Author Anush Arakelyan

Three seminarians presented their thesis: Deacon Armen Mkrtchyan, Deacon Alik Harutyunyan, and Deacon Arsen Martirosyan. Deacon Armen tried to present the preaching significance and content of all ritual ceremonies, particularly the Holy Liturgy. Deacon Alik Harutyunyan's work, through the analysis of historical data, counteracts the Azerbaijani narratives that Artsakh is an Udyan, Azerbaijani territory.

 

During the court hearing in the case of the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, and the spiritual pastor of the Mughni parish, Father Garegin Arsenyan, at the Court of First Instance of the General Jurisdiction of the Aragatsotn Region, the defense side stated that the case has a political overtones. The defense side noted that the only source of evidence in the case to date is the injured party, the defrocked clergymen Aramayis Takhmazyan and Stepan Asatryan.

 

About 200 clergy serving in the dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church - priests, deacons, archpriests, diocesan leaders, and members of the Mother See - participated in a priestly assembly at the Mother Cathedral on May 26. Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, the chairman of the organizing committee for priestly assemblies for 20 years, did not participate because he is under house arrest. The meeting was attended by the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, who is under administrative supervision. This year, the priestly assembly was held in the absence of high-ranking clergy and a group of priests who joined the anti-church campaign. The Armenian Patriarch spoke with the priests about the worrying developments around the Church and the persecutions being carried out against clergy.

 

The 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Aragatsotn Diocese was celebrated in the St. Mesrop Mashtots Church in Oshakan without the presence of the leader. Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan has been in prison on a trumped-up case since October 2025, he is currently under administrative control, and his contact with the clergy of the diocese is limited. The duties and powers of the leader are reserved for the diocesan council, chaired by Father Shnorhk Paloyan. During the Divine Liturgy, Father Mkrtich Yeranyan, the spiritual pastor of the St. Sargis Church in Ashtarak, read the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diocese.

 

A procession of clergy led by the Armenian Patriarch moved from the Mother Cathedral to the Saint Gayane Monastery. Every year on the day of the saint's commemoration, the right-shaped relic of Saint Gayane is brought out to distribute blessings to the faithful. During Araratian Week, the relics of Saint John the Baptist and Bishop Atanagin will be taken from the Mother See to the Shoghakat Monastery, and the day of the monastery's consecration will also be celebrated. 

Cultural figures visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to express their support, filial love and loyalty to the Holy Church and the Patriarch of All Armenians. During the meeting, they discussed the socio-political situation in Armenia, the painful developments and challenges recorded in public life, as well as the current worrying process of Church-state relations.

Father Sarkis Sargsyan introduced the pilgrims to the meaning and importance of the Feast of the Ascension. The Feast of the Ascension is the day of the Tsaghkevank vow. Pilgrims arrive at the monastery with hope, faith, and prayer to ask for the intercession of the Christian virgin. Believers collect the water flowing from the walls drop by drop to heal the sick.

 

The exhibition titled “Holy Etchmiadzin”, “Knight of Holy Etchmiadzin”, “Daughter of Holy Etchmiadzin” will be presented at the Museum of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. The exhibition “Armenian Temples through the Eyes of Hovhannes Asatryan” will open at 16:30 at the Ruben Sevak Museum. An educational program is also planned for pre-registered participants - a miniature puzzle-assembling competition. Readings of Western Armenian literature and musical performances are also planned at the Sevak Museum at 21:00.

 

The leader of the Shirak diocese, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, already participates in Sunday services, receives communion, but does not have the right to celebrate Mass and preach. In the previous session, the appeals court rejected the lawyers' petition, leaving the house arrest in force. Lawyer Yerem Sargsyan stated that the entire criminal proceedings are illegal. According to him, criminal prosecution and criminal proceedings could not be initiated against the Archbishop, since it is based on information received from an unlawful source.