5 hours ago
3
Law enforcement is raiding a local seat of the national church, which has protested territorial concessions to Azerbaijan
Armenian police have attempted to raid the seat of the country’s Apostolic Church, the country’s largest religion, in the city of Vagharshapat, leading to major clashes between clerics, church members and law enforcement.
The stand-off comes amid speculation that Armenian authorities could try to arrest Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan on suspicion that he had attempted to stage a coup.
The country’s government has been at odds with the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) for months, as it emerged as the main driver behind the mass protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to return several border villages to Azerbaijan.
While Pashinyan portrayed the move as a pathway to mending tenuous relations between the two former Soviet republics, many Armenians have seen it as a betrayal of national interests.
As the stand-off escalated, Armenian authorities on Wednesday arrested Bagrat Galstanyan, a high-profile cleric and a key protest leader, on terrorism charges.
They also detained Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who voiced support for the AAC. Karapetyan faces charges of calling for the overthrow of the state.
