Archbishop Arshak Khatchatryan arrested

(Horizon Weekly) – A deepening confrontation between the Armenian government and the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified today with the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khatchatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

He becomes the fourth senior church figure detained in recent months, following Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, and Bishop Mkrtich Broshyan.

Prosecutors claim Khatchatryan has been arrested on charges of sexual misconduct allegedly “confirmed” through video evidence. Church officials, legal representatives, and community leaders immediately rejected the accusations, calling them fabricated and politically motivated.

hThe arrest fits a widening pattern of pressure targeting clergy who have openly criticized the government’s policies and expressed firm loyalty to Catholicos Karekin II – himself a long-standing target of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political campaign to weaken and ultimately reshape the Church’s leadership.

Horizon Weekly will continue to follow this developing story.