The Masyatsotn Diocese issued a statement:
“Pressure continues on Father Artashes Hakobyan, the spiritual rector of the Church of St. Sahak Mesrop in Vosketap.
Recently, it was reported that today the head of the Vosketap village administration, Nshan Hovhannisyan, and the sponsor of the Church of St. Sahak Mesrop construction, Hamlet Goroyan, visited the church and demanded that Father Artashes Hakobyan, the spiritual rector, leave the premises. They also stated that they would return in an hour to change the keys to the church’s entrance.
Such actions constitute an illegal and unacceptable interference in the internal life of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the ministry of the clergy.
We call on you to immediately cease all actions hindering the normal functioning of the Church of St. Sahak Mesrop and the pressure exerted on the priest.
At the same time, we inform you that the aforementioned church “was built on land belonging to the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, and no individual or organization has the right to arbitrarily privatize the church or interfere with its activities.”