Criminal case against Catholicos Garegin II: the lawyer stated about the absence of investigative actions

Despite the initiation of a criminal case, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II was not involved in investigative actions, but he is banned from leaving the country. This was stated by his lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, who called the case politically motivated and aimed at obstructing the holding of the Council of Bishops. The incident comes amid a protracted and escalating confrontation between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to Sputnik Armenia, the Investigative Committee of Armenia earlier reported about the initiation of criminal proceedings in connection with the deprivation of dignity of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan (Arman Saroyan), who openly supported the current authorities in the conflict with the Armenian Apostolic Church. The proceedings were opened under articles on non-execution of a judicial act and inducement to its non-execution. Catholicos Karekin II, although he was not involved in the investigative actions, was forced to use his right to refuse to testify. He was also chosen a measure of restraint in the form of a non-departure undertaking.

Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan emphasized that taking procedural decisions against the Catholicos in extremely short terms, especially the signing of a recognizance of absence, is a «shameful decision». According to him, such a measure is applied if there are reasons to believe that the person may abscond, which is not the case in this case. Zohrabyan expressed confidence that the criminal case was initiated for the sole purpose of preventing the holding of the Council of Bishops. He also informed that six more hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church are on a recognizance on similar charges of obstructing the fulfillment of a judicial act.

The Armenian Apostolic Church officially called the case illegal and politically motivated. The confrontation between the state and the Church in Armenia has significantly escalated after a number of harsh statements of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan towards the clergy, as well as his initiatives to change the order of election of the Catholicos, which imply strengthening the role of the state.

Against this background, as Sputnik Armenia reports, the heads of three dioceses — Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikayel Ajapakhyan, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, as well as the head of the Chancellery of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin Arshak Khachatryan — were arrested earlier on various charges. Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who stood up for the Church, was also among those arrested. The escalation of the conflict received a new impetus on November 27, when a statement of a group of AAC hierarchs appeared in the pro-government public media, accusing Catholicos Karekin II of trying to cover up the «sacrilegious act» of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, referring to the intimate videos that appeared online.

Shortly after the publication of this statement, the hierarchs who signed it met with Prime Minister Pashinyan. Already on November 29, 10 of them issued a new statement calling on the Catholicos to voluntarily abdicate, accusing him of arbitrary rule, political interference and other actions incompatible with the mission of the head of the Church. The culmination of this stage was the signing by Prime Minister Pashinyan and 10 rebellious bishops of the so-called «roadmap for the improvement» of the Armenian Apostolic Church on January 4, 2026.

Recall, we reported earlier that the bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) gathered in Austria issued a statement reaffirming their loyalty to Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This important event took place against the backdrop of increasing repression by the Armenian authorities against the Church and the arrests of a number of its hierarchs.