Priests summoned for 25-day military training

PanARMENIAN.Net - Four clergymen from the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan have received notices requiring them to participate in 25-day military training exercises, according to Fr. Yesayi Arthenyan, director of the information service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Sputnik Armenia reported.

“Four priests from the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan have received notices. Two are already expected to attend the training exercises, one is currently at the military commissariat awaiting a decision, and another has been assigned a second medical examination,” Fr. Yesayi said, adding that the priests who received notices have naturally been barred from leaving the country.

On June 22, journalist Suzy Badoyan reported that Armenia’s National Security Service had prevented two clergymen serving Armenian churches in Voronezh and Izhevsk from departing for Russia through Zvartnots International Airport, where they were due to continue their religious service.

According to Fr. Yesayi, the priests who received call-up notices did not attempt to travel through the airport to Russia but instead reported to military commissariats.

He also noted that there are clergy members in the Armenian Diocese of Southern Russia who have likewise received such notices.

In early June, reports circulated claiming that representatives of law enforcement agencies were issuing notices for 25-day military training exercises to individuals arriving at Zvartnots Airport, allegedly to prevent their participation in voting scheduled for June 7. Armenia’s Military Police did not deny the reports, stating that it was carrying out duties aimed at assisting military commissariats in registering citizens liable for military service, conscripting individuals for mandatory military service, and involving reservists in training activities.