Despite strained relations with the church accused by them of meddling in politics, Pashinian and members his political team attended on September 29 a Mass held at the newly renovated Mother Cathedral of Echmiadzin on the occasion of its reconsecration.
The invitation took many by surprise, sparking speculation that Garegin is distancing himself from an antigovernment protest movement led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian. The chancellor of the church’s Mother See, Archbishop Arshak Khachatrian, denied any policy change when he spoke to journalists ahead of the special Mass.
“The church will continue to take positions and express concerns in all cases where it will be deemed necessary,” he said.
The Mother See spokesman, Fr. Yesayi Artenian, was asked on Saturday whether the church changed its position after the Mass. “Take Monsignor Arshak’s comments as an answer to your question,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Armenia - Catholicos Garegin II and other clergymen break through a police cordon at the Sardarapat memorial, May 28, 2024.
In what looked like a message addressed to Armenia’s political leadership, Garegin warned during the September 30 liturgy against attempts to “battle against Holy Echmiadzin.” He also appeared to reject to Pashinian’s controversial interpretations of Armenian history.
Pashinian and other top state officials left the Echmiadzin cathedral mid-way through the reconsecration ceremony. It is not clear whether they thus protested against Garegin’s remarks.
Commenting on those remarks last week, parliament speaker Alen Simonian said the Catholicos should not be identified with the ancient church to which the vast majority of Armenian Christians belong. Simonian also pointed to Galstanian’s absence from the ceremony.
Armenia - Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian addresses supporters rallying outside the parliament, Yerevan, June 17, 2024.
The outspoken archbishop, who has referred to Pashinian as “Antichrist,” resumed on October 2 his opposition-backed street protests aimed at forcing the prime minister to resign. He again rallied supporters in Yerevan on Sunday, urging them to “go to the end” in fighting for his movement’s main goal.
The church’s Supreme Spiritual Council voiced support for the movement in early May as Galstanian and his supporters marched from the northern Tavush province to Yerevan to demand Pashinian’s resignation. The Armenian authorities denounced the church and threatened to impose new taxes on it.
Later in May, police tried to physically stop Garegin from visiting the Sardarapat war memorial just before a delayed Pashinian-led ceremony was held there to mark the 106th anniversary of the establishment of the first Armenian republic. The Catholicos and other clergymen accompanying him had to break through police cordons to lay flowers there.