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.
Arthur Martirosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Baku Pogroms, Church Clash | Ep 505, Jan 11, 2026 [EP505]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Ukraine, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, USA, Armenian Genocide | Series: wir, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Ukraine warâs global cost to Russia
- Iran unrest and war risk
- Remembering the Baku pogroms
- Russia-Armenia tensions and media threats
- Pashinyanâs clash with Armenian Church
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Arthur Martirosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Baku Pogroms, Church Clash | Ep 505, Jan 11, 2026 [EP505]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Ukraine, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, USA, Armenian GenocideGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Ukraine warâs global cost to Russia
- Iran unrest and war risk
- Remembering the Baku pogroms
- Russia-Armenia tensions and media threats
- Pashinyanâs clash with Armenian Church
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: cog, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
- Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
- Criminal Law as Leverage
- Bern in Action and Reaction
- The Deeper Stakes: National Identity
Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom
Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno KarabakhGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
- Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
- Criminal Law as Leverage
- Bern in Action and Reaction
- The Deeper Stakes: National Identity
Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom
Fr. Serop Azarian - Armenian Church Under Attack | Ep 503, Jan 11, 2026 [EP503]
Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: cog, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Pashinyan Attacks: Geopolitics or Vendetta?
- Renegade Bishops: Demands and Narratives
- Stolen Church Property
- From Christmas to Easter
Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026
#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Fr. Serop Azarian - Armenian Church Under Attack | Ep 503, Jan 11, 2026 [EP503]
Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno KarabakhGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Pashinyan Attacks: Geopolitics or Vendetta?
- Renegade Bishops: Demands and Narratives
- Stolen Church Property
- From Christmas to Easter
Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026
#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Venezuela
- Ukraine War
- Russia-Iran Relations
- TRIPP and Russian-Armenian Relations
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Venezuela
- Ukraine War
- Russia-Iran Relations
- TRIPP and Russian-Armenian Relations
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Transcript: Fyodor Lukyanov - Russia in Evolving Global Geopolitics | Ep 502, Jan 9, 2026 [EP502]
Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2026 | Category: Iran, Russia, Armenia, Israel, Politics, China, Ukraine, TranscriptFyodor Lukyanov joins Groong to discuss how Moscow reads a fast-shifting global landscape, from the U.S. raid in Venezuela and maritime seizures at sea, to Trump’s Greenland rhetoric, the stalled endgame in Ukraine, the likelihood of a renewed Israel-Iran war, and how TRIPP and “unblocking” disputes in Armenia’s south fit into Russia’s regional priorities.