Lawyer Norayr Norikyan wrote on Facebook that he does not rule out the possibility that "a plan for regime change using the potential of the Armenian Church is being modeled or has been modeled in Armenia, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan senses a real threat to his power."

He raised the question: why is Pashinyan only now expressing concern over Karekin II having a child?

"Presumably, Pashinyan felt a real threat to his power from the Armenian Church and the Catholicos of All Armenians. Otherwise, he wouldn’t so insistently demand that Garegin II vacate the Catholicosate.

If Pashinyan claims that Karekin II violated his voluntary vow of celibacy and has a child—and he can prove it—then this means the Catholicos had a child before becoming bishop. In that case, Pashinyan must have known about it since May 8, 2018, when he became Prime Minister.

So, why is this only troubling Pashinyan now?

Does he suddenly consider himself a devout follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church, now cherishing every relic and stone of its spiritual heritage?

If not, why the silence until now?

To me, the answer is clear: the real threat of losing power...

So as long as the Church posed no danger to his authority, violating celibacy was ignored. But fear of losing control has now shifted the rules of the game, pushing the government toward unconstitutional actions, which is dangerous.

I don’t rule out that a regime change plan is being modeled using the Church’s potential, and Pashinyan is pretending to prevent it.

If that’s the case, he should be honest with the people—open the curtains and explain how he governed a country where even the Church turned against him.

This move, moreover, may serve other agendas, possibly related to normalizing ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey and establishing peace.

Clearly, everything Pashinyan does in Armenia is observed in Ankara and Baku. The real question is how his actions will be interpreted in those capitals.

What’s certain is that Armenia is entering a new political cycle. Soon we must identify who will emerge as the main challenger to Pashinyan’s leadership," he wrote.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier declared that "the Armenian Apostolic Church must have a newly elected Catholicos" and urged followers to unite "in love and Christian spirit to free the Catholicosate and to elect a truly sacred spiritual leader as Catholicos of All Armenians." He shared this via Facebook.

He added that Garegin II violated the vow of celibacy he voluntarily undertook and has a child. "This is a fact," Pashinyan wrote, adding he would prove it if challenged. "Therefore, Karekin II could not have been bishop, archbishop, or elected Catholicos. Ktrich Nersisyan must vacate the Catholicosate."