Investigative Committee interrogates Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan

 Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, head of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, was summoned for questioning by the Investigative Committee late in the evening on October 21.

According to the Investigative Committee, he was interrogated as part of a criminal investigation launched after a report concerning an audio recording that circulated online, Sputnik Armenia reports.

Earlier, several pro-government media outlets published a recording made in 2023, in which Aghan Yernjakyan, former staff-bearer of the Catholicos of All Armenians, accuses Catholicos Karekin II during a conversation with Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan of allegedly pressuring him and his family to attend a rally.

According to ArmLur.am , citing its sources, Archbishop Nathan informed law enforcement that he had no comment on the conversation, which he believes was recorded illegally.

The Prosecutor General’s Office previously announced that the conversation between Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan and the former staff-bearer of the Catholicos would be subject to investigation.

The leaders of the “Sacred Struggle” movement—Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan of Shirak Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich of Aragatsotn Diocese, and Chancellor Garegin Arsenyan of Aragatsotn Diocese—have been arrested.