Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) that the safety forces had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric, the most recent twist in his escalating battle with the highly effective Apostolic Church.
Mr. Pashinyan has been at loggerheads with the Church since its head, Catholicos Garegin II, started calling for his resignation following Armenia’s disastrous 2020 army defeat to arch-foe Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh area.
The dispute escalated after Baku seized full management of the area in 2023. Mr. Pashinyan began pushing an unpopular peace cope with Azerbaijan that might primarily surrender Yerevan’s claims to a area many Armenians see as their ancestral homeland.
“Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilise the situation in the Republic of Armenia and seize power,” Mr. Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram channel early Wednesday (June 25, 2025).
The authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a charismatic senior church determine attempting to rally opposition to Mr. Pashinyan, accusing him of attempting to mastermind the tried coup.
“Since November 2024 (he) set himself the goal of changing power by means not permitted by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,” mentioned the Investigative Committee, which probes main crimes.
The Apostolic Church wields appreciable affect in Armenia, which within the fourth century grew to become the primary nation to undertake Christianity as a state faith.
Home raids
Galstanyan, who leads the opposition motion Sacred Struggle, final yr accused Mr. Pashinyan of ceding territory to Azerbaijan and led mass protests that in the end did not topple the prime minister.
His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, condemned the case as politically motivated.
He advised reporters the archbishop “acts independently” and mentioned case supplies confirmed no connection to the Church.
The Investigative Committee mentioned it had arrested 14 folks and launched felony proceedings towards 16 suspects after raids of greater than 90 premises in a case associated to Galstanyan’s Sacred Struggle motion.
Publishing images of weapons and ammunition discovered throughout a sequence of raids, it alleged that Galstanyan had “acquired the necessary means and tools to carry out terrorist acts and seize power”.
It additionally launched covert recordings suggesting Galstanyan and his allies had referred to as to execute officers, imprison opponents, and suppress any resistance by pressure.
“We either kill, or we die,” mentioned a person, whose voice was mentioned to resemble that of Galstanyan, in a single of the clips.
Galstanyan’s authorized staff mentioned it anticipated he can be “charged with terrorism and attempted seizure of power.”
The News.am web site printed footage exhibiting Galstanyan leaving his home accompanied by masked cops, who escorted him right into a automotive and drove him away.
“Evil, listen carefully — whatever you do, you have very little time left. Hold on, we are coming,” he mentioned, apparently addressing Mr. Pashinyan,
A crowd of supporters exterior shouted, “Nikol is a traitor!”
