Russia & FSU

Prominent Armenian cleric gives himself up amid coup accusations: Live Updates

Law enforcement raided the local seat of the national church, which had protested territorial concessions to AzerbaijanProminent Armenian cleric gives himself up amid coup accusations: Live Updates

Prominent Armenian cleric gives himself up amid coup accusations: Live Updates

©  Screenshot / Social media

A prominent Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) cleric chose to give himself up despite protesters’ attempts to defend him.

Armenian police raided the seat of the country’s Apostolic Church, the country’s largest, in the city of Vagharshapat, leading to major clashes between clerics, church members, and law enforcement.

Though Pro-Church protesters managed to block earlier attempts to detain Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan, the cleric chose to walk to the Investigative Committee (IC) building and turn himself in. Earlier, the authorities had tried to detain Adjapahyan on suspicion of attempting to stage a coup – accusations the cleric has denied.

A number of pro-Church protesters have been detained, and the IC has announced that it has launched criminal proceedings into obstruction of justice.

The country’s government has been at odds with the AAC for months, as it emerged as the main driver behind 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.

  • 27 June 2025

    19:28 GMT

    Adjapahyan has asked for his supporters to not nominate him for prime minister.

    “I am fully satisfied with my service as a clergyman, so I ask that my name not be used in the list of candidates for the post of prime minister. God bless you,” the cleric said in a written statement published by his lawyer.

    Armenian opposition groups have called for Prime Minister Pashinyan to be impeached and for Adjapahyan to be nominated for his position.

  • 18:49 GMT

    The archbishop has been delivered to court, Sputnik Armenia reports.

  • 18:42 GMT

    Adjapahyan said he would like to use his right to a single phone call while in detention to call the Armenian prime minister, when asked whom he would like to contact.

    “I would like to inform Nikol Pashinyan that I have been detained,” he told his lawyer, according to Sputnik Armenia.

    Pashinyan earlier accused the cleric of “violating a biblical commandment” by not immediately complying with the authorities.

  • 18:16 GMT

    Adjapahyan is being moved from the IC building to a local court, Armenia Today has reported.

  • 18:15 GMT

    Adjapahyan has been detained on suspicion of advocating to overthrow the government, the cleric’s lawyer has said, according to RIA Novosti.

    A Yerevan court will consider the issue of his arrest within 24 hours, he added.

  • 17:58 GMT

    Both the clergy and believers support Archbishop Adjapahyan, the AAC said, adding that it will defend its rights by all legal means.

    “We expect a fair decision from the court.”

  • 17:34 GMT

    AAC clergy and sympathetic protesters are praying outside of the Investigative Committee building where Archbishop Adjapahyan is being held.

  • 17:23 GMT

    “It is obvious from the rhetoric of both the country’s prime minister and various representatives of the government that this planned action is another display of their anti-church policy,” the AAC announced in a statement.

  • 17:08 GMT

    Today will go down in history as “a day of national shame” for the shameful actions taken by the Armenian authorities against the Armenian Apostolic Church, the AAC said in a statement cited by local news.

    “We strongly condemn the initiated anti-church actions and assess them as a disrespect for the Armenian spiritual center,” the Church added, calling the events “a grave insult to the spiritual feelings of believers.”

  • 17:05 GMT

    Armenian police are still out in force in front of the Investigative Committee building, hours after Adjapahyan was led inside, Armenia Today reports.

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