Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, accompanied by clergy, arrived in Etchmiadzin Cathedral from the Veharan, the official residence and workplace of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Hundreds of people gathered there are chanting, “His Holiness.”

Karekin II will shortly participate in the joint prayer service at the Mother Cathedral.

The church bells are ringing there.

As reported earlier, the ten bishops and archbishops, who support Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his confrontation with the Armenian Apostolic Church, on Wednesday issued a statement calling on people to join them at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on Thursday at 5pm to demand the resignation of the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II.

Subsequently, the Diocese of Aragatsotn, whose primate is among the detained high-ranking clergymen, issued a statement on relocating its planned joint prayer service from the Byurakan village church to the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. The joint prayer service in support of the detained clergymen is slated for today at 5pm, simultaneously with the gathering of those demanding the Catholicos’ resignation.

The bishops and archbishops supporting Pashinyan have not yet arrived in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. But starting from 3pm, hundreds of supporters of the Catholicos of All Armenians and members of opposition political forces have gathered in the courtyard of the Mother See.

Large-scale police forces have been deployed in the area.