Speeches
Statement of the Executive Body of the Republican Party of Armenia
16.02.2026
The Republican Party of Armenia declares with profound indignation that the initiation of criminal proceedings against His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, on fabricated charges is not merely another unlawful act, but a direct act of aggression by a regime that has usurped the state, directed against the spiritual center of the Armenian people.
The decision to bring the spiritual leader of the Armenian people to criminal responsibility under an absurd pretext is a blow to the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as a sacred institution that has preserved the spiritual and national identity of the Armenian people for centuries.
What has taken place reveals the true malicious intent of the authorities: to isolate the national Church, divide it, sever its ties with the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, weaken it, and bring it under control.
In the face of external threats and internal turmoil, the Church has remained a unique pillar of national unity.
We stand unconditionally in solidarity with the Supreme Patriarch, the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and all faithful Armenians who understand that without a free and national Church, there can be no free and national Armenia.
Having failed to secure Armenia’s future and having placed its security at risk, Nikol Pashinyan is now seeking an internal enemy in order to divert attention from his own incompetence and from external directives.
The Republican Party of Armenia calls on:
• The clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the faithful people to unite in defense of the Mother See, to raise their voices in prayer and protest, and to demonstrate that the Armenian people will not tolerate the desecration of their spiritual sanctuary.
• The Diaspora to recognize that the struggle for Holy Etchmiadzin is an existential struggle for the preservation of Armenian identity, and to demand that international organizations and foreign governments exert pressure on the Pashinyan regime to cease the persecutions.
• Organizations engaged in the protection of human rights and the diplomatic corps to condemn this unprecedented attack against religious freedom and against the rights of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.
We demand:
• The immediate termination of the criminal case initiated against Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
• The release of all detained clergymen, as well as prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.
• The lifting of the restriction on the freedom of movement imposed upon the Supreme Patriarch and other clergymen.
The Republican Party of Armenia will use all political and legal means to defend the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the Catholicos of All Armenians.
RPA Executive Body