No priests from the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church will conduct the Sunday liturgy on December 7 at the Yot Verk (Seven Wounds) Church in Gyumri, according to Bishop Narek Avagyan, head of the Artik Diocese and acting prelate of Shirak following Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan’s detention, reports Factor.am .
Earlier, it was reported that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan plans to attend the liturgy at Gyumri’s Holy Mother of God (Seven Wounds/Yot Verk) Church.
Bishop Narek stated that he has no information about who will lead the service. “I haven’t been told anything. No one from the Shirak Diocese will celebrate the liturgy. Fr. Garnik was supposed to serve at Yot Verk — it was to be his first liturgy — but he will instead conduct mass at the Saint Amenaprkich (All Savior) Church,” he said.
This means that the liturgy will likely be led by a cleric brought in from another diocese.
Last week, with involvement from the National Security Service (NSS), authorities reportedly tried to arrange for Gyumri-based Fr. Ruben to lead a service without mentioning Catholicos Karekin II. Initially open to officiating, the priest ultimately refused the government’s request to omit the Catholicos’s name, declining to proceed under those conditions.
Previously, the Shirak Diocese had announced that newly ordained Fr. Garnik Avoyan would celebrate liturgy at Gyumri’s main Holy Mother of God Church.
On December 4, after a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan did not deny that NSS agents were meeting with clergy to urge them not to mention the Catholicos' name during services. He stated that he only attends services where the Catholicos's name is not invoked.
