Security forces detained seven priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church

In Armenia, a bishop and six clergymen, as well as several civilians, have been detained on suspicion of abuse of office to organize mass protests. 

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," the court sentenced Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to two years in prison. His defense intends to appeal the verdict.

Seven members of the clergy and church civil servants have been detained in Armenia. Among those detained were Priest Paren Arakelyan, abbot of the Saghmosavank monastery complex in Armenia, and Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, head of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"The priests are being held by the Investigative Committee, and there is no information regarding Mkrtch Proshyan's whereabouts. We are currently trying to determine these details. Further clarification will be provided as needed," NEWS.am quotes Yesai Artenyan, head of the information service at the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan is the nephew of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Interfax clarifies.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has confirmed the detention of clergy from the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. "This is part of a preliminary investigation into a criminal case opened for the abuse of official or service powers, or the influence exerted by them, to obstruct the holding of a meeting or participation in one," TASS quotes Investigative Committee spokesperson Kim Avdalyan as saying.

The defense team for the detained priests believes this is related to the criminal case opened based on statements by Aram Asatryan, a priest of the Aragatsotn Diocese. He previously stated in an interview with Public Television that the head of the diocese forced him and other priests to participate in opposition protests in 2021. It was later revealed that, based on his statements, a pro-government publication appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office to initiate criminal proceedings. Daniel Ioannisyan, head of the Informed Citizen organization, stated that at their insistence, an investigation was launched based on the statements by Aram Asatryan, as coercion to participate in meetings and rallies is prohibited by Armenian law, Sputnik Armenia reported.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  harshly criticized the Church at a government meeting on May 29, and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for his insults to the Church.

For more information on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government, see the "Caucasian Knot" report " The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025. "

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416338