From Etchmiadzin to Washington: Resisting the betrayal of the Armenian nation
In Armenia today, we are witnessing the culmination of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s betrayal of the Armenian nation. As Armenian authorities engage in an unprecedented crackdown on Armenia’s national institutions, political opposition, government critics and the Armenian Apostolic Church, we must recognize that our struggle today is not merely political—it is existential. As Pashinyan’s regime erodes the very foundation, and soul of the Armenian nation, it is the sworn duty of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) to resist.
Having surrendered Artsakh and repeatedly capitulated to the demands of Azerbaijan’s genocidal regime, Pashinyan now consummates his betrayal of the Armenian people through his shameless abandonment of the very principles he once claimed to embody. He deploys the very tactics he once condemned—stifling political dissent, decapitating the opposition, destroying national institutions and dividing the Armenian nation. This targeted repression, combined with Pashinyan’s relentless campaign to delegitimize the Armenian Apostolic Church and marginalize the voices of Artsakh Armenians, reveals what we have long known to be true: the Armenian government is no longer acting in service of the Armenian nation, but in pursuit of its own political survival—at any cost.
These current crackdowns are not happening in a vacuum—they are an inseparable part of a broader effort to turn the final page on Artsakh. For the Pashinyan regime, surrendering our ancestral homeland to Azerbaijan, our genocidal oppressor, was not enough. As long as the voice of Artsakh remains, as long as her people continue to demand justice and as long as our national institutions—whether the Armenian Church or the ARF—fight for the salvation of our ancestral homeland, Pashinyan’s legitimacy will be threatened. He does not want us to simply “move on” from Artsakh; he wants to erase it from our national memory.
Pashinyan has tried to convince the Armenian nation that capitulating to Turkey and Azerbaijan is necessary for peace and prosperity—that abandoning our prisoners of war, denouncing Artsakh’s leadership, conceding our ancestral lands, discarding our ancient churches and renouncing the right of return is the price are the costs for sovereignty. But as Armenia now faces a grave existential threat at the hands of Azerbaijan—amid its occupation of sovereign Armenian land, destruction of our heritage, torture of our prisoners and ever-mounting concessions and demands—it is clear that peace at any cost is not peace, but surrender.
The ARF remains steadfast in its commitment to Armenia’s sovereignty, democracy and national dignity. Pashinyan’s persecution of his political opposition, suppression of peaceful protests and attacks on the Armenian Church represent an assault on the entire Armenian nation. We call on our community to hold Pashinyan accountable for his betrayal, to resist this dangerous slide into tyranny, to reject defeatism and to stand in righteous solidarity with the Armenian Apostolic Church—one of the most sacred pillars of our Armenian identity.
In an act of unity, the ARF Washington, D.C. “Sebouh” Gomideh called on the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia community to attend Divine Liturgy at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church on Sunday, June 29. The community responded, standing in support of Holy Etchmiadzin and speaking out against the outrageous arrests of Srpazan Bagrat and other religious leaders in the homeland.
Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan’s sermon rang true: “We are witnessing a grave scandal unfold in our homeland. In the Republic of Armenia—at the very gates of Holy Etchmiadzin, the sacred heart of our faith—bishops have been arrested, the Catholicos of All Armenians is being defamed and the Church is under orchestrated attack.”
He also proclaimed that “every attempt to destroy the Armenian Church has failed. Every scandal against her has collapsed and every generation that tried to silence her is gone. But the Church stands. Because Christ said, ‘I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ Let us not fall into the sin of silence. Let us not be accomplices in scandal through indifference.”
Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian of Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church also spoke about the Armenian Church’s enduring role, explaining: “Those who do not recognize the Church’s role are mistaken—for it is the Church that has preserved us throughout all the years in history where there was no Armenian government.”
The words of Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian and Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan encouraged all in attendance to remain strong and to believe in the Armenian Church—as it has been, and will continue to be, a pivotal institution in the Armenian nation.
