Catholicos Karekin II, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, appeared in a Vagharshapat court on Friday. He faces criminal charges following a dispute over the removal of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan.
The January removal of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan
The current legal crisis began in January when the Armenian Apostolic Church moved to remove Bishop Gevorg Saroyan from his position. According to the report, the church cited an abuse of power as the primary reason for the defrocking, a move that followed Saroyan's own public calls for the removal of Catholicos Karekin II.
The situation escalated in February when a court decision ordered the bishop's reinstatement. However, the church leadership refused to acknowledge or implement the ruling, leading to a direct confrontation with state judicial authority. As the source notes, this defiance has resulted in criminal charges against Karekin II, who now faces a potential prison sentence of up to two years if convicted.
Ara Zograbyan and the recused judge
The proceedings in the Vagharshapat central city court hit a significant procedural snag during the most recent hearing. Ara Zograbyan, the lawyer representing Catholicos Karekin II, announced to the court that the presiding judge had recused themselves from the case.
This recusal was based on a perception of bias, suggesting that the judicial process may have been compromised from the start. The legal teams and the church leadership are now waiting for the matter to be assgned to a new, impartial judge to ensure a fair trial, though the timeline for this appointment remains unclear.
Samvel Karapetyan's 'national disgrace' claim
The trial has evolved into a flashpoint for broader political tensions within Armenia. Samvel Karapetyan, the head of the pro-Russian opposition party Strong Armenia, has been vocal in his criticism, describing the prosecution of the church leader as a "national disgrace." Karapetyan suggests that the current government is adopting an overly punitive stance toward the religious institution.
This sentiment is echoed by clergy members and civil society observers who gathered by the hundreds outside the courthouse. archbishop Natan Hovhannisyan, who is also a defendant and leads the church's external relations department, argued that the Armenian Apostolic Church cannot be nationalized. Hovhannisyan maintains that the institution's independence is a prerequisite for the country's overall prosperity and must be protected from state imposition.
The missing evidence on Bishop Saroyan's abuse of power
Despite the high-profile nature of the hearings, several critical details remain unverified. the source does not provide the specific evidence or the exact nature of the "abuse of power" that led the church to defrock Bishop Gevorg Saroyan in January, leaving the public to rely on the church's internal assertions.
Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the state's intervention is purely a matter of upholding a February court order or if there are deeper political motives at play, especially as Armenia navigates sensitive border disputes and normalization efforts with its neighbors. The report focuses heavily on the church and opposition perspectives, leaving the government's specific legal justification for criminal charges—rather than civil penalties—largely unexamined.
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