It became obvious who is inciting clashes at the Mother See. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote this on Facebook Friday—and regarding today’s incident at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

“Seeing that law enforcement officers do not give in to provocations, they resorted to fistfights among themselves. There will be no clashes. The faithful flock of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church will Christianly liberate its sanctuary of holiness, the Mother See, and will deliver the Veharan to the Supreme,” Pashinyan added.

The situation at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been tense since early morning. Hundreds of police and National Security Service officers as well as special police forces had arrived at the Mother See to detain Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Archbishop Ajapahian voluntarily left the Veharan, the official residence and workplace of the Catholicos of All Armenians, but fellow clergy and ordinary citizens did not allow law enforcement officers to detain him. And a few hours later, law enforcement officers left the Mother See.

Earlier, outside the seat of the Shirak Diocese, Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan had read out the decision of an Investigative Committee investigator to take Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian into custody. He had emphasized that the reason cited was the words of Archbishop Ajapahian during an interview given on February 3, 2024, allegedly making public calls aimed at seizing power and forcibly overthrowing the constitutional order in Armenia. Zohrabyan had added that the Investigative Committee will request that Ajapahian be arrested.

This morning, about 30 masked individuals broke into the seat of the Shirak Diocese.

Criminal proceedings have been initiated against Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian.

“On June 17, 2025, criminal proceedings were initiated under Section 2 of Article 422 of the Criminal Code (public calls aimed at seizing power, violating territorial integrity, renouncing sovereignty, or forcibly overthrowing the constitutional order),” the Prosecutor General’s Office had informed.