Ajapahian, the primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, surrendered to investigators on June 27, several hours after security forces raided the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin in an attempt to arrest the outspoken archbishop. They failed to do so facing fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laypeople.
His arrest followed the detention of another Armenian archbishop, Bagrat Galstanian, along with 14 of his supporters, on charges of plotting to topple the government through “terrorist acts,” which they deny.
Government critics allege the arrests are part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s broader campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church in which he has called for the resignation of its head, Catholicos Garegin II, alleging that the supreme patriarch has broken his vow of celibacy by fathering a child.
During the opening session in Ajapahian’s trial attended by members of his flock as well as senior Church representatives, the court rejected a defense petition for the archbishop’s release pending trial, extending his detention by another 10 days.
Ajapahian stated that he would not appeal to the prosecutor for release, asserting his belief in his own innocence. The 61-year-old archbishop strongly criticized the authorities, noting that he had not been arrested even during the Soviet times when priests were openly persecuted. But, he said, “a state that calls itself democratic is now restricting freedom of speech through detention.”
The charges against Ajapahian stem from an interview he gave to a local media outlet back in February 2024. In that interview the archbishop allegedly called for a military coup in Armenia. At the time, however, prosecutors found no criminal wrongdoing in his remarks. The prosecution now argues that Ajapahian’s repetition of the statement in June 2025 warranted the launch of a criminal investigation.
The Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin has strongly condemned the decision to take the archbishop into custody, calling it an act of personal revenge. The Armenian Apostolic Church described Ajapahian’s detention as “a direct result of the government’s policy of persecution against the Church, led by the prime minister and other high-ranking officials, as well as rhetoric of hostility and hatred toward the clergy.”
Pashinian and members of his political team deny targeting the Church, insisting that their efforts are intended to reform it by removing clergy they view as undevout.