Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Issues Statement

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin condemns the decision of the Armenian Court of Appeal regarding His Eminence Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan of the Shirak Diocese made on July 30, 2025, which upheld the initial illegal court ruling on the application of detention.

“The first-instance court had applied detention to Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan on June 28, 2025, based on fabricated allegations of obstructing the investigation and committing a crime. Keeping Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan in custody is a punitive action aimed at restricting freedom of speech and is a direct result of the government’s anti-church political agenda and the hate speech directed against clergy. We urge the judicial and prosecutorial authorities to immediately release the unjustly detained Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan,” the Mother See's statement reads.