NSS visits church where Nikol Pashinyan is scheduled to attend Sunday mass: Father Ruben shared details

According to reports, this Sunday Nikol Pashinyan is expected to attend a liturgy in the Shirak region at the St. Hakob Mtsbnetsi Church. While members of the Civil Contract party reportedly requested Father Ruben to serve the liturgy, it is actually the turn of Father Varuzhan Terteryan, the senior priest, to officiate that day.

In an interview with Aysor.am, Father Varuzhan emphasized that he would under no circumstances omit the name of the Catholicos of All Armenians during the service.

Father Ruben confirmed that activist Karen Petrosyan, from the “New Armenia, New Patriarch” initiative, approached him with a request to omit the Catholicos’ name. Father Ruben refused, stating that his personal admiration for the Prime Minister would not influence his religious duties.

Yesterday, officers from the National Security Service (NSS) visited the church. Father Varuzhan was not present; only Father Ruben was at the church. “No one spoke to me, they only spoke with Father Ruben. I was not at the church,” Father Varuzhan told Aysor.am. He reiterated that omitting the name of His Holiness is out of the question.

Father Ruben explained that the NSS was simply performing its duties. “They do their job. If the Prime Minister is visiting somewhere, they go in advance to ensure security. Everything is normal. They don’t even know for certain whether he will come or not. He is the one who decides. They don’t ask the king where he should go or what he should do; the king gives the order,” he said.

When asked about the recent arrest of Archbishop Mikayel, head of the Shirak Diocese, Father Ruben said that the Archbishop had made mistakes. “Does anyone get taken away just like that? He remains our Archbishop; we pray for him, we have prayed and will continue to pray. He is human, sometimes he says too much – we all make mistakes. It’s clear that the Archbishop took the loss of Artsakh very painfully; he was a spiritual leader there for many years and expressed himself emotionally, but that does not make him an enemy of our state. If a decision was made to arrest him, that is the state’s business - why should we interfere?” Father Ruben said.

Father Ruben stressed that he will not omit the name of His Holiness or the head of his diocese, regardless of outside pressure. “Am I subordinate to the Prime Minister? I am a priest. The Patriarch remains the Patriarch. No matter what but he is the acting Patriarch. I am guided not by human emotions, but by the word of God and the teachings of the Holy Church,” he said.

He also confirmed that his son had previously worked for the State Security Service but left the position long ago.