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.
Hrant Mikaelian - Venezuela, Attacks on the Armenian Church Continue, MPG Poll Results | Ep 501, Jan 4, 2026 [EP501]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Poll, Armenian Church, Economy, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: wir, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Developments in Venezuela
- Attacks on Armenian Church Continue
- New MPG Poll Results
Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026
#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics
Hrant Mikaelian - Venezuela, Attacks on the Armenian Church Continue, MPG Poll Results | Ep 501, Jan 4, 2026 [EP501]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Poll, Armenian Church, Economy, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Nagorno KarabakhGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Developments in Venezuela
- Attacks on Armenian Church Continue
- New MPG Poll Results
Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026
#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics
Benyamin Poghosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, TRIPP, Review & Outlook | Ep 500, Dec 28, 2025 [EP500]
Posted on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Geopolitics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran | Series: video, wir
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Foreign Crises Affecting Armenia
- Armenia-Azerbaijan Saga
- Russia and TRIPP
- Change of US Ambassador
- Year-End Review & Outlook
Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025
Benyamin Poghosyan - Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, TRIPP, Review & Outlook | Ep 500, Dec 28, 2025 [EP500]
Posted on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Geopolitics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Israel, IranGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Foreign Crises Affecting Armenia
- Armenia-Azerbaijan Saga
- Russia and TRIPP
- Change of US Ambassador
- Year-End Review & Outlook
Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025
Dziunik Aghajanian - EU Ukraine Rift, Church Siege, and TRIPP Power Games | Ep 498, Dec 21, 2025 [EP498]
Posted on Thursday, Dec 25, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia | Series: wir, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Ukraine War and EU Rift
- Siege on Etchmiadzin and the Church
- Peace Dividend or Political Theater
- TRIPP and Competing Power Claims
Episode 498 | Recorded: December 23, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #TRIPP #ArmeniaPolitics #Groong
Dziunik Aghajanian - EU Ukraine Rift, Church Siege, and TRIPP Power Games | Ep 498, Dec 21, 2025 [EP498]
Posted on Thursday, Dec 25, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, RussiaGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Ukraine War and EU Rift
- Siege on Etchmiadzin and the Church
- Peace Dividend or Political Theater
- TRIPP and Competing Power Claims
Episode 498 | Recorded: December 23, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #TRIPP #ArmeniaPolitics #Groong
Spotlight on Silence: InJustice in Armenia | Ep 497, Dec 18, 2025 [EP497]
Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Spotlight on Silence, Political Prisoners | Series: video, sos
Groong Links:
Guest:
Follow ACPR on Facebook: Քաղաքական իրավունքների հայկական կենտրոն - ՔԻՀԿ / ACPR
Topics:
- Criminalization of Speech and Dissent in Armenia
- Legal Pressure on Lawyers, Journalists, and Clergy
- Selective Justice and Coordinated Propaganda
- Article 236 and the Policing of Protest
Episode 497 | Recorded: December 14, 2025
#SpotlightOnSilence #ArmeniaJustice #PoliticalPrisoners #FreedomOfSpeech #RuleOfLaw #HumanRights #Groong
Read MoreSpotlight on Silence: InJustice in Armenia | Ep 497, Dec 18, 2025 [EP497]
Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Spotlight on Silence, Political PrisonersGroong Links:
Guest:
Follow ACPR on Facebook: Քաղաքական իրավունքների հայկական կենտրոն - ՔԻՀԿ / ACPR
Topics:
- Criminalization of Speech and Dissent in Armenia
- Legal Pressure on Lawyers, Journalists, and Clergy
- Selective Justice and Coordinated Propaganda
- Article 236 and the Policing of Protest
Episode 497 | Recorded: December 14, 2025
#SpotlightOnSilence #ArmeniaJustice #PoliticalPrisoners #FreedomOfSpeech #RuleOfLaw #HumanRights #Groong
Read MoreArthur Khachatryan - Foreign Pressure, Attack on Church, Artsakh Repression | Ep 496, Dec 14, 2025 [EP496]
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Armenian Church, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Genocide | Series: wir, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Armenia between EU and Russia
- Churchâstate confrontation in Armenia
- Artsakh concessions and return debate
- Economy, debt, and governance
- NSS raids Artsakh offices
Episode 496 | Recorded: December 15, 2025
#ArmeniaPolitics #EUvsRussia #ArmenianChurch #Artsakh #Geopolitics