YEREVAN: Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday that the security forces had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric, the latest twist in his escalating conflict with the powerful Apostolic Church.

Pashinyan has been at loggerheads with the Church since its head, Catholicos Garegin II, began calling for his resignation following Armenia’s disastrous 2020 military defeat to arch-foe Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh region.

The dispute escalated after Baku seized full control of the region in 2023. Pashinyan started pushing an unpopular peace deal with Azerbaijan that would essentially renounce Yerevan’s claims to a region many Armenians see as their ancestral homeland.

“Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Armenia and seize power,” Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram channel early Wednesday.

The authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a charismatic senior church figure trying to rally opposition to Pashinyan, accusing him of trying to mastermind the attempted coup.

“Since November 2024 (he) set himself the goal of changing power by means not permitted by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,” said the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.

The Apostolic Church wields considerable influence in Armenia, which in the fourth century became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion.

Galstanyan, who leads the opposition movement Sacred Struggle, last year accused Pashinyan of ceding territory to Azerbaijan and led mass protests that ultimately failed to topple the prime minister.

His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, condemned the case as politically motivated.

He told reporters the archbishop “acts independently” and said case materials showed no connection to the Church.

The Investigative Committee said it had arrested 14 people and launched criminal proceedings against 16 suspects after raids of more than 90 premises in a case related to Galstanyan’s Sacred Struggle movement.

Publishing photos of guns and ammunition found during a series of raids, it alleged that Galstanyan had “acquired the necessary means and tools to carry out terrorist acts and seize power.”

It also released covert recordings suggesting Galstanyan and his allies had called to execute officials, imprison opponents, and suppress any resistance by force.

“We either kill, or we die,” said a man, whose voice was said to resemble that of Galstanyan, in one of the clips.

Galstanyan’s legal team said it expected he would be “charged with terrorism and attempted seizure of power.”

The News.am website published footage showing Galstanyan leaving his house accompanied by masked police officers, who escorted him into a car and drove him away.

“Evil, listen carefully — whatever you do, you have very little time left. Hold on, we are coming,” he said, apparently addressing Pashinyan,

A crowd of supporters outside shouted, “Nikol is a traitor!“

The loss of Karabakh has divided Armenia, as Azerbaijan has demanded sweeping concessions in exchange for lasting peace.

Pashinyan earlier this month alleged Garegin II had an illegitimate child and, in an unprecedented challenge to the church, called on believers to remove him from office.

That triggered fierce opposition and calls for Pashinyan himself to be excommunicated.

Archbishop Galstanyan, a follower of Garegin II, catapulted to the forefront of Armenian politics in 2024 as he galvanized mass protests and sought to impeach Pashinyan.

The charismatic cleric temporarily stepped down from his religious post to challenge Pashinyan for prime minister — though as a dual Armenian-Canadian citizen, he is not eligible to hold the office.

Pashinyan’s grip on power, boosted by unpopular opposition parties and strong support in parliament, has so far remained unshaken.

A former journalist and opposition lawmaker, he came to power after leading street protests that escalated into a peaceful revolution in 2018.