Nothing is new under the sun: part 4

In 1937, Bishop Artak Smbatyants was arrested in the Yerevan prelacy. The investigative bodies tried in every way to extract charges against the Catholicos from him. The investigators were interested in the ties of Catholicos Muradbekyan with foreign countries. It was necessary to label the head of the church as a state traitor and agent. The main targets were the Primate of the Atrpatakan Diocese, Archbishop Nerses Melik-Tangyan, and the famous intellectual Arshak Chopanyan. The Catholicos' ties with Chopanyan, who lived in Paris, were described as "irrefutable evidence of espionage." In 1937, Bishop Smbatyants was shot. In 1955, he was acquitted due to the lack of evidence of the crime.

Source: RA Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Archives and National Archives