Arrested Armenian church leaders allowed Vardavar liturgy inside prison

Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapahian, currently under arrest, will participate in the liturgy marking the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Vardavar), which will be held at the Yerevan-Kentron detention facility.

According to Archbishop Ajapahian’s lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, the legal team submitted formal requests to allow the religious service within the detention center, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“We sent written appeals and we were allowed to hold the service this Sunday. The liturgy will be conducted by the detention facility chaplain, naturally, the archbishops will be present,” Zohrabyan said.

Arsen Harutyunyan, legal counsel for Archbishop Galstanyan, confirmed that both clerics remain in the same detention cell and have raised no complaints regarding the conditions of their confinement or the conduct of detention center staff. He noted that the archbishops are spending their time engaged in reading spiritual literature.

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a senior cleric in the Armenian Apostolic Church and leader of the “Holy Struggle” (Srbazan Baykar) movement, was detained on June 25 amid a sweeping wave of arrests targeting opposition figures accused of plotting a violent coup in Armenia.

According to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Galstanyan and his associates allegedly planned to overthrow the government through coordinated acts of sabotage, violence, and terrorism. Officials claim the movement began organizing strike teams of former police and military personnel as early as November 2024. The allegations, unproven and fiercely debated, have triggered one of Armenia’s most serious political escalations since the 2020 war, deepening tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church and drawing sharp condemnation from opposition groups.

Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has been formally charged in connection with a criminal case involving alleged calls to overthrow the government of Armenia.

According to Armenian media reports, Archbishop Ajapahian was detained following the launch of a criminal investigation under Part 2 of Article 422 of the Armenian Criminal Code, which relates to public calls for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order.

By Vafa Guliyeva