Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, has just been released from the pretrial detention center of the National Security Service of Armenia.

Speaking with reporters, he thanked the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the media for supporting him during this time.

“All scenarios were calculated, but there were surprises. I remember that the detention centers were called ‘correctional labor camps.’ I am happy to say that I have remained ‘incorrigible,’ nothing has changed in my views and positions. The end will be good. If it’s not good, then it’s not the end,” the archbishop said.

The appellate court today ruled to immediately release the high-ranking clergyman.

Archbishop Khachatryan was arrested on December 4, 2025 by the National Security Service of Armenia as he was leaving the building of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

The Investigative Committee officially announced that a public criminal prosecution was initiated against him on charges of illegal sale of drugs by a group of persons with prior consent in a public place.

In actual fact, however, the archbishop is accused of  instructing to put drugs in the bag of an activist of the "New Armenia, New Patriarch" movement in 2018 in order to discredit this person, which, according to the defense, is absurd.

Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan was arrested on December 5, 2025, by the decision of the Yerevan Criminal Court of General Jurisdiction.