Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not deny that officers of the National Security Service (NSS) meet with clergy to urge them to omit the Catholicos’ name during liturgy. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, he stated that he attends only those services where the Catholicos' name is not mentioned, Aysor.am reports.

“When I plan to attend a liturgy, we ask that this fact be taken into account. In one case, it may be a familiar person, maybe an NSS officer; in another, someone who does not work anywhere, or it might be my assistant, and so on. It depends on who knows whom and what personal ties exist. NSS or other institutions are only involved to the extent that someone knows someone. Priests don’t interact with state agencies only when I attend church. So don’t be too troubled by this,” said Pashinyan, responding to a question about Father Ruben of Gyumri’s church, who claimed that NSS officers approached him and told him to omit the Catholicos’ name during liturgy if the Prime Minister is present.

When asked whether public resources were being used to fulfill the Prime Minister’s personal preferences, Pashinyan responded:

“Anywhere the Prime Minister goes becomes, from that moment, a protected state site, and actions are taken accordingly. This includes security operations at churches. There’s nothing unusual here. I’m not raising a personal security issue; I’m raising a state security matter,” he stated.

According to circulating information, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan may attend a liturgy in Armenia’s Shirak region on Sunday, December 7. Earlier reports indicated that Father Ruben was expected to lead the service. In an interview, the priest said that Karen Petrosyan, an activist from the ‘New Armenia, New Catholicos’ initiative, approached him and requested that he lead the service and omit the names of the Catholicos and bishop.