On November 28th at around 4 pm some 80 residents of Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city, paid a visit to Archbishop Ajapahyan, the Primate of Shirak at his diocesean headquarters. The visitors, from all walks of life, went to the Diocese to find out how Archbishop Ajapahyan was holding up after the recent spate of exchanges between the Mayor of Gyumri and the Shirak Primate. The residents said they came to express their support of Archbishop Ajapahyan and that the ongoing row between the Mayor and the Primate had become an issue of daily debate in Gyumri which neede to be resolved in a spirit of mutual tolerance. Hamazasp Khachatryan, the Director of the Shirak Geological Museum, stated that the Diocese isn't merely the city of Gyumri and that residents of rural communities and other towns are ready to protest the slanderous charges being levied against the Primate. Levon Barseghyan, President of the "Asparez" journalists' club advisory board stated that he didn't know of another clergyman would would sit with freedom-fighters on hunger strike and proclaim that he wouldn't abandon them until they ended their strike. All present stated that they were convinced that the charges being directed against Archbishop Ajapahyan were politically motivated because the Primate had raised the ire of officials due to his populist leanings. Journalist Hamlet Mosinyan commented that it would only take 30 minutes for all the residents of Shirak to take to the streets in defense of their beloved Primate. By the time the 40 minute meeting ended the number of those at the Diocese had surpassed one hundred.