The embattled 132nd Catholicos Karekin II and his mafia are grappling with widespread public outrage in the Homeland and Diaspora decrying the corruption within the Mother Church, The Catholicosate of Holy Etchmiadzin, In recent weeks, Pastor of Hovhannavank Monastery Rev. Aram Asatryan courageously blew the whistle on Karekin II’s mafia’s wrongdoings, Subsequently, he was targeted to be defrocked without due process, He was ordered by Karekin II emissaries to surrender the Hovhannavank Monastery, Thousands of the church faithful condemned Karekin II’s unjust actions and opted to protect Rev. Asatryan’s right to continue his Christian mission and service to the community, In an open defiance of Catholicos Karekin II, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a Sunday liturgy on Oct. 26, led by illegally-defrocked Rev. Pastor Asatryan, Many Faithful applauded Pashinyan’s attendance and participation, During the Holy Mass, Pashinyan and many church goers knelt down in prayers and accepted the Holy Communion administered by Rev. Asatryan, While several thousands attended the Holy Mass at Hovhannavank Monastery, only a few dozen showed up at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, The stark contrast in church attendance constituted “an unprecedented slap-in-the-face of corrupted Catholicos Karekin II Nersisyan and his Russian-sponsored mafia,” said a supporter of the dethronement of Karekin II and “the liberation of the Armenian Church from Russian occupation,” Armenian Apostolic Church members in the Homeland and Diaspora are troubled by the fact that Karekin II and his allies have openly supported a coup attempt against Armenian statehood in June 2025, Key participants of the June failed coup attempt included the Primate of Shirak Diocese Arch. Mikayel Ajapahyan and Primate of Tavush Arch. Pakrad Galstanyan are now imprisoned for their anti-state activities, The culprits are accused of undermining Armenia’s Sovereignty, National Security and Independence, Also imprisoned for anti-state activities are a number of Russian assets in Armenia such oligarchs Samvel Karapetyan also known as “Tashir Samo,” and the mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghukasyan also known as “Vadanik,” In recent weeks, the public criticism by the Faithful leveled against corrupted Catholicos Karekin II, his fellow clansmen have intensified both at home and abroad, The overwhelming majority of the Faithful worldwide are now demanding the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II, Among Karekin II allies are several high-ranking clerics such as Arch. Hovnan Derderian of U.S. Western Diocese, Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan of U.S. Eastern Diocese, Bishop Abgar Hovakimyan of Canada Diocese, Arch. Yezras Nersisyan of Russia Diocese, Arch. Arshak Khachatryan the Pontifical Chief of Staff and others, The primates Derderian, Parsamyan and Hovakimyan criticized the recent arrests of clergy and staff in Armenia who are accused of criminal activities, “The detained clergymen are recognized for their devotion, humility, and service to the people and the Gospel. Such treatment jeopardizes the moral and spiritual foundations of our nation and undermines the sacred role of the Church in our national life,” primates Derderian, Parsamyan and Hovakimyan claimed, The primates called on the Armenian authorities to “ensure the implementation of justice through full transparency and adherence to the law, while also respecting the historic sovereignty and spiritual mission of the Armenian Church,” However, primates Arch. Derderian (Western Diocese), Bishop Parsamyan (Eastern Diocese), and Bishop Hovakimyan (Canadian Diocese) fail to recognize Armenia’s Sovereignty supersedes the “sovereignty of the Armenian Church,” “So, Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Luke 20:25). Primates Derderian, Parsamyan and Hovakimyan conveniently ignore the Armenian state’s fiduciary duties towards its own citizens, Like any healthy state Armenia is obligated to protect its own citizens against criminally-inclined elements within the society including corrupted and criminally-motivated Armenian Church clergy and staff operating under Karekin II and the Russian fifth column in Armenia, On October 15, Armenia’s law enforcement authorities conducted a search at the residence of Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan who was subsequently detained along with 12 other clergy and staff, Later, Armenia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that three individuals, including the bishop, had been arrested, Bishop Proshyan – a nephew of Karekin II and a core member of the Catholicos’s mafia “faces public criminal prosecution under two articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code for obstructing electoral rights and coercing participation in rallies using official or service authority,” Recently, Very Rev. Khoren Hovannisyan, the former staff-bearer and personal secretary of His Holiness Karekin I Sarkissian (1995-1999) and Catholicos Karekin II Nersisyan (1999-present) divulged that the current Catholicos Karekin II Nersisyan along with his blood-brother Arch. Yezras Nersisyan are the epitome of Soviet-era corruption and criminal culture, He stated that Karekin II and Yezras’s “nefarious activities are endless,” Very Rev. Hovannisyan underlined that when His Holiness Vasken I, Catholicos of All Armenians, was invited to the United States in the 1970’s, the Soviet Kremlin forced His Holiness to allow one of their KGB assets – then ‘priest’ Karekin Nersisyan to accompany him, The Soviet KGB felt relieved that their asset ‘priest’ Karekin Nersisyan would be their ears during all of His Holiness Vasken I’s meetings in the United States, Nearly all high-ranking members of clergy operating under the Catholicosate of Holy Etchmiadzin are widely regarded as Soviet-era KGB assets, Church members in Armenia and Diaspora are concerned about the fact that many – if not all, “Soviet-era KGB assets within the Armenian Church are now being controlled by the Russian FSB, the successor of the KGB,” Russian Pres. Putin’s administration is accused of undermining Armenia’s Sovereignty, Independence and Defence, Karekin II and company are integrated with the “Russian stooges in Armenia – the old regime leaders such former Pres. Robert Kocharyan and former Pres. Serzh Sargsyan,” Putin’s Russian Federation has faced public condemnation of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and ongoing efforts by the Kremlin to systematically undermine the sovereignty of several former Soviet states such as Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Central Asian states and The Baltic States among others.