YEREVAN, June 27. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has assured that no clashes will occur in Armenia following a scuffle between security forces and believers. The incident took place when Armenian National Security Service officers arrived on the territory of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, to detain Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
"There will be no clashes!" Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier in the day, Armenian security forces left the premises without apprehending the archbishop. After supporters prevented his exit, Archbishop Mikael walked to the Investigative Committee in Yerevan, accompanied by a crowd of believers. The procession lasted about half an hour before the archbishop continued by car. He has now arrived at Armenia’s Investigative Committee.
On Friday morning, masked security officers raided the building of the Diocese of Shirak in Gyumri. By that time, the primate, Ajapahian, had already departed for a clergy meeting convened at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Reports came on June 26 that the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office had opened a criminal case against the archbishop on accusations of publicly calling for the overturn of the constitutional order.