Armenian law-enforcement authorities reported on Friday no inquiries into their violent conduct. Critics said, meanwhile, that the size of the security detail only proves that the ten archbishops and bishops demanding Garegin’s resignation acted on Pashinian’s orders when they urged supporters to converge on the Echmiadzin cathedral to help them “liberate” the Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Mother See responded by scheduling a special prayer service there at the same time. For their part, Armenian opposition leaders and other prominent critics of the government urged supporters to join them in scuttling what they called an attack on Garegin’s headquarters ordered by Pashinian.
Thousands of believers heeded the opposition appeal, outnumbering other demonstrators, including local government officials and ruling party members, backing Pashinian’s efforts to depose the supreme head of the church. Hundreds of riot police were deployed around the cathedral to separate the rival groups.
The police failed to prevent a group of government loyalists from attempting to burst into the cathedral at the end of the service led by Garegin. They were pushed back by priests and laymen supporting Garegin. One of the priests suffered a heart attack in the melee and was rushed to hospital.
The incident occurred right after six of the pro-government bishops made a brief appearance outside the cathedral, triggering “Judas!” chants from the pro-Garegin crowd. They were surrounded by several dozen plainclothes guards who hit and shoved journalists trying to interview the clergymen whisked away from the scene several minutes later. One of the reporters felt unwell and was helped by policemen.
A National Security Service officer who participated in Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian’s arrest before escorting other, pro-government bishops.
A man who seemingly led the security guards was later recognized as an officer of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) who participated in the June 25 arrest of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, a vocal critic of Pashinian. Two other guards appeared to be police officers. One of them was identified as a member of a special police unit tasked with crowd control.
The massive security entourage of the rebel clerics sharply contrasted with the fact that Pashinian’s government had stripped Garegin of state bodyguards years ago. Both the Armenian police and the NSS declined to comment on their heavy protection or the behavior of the guards.
“Have you identified them as NSS employees?” a spokesperson for the former Armenian branch of the Soviet KGB told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Please send us your questions [in writing.] We will respond within the [legally] defined time frame.”
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.
One of the six pro-government bishops, Vazgen Mirzakhanian, admitted on Friday that they had planned to enter the cathedral the previous night.
“But since various groups and factions were invited and their main goal was to provoke, we naturally tried to evade,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Mirzakhanian sought to justify the violent behavior of the security guards. He suggested that they “tried to defend the clergymen against those aggressive media outlets.”
Mirzakhanian also said that he and the like-minded bishops are not yet planning to rally their supporters again. But he said they will keep campaigning for Garegin’s resignation demanded by Pashinian.
Garegin, who received a hero’s welcome from his supporters, again rejected those demands when he addressed them at the end of Thursday’s prayer service.
“Another attempt to encroach upon Holy Etchmiadzin took place today, unfortunately, with the involvement of some members of the clergy,” he said. “Yet the faithful children of our people remain steadfast and fearless. This noise will never hinder the fulfillment of our sacred mission, nor the realization of our programs dedicated to the construction and prosperity of our homeland.”
“We urge our venerable clergy who have gone astray to return to the canonical path and act exclusively in accordance with the sacred order of our Holy Church,” added the Catholicos.
