Pashinyan's opponent in Talin spoke out in support of the church leader.

Talin resident Sarkis Petrosyan spoke out in support of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II during Nikol Pashinyan's visit. The rector of the Talin church faced pressure from officials before the prime minister's arrival.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on January 6, supporters of the ruling Civil Contract party prevented priest Hayk Sahakyan from entering the "Surb Astvatsatsin" church in Talin. Talin Mayor Tavros Sapeyan announced that the defrocked priest Tade Tahmazyan would celebrate the Christmas Liturgy at the church. Sahakyan was not allowed to enter the church on December 31, 2025.

Today, Talin resident Sarkis Petrosyan held a solo protest during Nikol Pashinyan's visit. He explained that the prime minister was elected by only hundreds of thousands of people, while Garegin II was elected by millions of Armenians. "A minority shouldn't make decisions," News.am quotes him as saying.

Surb Astvatsatsin Church Rector Hayk Sahakyan left the church today with a group of worshippers. Prior to this, a high-ranking official persuaded him to leave Surb Astvatsatsin so that someone else could serve the liturgy in the presence of Nikol Pashinyan. "They say a defrocked priest will serve," Father Hayk told the publication.

There were numerous security forces on the church grounds, including some in civilian clothes. Nikol Pashinyan attended the liturgy at Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Talin today, Novosti-Armenia reports.

As a reminder, after the Christmas service, Nikol Pashinyan accused the Catholicos of all Armenians of schism in the church and sectarianism. Harassment of the Church undermines the authority of the state, stated Garegin II.

In May 2025, Nikol Pashinyan harshly criticized the Church and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for his insults to the Church.

In December 2025, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's arrest was announced. Prior to this, he had stated that he would not resign as head of the chancery of Etchmiadzin. Khachatryan linked his persecution to his position on Armenian government policy. The court sentenced him to pretrial detention on drug trafficking charges.

In mid-October 2025, the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Mkrtich Proshyan, and priest Garegin Arsenyan were arrested on charges of coercion to participate in public meetings. Earlier, the court sentenced the head of the Shirak Diocese, Mikael Ajapayan, to two years in prison.

More details on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".