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 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
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
Benyamin Poghosyan - Pashinyan War on Armenian Church, EU-Armenia, Artsakh, Arar Poll | Ep 494, Sep 25, 2025 [EP494]
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 9, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, poll, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenian Church, Russia | Series: video, wir
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- 1988 Earthquake Remembered
- Pashinyanâs War on the Armenian Church
- EU-Armenia Relations
- Nagorno-Karabakh Negotiation Documents
- ARAR Foundation Poll
Episode 494 | Recorded: December 8, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #NSS #Pashinyan #ArarPoll #ArmeniaEU
Benyamin Poghosyan - Pashinyan War on Armenian Church, EU-Armenia, Artsakh, Arar Poll | Ep 494, Sep 25, 2025 [EP494]
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 9, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, poll, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenian Church, RussiaGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- 1988 Earthquake Remembered
- Pashinyanâs War on the Armenian Church
- EU-Armenia Relations
- Nagorno-Karabakh Negotiation Documents
- ARAR Foundation Poll
Episode 494 | Recorded: December 8, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #NSS #Pashinyan #ArarPoll #ArmeniaEU
Arthur Khachikyan - OSCE MG Dissolved, Libaridian on Submission, New Constitution, Armenian Church, Prayer Breakfast, Border Commissions meet in Baku | Ep 493, Nov 30, 2025 [EP493]
Posted on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Armenian Genocide | Series: wir, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- OSCE MG Dissolved
- Libaridian on Submitting to Turkey and Azerbaijan
- News Constitution to be Drafted by March 2026
- Archbishops, Letters, Attacks on the Church
- Border Commissions Meet in Baku
- Comments from Jacob Pursley
Episode 493 | Recorded: December 2, 2025
Arthur Khachikyan - OSCE MG Dissolved, Libaridian on Submission, New Constitution, Armenian Church, Prayer Breakfast, Border Commissions meet in Baku | Ep 493, Nov 30, 2025 [EP493]
Posted on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Armenian GenocideGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- OSCE MG Dissolved
- Libaridian on Submitting to Turkey and Azerbaijan
- News Constitution to be Drafted by March 2026
- Archbishops, Letters, Attacks on the Church
- Border Commissions Meet in Baku
- Comments from Jacob Pursley
Episode 493 | Recorded: December 2, 2025
Joel Veldkamp - Armenia’s Prayer Breakfast and the Crackdown on the Church | Ep 490, Nov 27, 2025 [EP490]
Posted on Thursday, Nov 27, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights | Series: cog, video
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Clergy Arrests in Armenia
- Church Under Pressure
- Prayer Breakfast Controversy
- Western Silence on Repression
- CSIâs Findings in Yerevan
Episode 490 | Recorded: November 25, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #ChristianSolidarityInternational #HumanRightsInArmenia
Joel Veldkamp - Armenia’s Prayer Breakfast and the Crackdown on the Church | Ep 490, Nov 27, 2025 [EP490]
Posted on Thursday, Nov 27, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human RightsGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Clergy Arrests in Armenia
- Church Under Pressure
- Prayer Breakfast Controversy
- Western Silence on Repression
- CSIâs Findings in Yerevan
Episode 490 | Recorded: November 25, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #ChristianSolidarityInternational #HumanRightsInArmenia
Garen Jinbachian - OSCE Human Dimension Conf, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and The West | Ep 489, Nov 26, 2025 [EP489]
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 | Category: Armenia, artsakh, political prisoners, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Azerbaijan, Armenian Church | Series: cog
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Azerbaijanâs war crimes and impunity
- Sham trials of Artsakh leaders
- Silence of the OSCE and the West
- Armeniaâs growing political repression
- Attacks on the Armenian Church
Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025
Garen Jinbachian - OSCE Human Dimension Conf, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and The West | Ep 489, Nov 26, 2025 [EP489]
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 | Category: Armenia, artsakh, political prisoners, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Azerbaijan, Armenian ChurchGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Azerbaijanâs war crimes and impunity
- Sham trials of Artsakh leaders
- Silence of the OSCE and the West
- Armeniaâs growing political repression
- Attacks on the Armenian Church
Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025