Berets tore the episcopal insignia off from the Primate of the Artsakh diocese – Fr. Ruben Zargaryan

 
When we arrived at the Sardarapat Memorial, they first tried to stop our cars, but when we decided to continue on foot, we met the first line of police, Father Ruben Zargaryan, the clergyman of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, told Alpha News.

“We took part in the sacred liturgy in the Saint Gayane Monastery led by the Patriarch of All Armenians, at the end of which a ceremony dedicated to Republic Day was performed. Some time later, we went to the Sardarapat Memorial. Usually the visit of the Patriarch of All Armenians to Sardarapat occurs in the morning hours, but since the time when government officials were going to visit the memorial was set in advance, the time of our visit was changed. We left the Mother See at around 2 p.m., and when we got to the memorial, we encountered a barrier, so we decided to get off and continue on foot.

Then we encountered the first line of police, and after we passed through them, the police lined up in a second line. However, it seems that they were not aware of what they were doing or why. When we broke through and almost reached the memorial, ‘black berets’ appeared in front of us. They were really harsh and rude,” said Father Zargaryan, adding that the red berets tore the episcopal insignia with the icon of the Mother of God off from the Primate of the Artsakh diocese, Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan.

When asked why it happened, he said:

“In my opinion, there are two options as to why this happened. The first is that an order came from above not to let us go forward, and secondly, they had an order, they knew that the Prime Minister was coming, and they had to ensure that protocol. The berets and others did not know what to do. The order has been given, it must be executed. But when they met our persistence, they asked for a minute, after which the way was opened.”