Mikayel Ajapahyan

Last updated: May 29, 2026

Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan served as the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church . He was arrested in June 2025 as part of the wave of clergy detentions that followed the suppression of the Holy Struggle movement led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan. In October 2025, Ajapahyan was sentenced to two years in prison, making his case one of the most concrete legal outcomes of the government’s confrontation with senior church figures.

Groong has followed his arrest, trial, and sentencing as part of broader coverage of the church-state conflict in Armenia and what critics describe as the Pashinyan government’s use of the judicial system to neutralize politically inconvenient clergy.

Groong episodes that include this tag

Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Mikayel Ajapahyan.

Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Human Rights, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, NATO, European Union

Guest:

Topics:

  • The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
  • Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
  • Criminal Law as Leverage
  • Bern in Action and Reaction
  • The Deeper Stakes: National Identity

Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026

#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

Hrant Mikaelian - Venezuela, Attacks on the Armenian Church Continue, MPG Poll Results | Ep 501, Jan 4, 2026 [EP501]

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Poll, Armenian Church, Economy, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, BRICS, Russia, China, Geopolitics, Georgia, Human Rights, Iran, NATO, Syria | Series: wir, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • Developments in Venezuela
  • Attacks on Armenian Church Continue
  • New MPG Poll Results

Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026

#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics

Hrant Mikaelian - Venezuela, Attacks on the Armenian Church Continue, MPG Poll Results | Ep 501, Jan 4, 2026 [EP501]

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Poll, Armenian Church, Economy, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, BRICS, Russia, China, Geopolitics, Georgia, Human Rights, Iran, NATO, Syria

Guest:

Topics:

  • Developments in Venezuela
  • Attacks on Armenian Church Continue
  • New MPG Poll Results

Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026

#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics

Spotlight on Silence: InJustice in Armenia | Ep 497, Dec 18, 2025 [EP497]

Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Spotlight on Silence, Political Prisoners, Armenian Church, Human Rights, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine | Series: video, sos

Guest:

Follow ACPR on Facebook: Քաղաքական իրավունքների հայկական կենտրոն - ՔԻՀԿ / ACPR

Topics:

  • Criminalization of Speech and Dissent in Armenia
  • Legal Pressure on Lawyers, Journalists, and Clergy
  • Selective Justice and Coordinated Propaganda
  • Article 236 and the Policing of Protest

Episode 497 | Recorded: December 14, 2025

#SpotlightOnSilence #ArmeniaJustice #PoliticalPrisoners #FreedomOfSpeech #RuleOfLaw #HumanRights #Groong

 Read More

Spotlight on Silence: InJustice in Armenia | Ep 497, Dec 18, 2025 [EP497]

Posted on Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Spotlight on Silence, Political Prisoners, Armenian Church, Human Rights, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine

Guest:

Follow ACPR on Facebook: Քաղաքական իրավունքների հայկական կենտրոն - ՔԻՀԿ / ACPR

Topics:

  • Criminalization of Speech and Dissent in Armenia
  • Legal Pressure on Lawyers, Journalists, and Clergy
  • Selective Justice and Coordinated Propaganda
  • Article 236 and the Policing of Protest

Episode 497 | Recorded: December 14, 2025

#SpotlightOnSilence #ArmeniaJustice #PoliticalPrisoners #FreedomOfSpeech #RuleOfLaw #HumanRights #Groong

 Read More

Arthur Khachikyan - OSCE MG Dissolved, Libaridian on Submission, New Constitution, Armenian Church, Prayer Breakfast, Border Commissions meet in Baku | Ep 493, Nov 30, 2025 [EP493]

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Armenian Genocide, Armenian Church, Turkey, Russia, Genocide, Iran, Israel, Middle East, China, NATO | Series: wir, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • OSCE MG Dissolved
  • Libaridian on Submitting to Turkey and Azerbaijan
  • News Constitution to be Drafted by March 2026
  • Archbishops, Letters, Attacks on the Church
  • Border Commissions Meet in Baku
  • Comments from Jacob Pursley

Episode 493 | Recorded: December 2, 2025

Arthur Khachikyan - OSCE MG Dissolved, Libaridian on Submission, New Constitution, Armenian Church, Prayer Breakfast, Border Commissions meet in Baku | Ep 493, Nov 30, 2025 [EP493]

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Armenian Genocide, Armenian Church, Turkey, Russia, Genocide, Iran, Israel, Middle East, China, NATO

Guest:

Topics:

  • OSCE MG Dissolved
  • Libaridian on Submitting to Turkey and Azerbaijan
  • News Constitution to be Drafted by March 2026
  • Archbishops, Letters, Attacks on the Church
  • Border Commissions Meet in Baku
  • Comments from Jacob Pursley

Episode 493 | Recorded: December 2, 2025

Joel Veldkamp - Armenia’s Prayer Breakfast and the Crackdown on the Church | Ep 490, Nov 27, 2025 [EP490]

Posted on Thursday, Nov 27, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Artsakh Blockade, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, Genocide | Series: cog, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • Clergy Arrests in Armenia
  • Church Under Pressure
  • Prayer Breakfast Controversy
  • Western Silence on Repression
  • CSI’s Findings in Yerevan

Episode 490 | Recorded: November 25, 2025

#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #ChristianSolidarityInternational #HumanRightsInArmenia

Joel Veldkamp - Armenia’s Prayer Breakfast and the Crackdown on the Church | Ep 490, Nov 27, 2025 [EP490]

Posted on Thursday, Nov 27, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Armenian Church, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Human Rights, Artsakh Blockade, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, Genocide

Guest:

Topics:

  • Clergy Arrests in Armenia
  • Church Under Pressure
  • Prayer Breakfast Controversy
  • Western Silence on Repression
  • CSI’s Findings in Yerevan

Episode 490 | Recorded: November 25, 2025

#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #ChristianSolidarityInternational #HumanRightsInArmenia