Another archbishop, Mikael Ajapakhyan, detained in Armenia

Head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Mikael Ajapakhyan. Photo: news.am

The Yerevan Court has detained the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), Mikael Ajapakhyan, for two months. As reported by News.am on June 28, 2025, citing the hierarch's lawyer Ara Zograbyan, Ajapakhyan is accused of inciting the seizure of power.

According to the lawyer, the court's decision is unfounded and illegal, and he accused the judge of bias.

"There is no crime, absolutely none," Zograbyan emphasized. The defense intends to appeal the court's decision.

The previous attempt to arrest Ajapakhyan led to clashes between law enforcers and clergy. The reason for the law enforcement's arrival in Etchmiadzin was the intention to detain the archbishop, against whom a criminal case has been initiated under the article on "public calls for the seizure of power".

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin called the court’s decision to arrest Archbishop Mikael “a direct consequence of the prime minister’s anti-church policy”.

"The actions taken against Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan are nothing but political persecution and a manifestation of personal revenge by a person who considers himself a Christian and a follower of the Armenian Church, who the day before yesterday ordered law enforcement to surround the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, committing a reprehensible, unprecedented encroachment on the spiritual center of all Armenians, clergy, and believers. We call for the immediate release of Ajapakhyan," the statement notes.

As earlier reported, on June 26, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the Sacred Struggle movement, was detained.

The situation is developing against the backdrop of a prolonged conflict between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinyan accuses Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians of participating in a conspiracy and violating church vows. The Catholicos himself denies these accusations.

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