Armenia PM says foiled 'sinister' coup plot by senior cleric

YEREVAN

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on June 25 said security forces had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric, amid his escalating standoff with the leadership of the powerful Apostolic Church.

Pashinyan has been at loggerheads with senior clerics since 2020, when Catholicos Garegin II began calling for his resignation following Armenia's disastrous military defeat to arch-foe Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh region.

"Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and sinister plan by the 'criminal-oligarchic clergy' to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Armenia and seize power," Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram channel.

Armenia's Investigative Committee said Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan had "since November 2024 set himself the goal of changing power by means not permitted by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.”

Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion in the 4th century, grants the Apostolic Church special constitutional status and the church wields considerable influence in Armenian society.

Last year, Galstanyan, the leader of opposition movement Sacred Struggle, accused Pashinyan of ceding territory to Azerbaijan and led mass protests that ultimately failed to topple the prime minister.

The Investigative Committee said that Galstanyan "with the prior consent of several members of the movement, acquired the necessary means and tools to carry out terrorist acts and seize power.”

"Searches are currently underway at the homes of Archbishop Bagrat and around 30 of his associates," it added.

Last week, Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan was placed in two months of pre-trial detention on charges of calling for the usurpation of power in Armenia. This followed his remarks in support of the church. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison.

Earlier this month, Pashinyan launched an unprecedented challenge to Garegin II, urging believers to remove him from office.

The prime minister called on Armenians to join a "coordination group" to organize the "liberation" of the Church and elect a new spiritual leader.

He has alleged that Catholicos Garegin II has a child, in a blazing row that prompted fierce criticism from the opposition and has called for Pashinyan to be excommunicated.