The criminal case against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, as well as six bishops and archbishops, has been transferred to the general court of first instance of Armenia’s Armavir Province, informs lawyer Ara Zohrabyan.
It became known Thursday that the first court session of the preliminary hearing has been scheduled for August 7 at 16:00 in Vagharshapat city—better known as Ejmiatsin.
The Catholicos of All Armenians is accused of the act that, being also the Chairman of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, he, using his official powers, allegedly obstructed the execution of another judicial act that has entered into legal force: the decision of the general jurisdiction court of Armavir province on “granting the motion to apply a measure of security for the claim.” Such obstruction was considered the decree adopted by the Catholicos of All Armenians on declaring defrocked the former primate of the Diocese of Masis of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, now Arman Saroyan.
In a state that is obligated by international and domestic legislation not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, the Armenian authorities have granted the status of an accused to the Armenian Catholicos for performing a church function.
This is a shameful historical event.
This is the second case in the last hundred years when the Armenian state authorities have made the Catholicos of All Armenians a target of criminal or violent pressure.
The first such case was related to Catholicos of All Armenians Khoren I. He had worked under unprecedented pressure during the years of Soviet anti-church repressions, and on April 6, 1938, State Security agents had strangled Khoren I.
The measures taken against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church since 2018 have formed a picture of continuous state pressure on the church, including: the cancellation of the diplomatic passports of bishops (2018), the termination of the state police protection accompanying the Catholicos of All Armenians (2020), the withdrawal of the subject “History of the Armenian Church” from the separate general education curriculum (2020), the termination of the spiritual service of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in penitentiaries (2024), significant restrictions on the institutional presence of the church in the armed forces and the removal of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church from the army (2024–2025), attempts to edit the Holy Liturgies (2025–2026), the launch of public political initiatives to replace the Catholicos of All Armenians and terminate his powers (2025–2026), criminal charges and the use of persecutions and restrictive measures against high-ranking clergy (2025–2026), and now the criminal prosecution of the Catholicos of All Armenians and six bishops (2026).
Regardless of political views and legal assessments, it is obvious that the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the institution of the Catholicos of All Armenians are pillars of the history, national identity, and statehood of Armenia. Therefore, any process unfolding around them goes beyond the scope of a single criminal case and has historical, constitutional, and national significance.
History shows that the pressures on the church and its leaders have never been actions directed only against individuals; they have always also affected national solidarity, public trust, and the foundations of statehood.
It is regrettable that the entire Armenian nation will answer for these actions by the incumbent Armenian authorities.