Pashinyan says there will be no clashes at Mother See

PanARMENIAN.Net - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared that there will be no clashes at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin amid ongoing tensions. In a Facebook post, he said that “the faithful flock of the Armenian Apostolic Church will Christianly free their holiest of holies, the Mother See.”

He added: “It became clear who is inciting clashes at the Mother See. Seeing that law enforcement officers didn’t fall for provocations, they started fighting among themselves. There will be no clashes. The faithful of the Armenian Apostolic Church will peacefully reclaim the Mother See and return the Catholicosate to the Catholicos.”

Following the events, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan left the premises and continued on to the Investigative Committee by car.

Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, describing the situation at Etchmiadzin, said: “A clergy assembly had been scheduled today at the Mother See, coordinated by Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. The meeting was arranged over a month ago.” He noted that when National Security Service (NSS) officers arrived to detain Ajapahyan, they were asked to wait until the meeting ended, but they refused.

“Even under those circumstances, Bishop Mikael agreed to appear before the Investigative Committee. But as you witnessed, a heavy police and NSS presence triggered concern among both clergy and civilians. Fortunately, no clashes occurred. Although the Bishop was about to get into the car, it didn’t happen, and eventually the forces retreated. Now we are heading to the Committee voluntarily to participate in the criminal proceedings,” Zohrabyan said.

Earlier in the day, around 30 masked individuals stormed the Shirak Diocese. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was not present there but at Etchmiadzin, where a clergy assembly was scheduled. The NSS entered the grounds to detain him. Despite stating his willingness to go with authorities, a scuffle led him to leave with the Catholicos. He is being investigated for public calls to seize power, violate territorial integrity, renounce sovereignty, or overthrow the constitutional order.