Archbishop Shahan Sarkissian, the representative of Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on October 16. The archbishop conveyed a message from Aram I during his visit.
However, the statements issued by the Armenian government and the Antelias Catholicosate diverged significantly regarding the content of the meeting.
According to the official release from the Armenian government, the archbishop presented Pashinyan with a commemorative volume published for the 30th anniversary of Aram I's enthronement and conveyed the Catholicos’s “warm greetings and blessings.”
The statement from Antelias, however, included additional points. Alongside the book presentation, the message notes that Archbishop Sarkissian conveyed Aram I’s concerns regarding the recent arrests of clergy in Armenia, emphasizing the importance of church-state cooperation and the need to find solutions to these issues.
“In the name of Catholicos Aram I, Archbishop Shahan expressed concern about the current situation and stressed the importance of church-state cooperation. He also raised the issue of clergy arrests and the imperative to seek necessary solutions,” reads the statement from Antelias.
The Catholicosate also announced that Archbishop Sarkissian plans to meet with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, President Vahagn Khachaturyan, and former presidents Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Serzh Sargsyan.
*On the morning of October 15, Armenia’s Investigative Committee, accompanied by the National Security Service, conducted searches at the Aragatsotn Diocese headquarters and in the homes of several clergymen. Dozens of clergymen and employees of the diocese, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, were taken to the Investigative Committee. By court order, Bishop Proshyan was placed in two-month detention, and Father Garegin Arsenyan, pastor of the Surb Gevorg Church in Mughni and chancellor of the diocese, was detained for one month. Others were designated as witnesses in the case.
The Investigative Committee reported that criminal proceedings were initiated against the diocesan leader under two articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code: abuse of official position to interfere with electoral rights, and coercing participation in gatherings through use of authority.*
