Fr. Vrtanes Baghalyan, the parish priest of Surb Hovhannes Church in Byurakan, stated on November 18 that law enforcement authorities are arbitrarily obstructing the service of clergy through investigations and other interventions. He made the remarks while being questioned as a witness in the case related to an audio recording attributed to Bishop Nathan.
“They could never show such arbitrary behavior toward any registered religious organization or sect in Armenia. If they did, they wouldn’t make it home from international courts. Investigators and judges would lose their bonuses, and the state would pay for their abuses,” he said, according to Aysor.am .
He added that it was unserious to summon him as a witness in the case involving the leaked audio reportedly featuring Bishop Nathan and former priest Aghan Yeranjakyan. “We are all being summoned for questioning over everything. Is that reasonable?” he asked.
The controversy stems from an October 17 leak of a 2023 audio recording allegedly of Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, director of external relations at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The recording appears to be a conversation with former cleric Aghan Yeranjakyan, in which the latter claims Catholicos Karekin II instructed him to take his family and join protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This recording triggered a criminal investigation that led to Fr. Vrtanes’ questioning.
