Pashinyan vs Armenian Church: Another priest summoned for questioning

Tensions between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church continue to mount after a second priest was summoned by the Investigative Committee for questioning, scheduled on a Sunday, the day of liturgy.

The rector of the Byurakan Saint John Church, priest Vrtanes Baghayan, has been called to appear as a witness in an ongoing criminal investigation, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media. 

The case concerns allegations of coercing individuals to participate in political rallies using one’s official position or authority.

His lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, described the timing of the summons as an apparent attempt to disrupt Sunday services. Earlier, the current rector of Hovhannavanq Monastery, Father Sarkis Sarkisyan, had also been questioned in connection with the same investigation.

The latest developments come amid a deepening confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration and the Armenian Church. The dispute intensified after Pashinyan made a series of sharp public criticisms of senior clergy on social media and proposed significant changes to the process of electing the Catholicos of All Armenians — the head of the Church. His plan envisions granting the state a decisive role in the election process, and he has vowed to personally lead a movement seeking to remove the current Catholicos.

In recent weeks, several high-ranking members of the clergy — including Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, and the abbot of the Surb Gevork Monastery in Mughni, Father Garegin Arsenyan — have been arrested on various charges.

The criminal probe reportedly began after statements by priest Aram Asatryan, who alleged that some members of the clergy had coerced parishioners into attending opposition rallies.

By Sabina Mammadli