Armenia’s National Security Service have detained Archbishop Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Authorities now claim he is linked to the illegal distribution of narcotics in a public venue, a charge his lawyers dismiss as baseless and politically motivated. They note that he was questioned briefly and immediately placed in pretrial detention.

The accusation has raised serious doubts. For months Archbishop Khachatryan has been the target of Nikol Pashinyan’s hostility. Pashinyan first hinted that a senior clergyman had engaged in sexual misconduct. When that claim failed to gain traction, a video appeared that purported to show Archbishop Khachatryan. He categorically denied being the person depicted, described the footage as fabricated, and filed a complaint over the violation of his privacy. With that narrative collapsing, the sudden appearance of an extreme narcotics charge has been widely viewed as an attempt to manufacture a new case after the initial effort failed.

Archbishop Khachatryan is the fourth senior cleric detained in recent months, following Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, and Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan. 

The arrest came shortly after ten clerics aligned with Pashinyan requested his defrocking, and it occurred against a backdrop of Pashinyan’s long running confrontation with the Church. He has repeatedly attacked its leadership, questioned its legitimacy, and even stated he would not attend any liturgy where the name of the Catholicos is mentioned. This history places the new charges in a clearly political context.

On December 4, Archbishop Khachatryan joined 27 senior clergymen in publicly supporting Catholicos Karekin II. Days later, he was under arrest.

Legal experts and rights observers now question both the timing and credibility of the charges. Although officials insist they are enforcing the law, the pattern of selective targeting and the improbability of the allegations strongly suggest political persecution rather than genuine legal inquiry.

The bishops council of the Armenian Apostolic Church will convene an emergency meeting on December 10-12.