economy, Genocide, Armenian Church | Series: WIR
ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 20, 2022
Topics:
- Ukraine: Biden’s Tunnel of Crisis
- Azeri Commission to Destroy Armenian Heritage
- Artsakh Law on Occupied Territories
- Azerbaijan Wants to Arrest Artsakh President
- IRI Poll Results Revisited
Guests:
- Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m
Hosts:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Episode 121 | Recorded: Sunday, February 20, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220220.html
Ukraine | Heritage Destruction | NKR Law | Arresting Arayik | IRI results | Ep #121 - Feb 20, 2022 [EP121]
Posted on Sunday, Feb 20, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, Ukraine, Iran, Artsakh, Economy, Genocide, Armenian ChurchANN/Groong Week in Review - February 20, 2022
Topics:
- Ukraine: Biden’s Tunnel of Crisis
- Azeri Commission to Destroy Armenian Heritage
- Artsakh Law on Occupied Territories
- Azerbaijan Wants to Arrest Artsakh President
- IRI Poll Results Revisited
Guests:
- Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m
Hosts:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Episode 121 | Recorded: Sunday, February 20, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220220.html
Armenian Songs for Children Bedros Afeyan talks with Isabel Bayrakdarian
Groong Links:
Topics:
- Journey Back to Armenian Music
- Musical Harmony Between Armenian Music and Classical Canon
- Researching, Teaching and Choosing Songs
- Isabel’s Favorites and Influences
Guest:
Host:
Song Excerpts list & timestamps: (Note: All excerpts used with permission)
- 00:00 Komitas - Sleep My Child - Lullaby
- 01:35 Komitas - Six Children’s Songs
- 27:03 Ganachian - The Swallow / Tsitsernak
- 29:06 Komitas - Little Wooden Horse
Armenian Songs for Children Bedros Afeyan talks with Isabel Bayrakdarian
Groong Links:
Topics:
- Journey Back to Armenian Music
- Musical Harmony Between Armenian Music and Classical Canon
- Researching, Teaching and Choosing Songs
- Isabel’s Favorites and Influences
Guest:
Host:
Song Excerpts list & timestamps: (Note: All excerpts used with permission)
- 00:00 Komitas - Sleep My Child - Lullaby
- 01:35 Komitas - Six Children’s Songs
- 27:03 Ganachian - The Swallow / Tsitsernak
- 29:06 Komitas - Little Wooden Horse
Turkish Armenian Normalization - Conversation with Harut Sassounian | Ep #111 - Jan 9, 2022 [EP111]
Posted on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Genocide, Russia, Israel, Artsakh, Economy, Armenian Genocide, Human Rights, Armenian Church, Georgia, Syria | Series: COG
Turkish-Armenian Normalization Negotiations A Conversation with Harut Sassounian
- Harut Sassounian has been the publisher of The California Courier newspaper since 1983. He is also the President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization which has delivered to Armenia and Artsakh $947 million of humanitarian assistance since 1989. He is currently engaged in forming the Diaspora Armenian Parliament through local elections.
Topics:
- History of Turkish-Armenian Attempts at Negotiations
- Who are The Players?
- Why Now? What’s on the Agenda?
- What are the Pitfalls and Opportunities?
Turkish Armenian Normalization - Conversation with Harut Sassounian | Ep #111 - Jan 9, 2022 [EP111]
Posted on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Genocide, Russia, Israel, Artsakh, Economy, Armenian Genocide, Human Rights, Armenian Church, Georgia, SyriaTurkish-Armenian Normalization Negotiations A Conversation with Harut Sassounian
- Harut Sassounian has been the publisher of The California Courier newspaper since 1983. He is also the President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization which has delivered to Armenia and Artsakh $947 million of humanitarian assistance since 1989. He is currently engaged in forming the Diaspora Armenian Parliament through local elections.
Topics:
- History of Turkish-Armenian Attempts at Negotiations
- Who are The Players?
- Why Now? What’s on the Agenda?
- What are the Pitfalls and Opportunities?
Preserving Armenian Heritage - Maghakyan, Khatchadourian, Maranci | Ep #77 - June 30, 2021 [EP77]
Posted on Wednesday, Jun 30, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Artsakh, Armenian Church, Human Rights, Genocide, Syria | Series: COG
Preserving Armenian Heritage
Topics:
- What is Armenian Art and Architecture?
- Where does Artsakhâs Heritage fit in the larger Armenian picture?
- What Armenian Heritage fell under Azerbaijani Control in 2020?
- What is Caucasus Heritage Watch and What does it do?
- What can International Organizations do for Artsakh?
- How do International Instruments fail in Preserving Armenian Heritage?
Host:
- Simon Maghakyan is an independent researcher of cultural destruction and lecturer in International Relations at the University of Colorado Denver.
Guests
- Dr. Lori Khatchadourian is Associate Professor of