Armenian Apostolic Church decries arrest of senior prelate accused of drugs offences
byJONATHAN luxmoorechurch timesCharges are ‘baseless’, bishops say, urging others not to succumb to ‘coercive pressure’
ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCHArchbishop Arshak Khachatryan
THE Armenian Apostolic Church has condemned the arrest of a fourth senior prelate in its dispute with the Armenian government, and has urged other bishops not to succumb to unconstitutional “coercive pressure”.
“This is a manifestation of repressions recently unleashed against our Church and a continuation of the politically motivated persecution of our clergy,” a statement from the mother see of Holy Etchmiadzin says. “The detention of high-ranking clergy on manufactured accusations is yet another expression of the authorities’ anti-Church policy and fomenting of hostility against our clergy.”
The Church was reacting to the arrest of the Chancellor of the see, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, on charges of planting drugs on protesters, and selling drugs, at a public rally in 2018 against the Church’s chief pastor, Catholicos Karekin II.
The Church demanded an immediate end to the “unlawful persecution” of the Archbishop on “fabricated and baseless charges”, and the restoration of rights to other recently detained clergy.
In a follow-up statement on Monday of last week, the Church urged senior clergy to resist police pressure and to avoid what it described as government-led liturgies, which offended “spiritual sensibilities” and “grossly violated ecclesiastical order”.
The Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, whose Civil Contract party gained power in January 2019, has sought friendly ties with Russia while negotiating accession to the European Union, but has clashed with the Apostolic Church over attempts at peace with Azerbaijan, which won control of war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh and other contested areas in an offensive in September 2023 (News, 22 September 2023).
Church leaders have charged Mr Pashinyan with failing to protect Christian heritage sites and ignoring the rights of prisoners of war and displaced Armenians.
The worsening confrontation — during which government officials have accused Karekin of acting as a foreign agent, and fathering a child in violation of his vow of celibacy — has left the Church divided. Nine of its 50 bishops have called for Karekin to step down because of his “anti-canonical, dangerous, harmful, and destructive” actions. Others have pledged “unconditional loyalty” and denounced “secular interference” and “blatant attempts to fracture church unity”.
Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan of Shirak was sentenced to two years in prison in October for allegedly inciting a coup during media interviews in 2024 and 2025.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan also awaits trial for allegedly plotting sabotage, after accusing the government during opposition rallies of allowing genocide and the destruction of churches.
In a message on 7 December, the Catholicos said that he was postponing an emergency episcopal assembly in light of the “developing situation” and “increased pressure on clergy
