Armenian premier to attend liturgy in Khachik village 

ArmInfo.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has decided to travel to the village of Khachik in Vayots Dzor Province next Sunday.

"On November 16, I will participate in the holy and immortal Liturgy  celebrated by Father Hovhannes Matevosyan at the Church of the Holy  Mother of God in Khachik village in Vayots Dzor," Pashinyan wrote on  social media.

He noted that the previous day, on November 9, Pashinyan attended the  Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Talin, Aragatsotn  Province. Pashinyan, along with other government officials, was  accompanied by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Health  Minister Anahit Avanesyan, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Arayik  Harutyunyan, and others. According to live footage, as during two  services at Hovhannavank Monastery attended by the prime minister,  police forces, led by senior officials, were concentrated near the  church in Talin.

The liturgy in Talin was celebrated by the church's rector, Tade  Tahmazyan. Earlier, the Mother See of Etchmiadzin announced that the  priest's case had been included on the agenda of the disciplinary  commission of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Also present at the  service was defrocked priest Taron Hunanyan of the Tavush Diocese.  Priests had previously publicly expressed support for the defrocked  priest Stepan Asatryan.

As a reminder, on October 21, by decree of Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin II, Father Aram Asatryan (secular name Stepan  Asatryan) was declared deposed. The basis for the deposition was a  report by the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian  Apostolic Church and the conclusion of the Commission for Awarding  Honorary Titles and Disciplinary Matters of the Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church. These documents stated  that Father Aram Asatryan, through his public speeches and  statements, had discredited the Church, the Primate of the Diocese,  and his fellow priests, and that he continued his actions, ignoring  the Primate's admonitions and instructions. It was on the basis of  Asatryan's statement that the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the  Armenian Apostolic Church, Mkrtich Proshyan, and the abbot of the  Surb Gevorg Monastery in Mughni, Aragatsotn Province, Father Garegin  Arsenyan, were arrested.

On October 26 and November 2, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, members  of the Cabinet, and the ruling Civil Contract party attended the  liturgy celebrated by defrocked monk Stepan Asatryan. Each time, a  police presence was observed in the village of Hovhannavan from early  morning, and numerous security personnel guarded the monastery  grounds.

The question remains how much Pashinyan's participation in these  liturgies, which he previously stated he attends as an ordinary  parishioner, costs the state treasury and taxpayers, given that he is  accompanied by a large escort and law enforcement personnel each  time.