Amid heightened church-state tensions, priests in Armenia’s Shirak Diocese have rejected suggestions to omit the name of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II during the upcoming Sunday liturgy, which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is expected to attend. The service is set to be held at the St. Jacob of Nisibis Church on December 7 and will be led by senior priest Varuzhan Terteryan.

“I will remain within the rules. I categorically will not omit the Catholicos’ name,” Father Varuzhan declared.

Earlier, activist Karen Petrosyan from the “New Armenia, New Catholicos” initiative reportedly approached another priest, Fr. Ruben, asking him to conduct the liturgy and omit the names of both the Catholicos and the bishop. Ter Ruben declined, stating: “I have no right to do that. It goes against our canon.”

He added: “They came and asked me to serve, presumably hoping I’d skip the names. But I told them I have no authority to do that. Spreading misinformation and using priests' names in this way is unacceptable.”

Bishop Narek Avagyan, the diocesan inspector, also denied any plans to instruct clergy to omit the Catholicos' name. Asked what he would do if a priest omitted it anyway, he responded, “What can I do?”

Separately, the Diocese announced that newly ordained Fr. Garnik Avoyan will celebrate his first liturgy at the Holy Mother of God Cathedral (Yot Verk) in Gyumri on the same day, with the blessing of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan and Bishop Narek Avagyan.

The developments follow a declaration by senior Armenian Church clergy accusing Catholicos Karekin II of covering up misconduct by Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan. The group claims Karekin II has betrayed his patriarchal oath. Prime Minister Pashinyan has met with the dissenting clergy and endorsed their stance. On November 29, they publicly demanded that the Catholicos step down.