YEREVAN: Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has been detained on charges of overthr...
YEREVAN: Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has been detained on charges of overthrowing the government and investigators have requested his arrest, his lawyer, Ara Zograbian said.
On Friday, a scuffle broke out between representatives of the Armenian clergy, believers and the country's law enforcement officers on the premises of the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians in Vagharshapat, also known as Etchmiadzin.
TASS has compiled the key facts about the situation.
About archbishop’s detainment
- Criminal charges were brought against Archbishop Mikael under Part 2, Article 422 of Armenia’s Criminal Code.
- Investigators appealed to court to arrest the archbishop, his attorney said.
- The court will make a decision within 24 hours of the archbishop’s detainment.
- Archbishop Mikael has not admitted his guilt.
Support for archbishop
- Archbishop Mikael has refused to be nominated for prime minister.
- Yerevan will remember June 27, 2025 as a day of national disgrace in the modern history of Armenia, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin said in a statement addressing the attempted intrusion by law enforcement into the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church to detain the archbishop.
- His detainment is yet another manifestation of the policy course directed against the church, the statement reads.
Tensions between Armenian prime minister, country’s clergy
- Relations between Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the country’s clergy have deteriorated in recent years, particularly since the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin called for his resignation in 2020 and criticized his policy on Nagorno-Karabakh.
- On May 30, Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan published several posts on their social media accounts with derogatory remarks against representatives of the Armenian Church.
- On June 24, the Armenian prime minister shared material from the pro-government Civic.am portal on his Telegram channel. The material contained information about an allegedly planned "seizure of power" and called the plan "a coup d’etat attempt of scoundrels."
- Early on June 25, Armenia’s Investigative Committee announced that Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the Holy Struggle opposition movement, and his associates were planning terror attacks in order to seize power.
- On the same day, law enforcement officials detained several opposition and clergy representatives, including Galstanyan who was arrested for two months.
- On June 26, the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case against Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, accusing him of publicly calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order.
- Early on June 27, law enforcement officials arrived at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to detain Ajapahian. This angered the clergy and believers who tried to obstruct the officers. A scuffle ensued between law enforcement officials and believers.
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