Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said there is no attack on the Armenian Apostolic Church on his part. Speaking during a press briefing, he stated that “nowhere is it written that a bishop and the Church are the same.”
“In the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church, there have been several—if not numerous—cases when a Catholicos was dismissed and left office. Did the Church collapse as a result? No, it didn’t. Not to mention that there was a case in Armenia where a bishop was held criminally responsible and spent years in prison,” Pashinyan noted, as reported by Aysor.am .
He also said he does not follow statements by Azerbaijan’s spiritual leader.
“If you try to link one event to another, for example, my press briefing today could coincide with dozens of events in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Gaza, and so on. If we conduct research, it might turn out that the moment you asked your question was during prayer time, and then comes the question: was that a coincidence? I’m not trying to counter your question, I just want to show that if someone wants to find a connection, they will,” he added.
On the morning of October 15, law enforcement officers searched the residence of Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, head of the Aragatsotn Diocese. He was detained along with 12 other clergy and staff of the diocesan administration. The Investigative Committee later announced that three individuals had been arrested, including the bishop, who now faces public criminal prosecution under two articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code: abuse of official position to obstruct electoral rights and coercion to participate in gatherings using authority or office.
