Armenian premier to attend liturgy at Seven Wounds Church in Gyumri 

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will attend the Holy and Immortal Liturgy this Sunday, December 7, at the Surb Yot Verk (Seven Wounds) Church in Gyumri. He  announced this on social media.

Earlier, reports circulated that NSS officers were asking priests in  Gyumri churches not to pronounce the Catholicos' name at the upcoming  Sunday liturgy, which the prime minister may attend. It was later  revealed that the prime minister intended to attend the Surb Hakob  Church, and before that, NSS officers visited the rector, Priest  Ruben Gasparyan. In an interview with 24News, Gasparyan confirmed  that the security services had indeed visited him. At the same time,  the priest said he does not intend to refrain from mentioning the  names of the Catholicos and Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhian (the head of  the diocese, currently in pretrial detention for criticizing the  government and calling for the "overthrow of the constitutional  order" - ed.).

During a briefing the day before, Pashinyan acknowledged that the  National Security Service is asking clergy not to mention the name of  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II during liturgies in which he  participates. "I attend those liturgies where the name of Ktrich  Nersisyan (the secular name of Garegin II) is not mentioned. When I  plan to participate in a liturgy, we ask that the fact that we do not  consider Nersisyan to be Catholicos be taken into account," Pashinyan  said. This "request" could be conveyed through an NSS employee,  Pashinyan's aide, or the priests' acquaintances or relatives. "In one  case, the intermediary might be an acquaintance, in another, an NSS  employee, in a third, no employee at all, in a fourth, a relative,  and in a fifth, my assistant. It depends on who knows whom and with  whom they have personal connections. Here, the NSS and other  institutions are connected to the extent that someone knows someone  else," he stated.

Reacting to a journalist's assertion that this isn't the NSS's  function, Pashinyan noted that if he attends liturgy at a church,  that area is considered a state-protected facility, where certain  activities are carried out.  "Churches also conduct an analysis of  people's approaches and views-whether they are radical or not-to  ensure security," the prime minister stated. When asked how exactly  the use of the Catholicos' name threatens the prime minister's  security, Pashinyan replied that "Ktrich Nersisyan is a threat to  Armenia's security."