Armenia Police-Clergy Clash Escalates over Alleged Coup Plot

Tensions in Armenia escalated as security forces attempted to detain Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, sparking clashes outside the Armenian Apostolic Church’s headquarters near Yerevan. The authorities withdrew temporarily after crowds and clergy supporters, including Catholicos Garegin II, blocked the detention, with Ajapahyan agreeing to cooperate and discuss the allegations. This confrontation follows the recent detention of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan on similar charges and comes amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s claims of foiling a clerical coup ahead of elections. The dispute is rooted in the church's opposition to Pashinyan, intensified by Armenia’s military defeats to Azerbaijan and the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ajapahyan and other clerics deny the accusations, condemning the government's actions as illegal and politically motivated. The situation has deepened divisions in Armenia, with the church denouncing the government's measures as national shame and Pashinyan accusing senior clergy of undermining state stability.