They were among several hundred government loyalists who gathered outside the Echmiadzin cathedral last Thursday as part of Pashinian’s efforts to depose the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II. The latter led a special prayer service there at that point.
The gathering led by several renegade bishops sparked a counterdemonstration attended by thousands of supporters of Garegin, among them opposition leaders and prominent public figures. Hundreds of riot police were deployed around the cathedral to separate the rival groups.
The police did not prevent a number of Pashinian supporters, including Durgarian, from attempting to burst into the cathedral at the end of the service. They were pushed back by priests and laymen. One of the priests, Father Vrtanes Baghalian, suffered a serious heart attack in the melee and was rushed to hospital.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service from his hospital bed, Baghalian said on Monday that the attackers were led by Durgarian as they “kicked and punched the Mother Cathedral’s [main entrance] door.”
“A drunk man climbed the tomb of a [late] Catholicos and signaled to that group to push the door, to get in,” he said. “I politely told him to come down but then realized that he is not listening. So I had to climb up, pull him by the shoulder and bring him down.”
The aggressive men also included Tavros Sapeyan, the pro-government mayor of the central Armenian town of Talin. He was caught on camera swearing at another priest during the incident.
A view of the Opera House in Yerevan, October 21, 2024.
Garnik Danielian, a parliament deputy from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, petitioned the Armenian police at the weekend to open a criminal case against Durgarian and Sapeyan. The police did not comment on the demand as of Monday evening.
Durgarian could not be reached for comment throughout the day. The National Opera and Ballet Theater declined to comment on his behavior.
Durgarian is related to the state-run theater’s director and chief conductor, Karen Durgarian. The content of his Facebook page suggests that he is a staunch supporter of Pashinian.
Opposition leaders and other government critics portrayed the dramatic events in Echmiadzin as a serious setback for Pashinian. They claimed to have prevented a government seizure of the cathedral while urging supporters to be ready for more actions in support of Garegin.
Some of them fear that the authorities will arrest the Catholicos in the coming days or weeks. One Armenian bishop and three archbishops are already in jail, facing different criminal charges rejected by them as politically motivated.
