Armenian authorities try to prevent Catholicos Karekin II from traveling to Austria for the Council of Bishops

The Armenian authorities are making attempts to prevent Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council from attending the Council of Bishops scheduled for February 16-19 in Austria. This was stated by lawyer Ruben Melikyan commenting on the new criminal case against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). According to Sputnik Armenia, the case is related to the non-execution of a judicial act on the suit of the former head of Masiatsotn Diocese Gevorg Saroyan, who was deprived of his dignity by the decision of the Catholicos.

Melikyan noted that the criminal proceedings are actually directed against Catholicos Garegin II and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council in order to apply a measure of restraint in the form of signing a covenant not to leave. The lawyer called the situation absurd from the legal point of view, emphasizing that it violates the constitutional principle of separation of Church and state. According to him, it is another manifestation of authoritarianism and an attempt of the authorities to interfere in the affairs of the AAC.

The confrontation between the Armenian authorities and the AAC escalated after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticized the clergy and his initiative to change the procedure for electing the Catholicos. Earlier, several hierarchs of the Church, including Archbishops Bagrat Galstyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and the head of the Echmiadzin Chancellery Arshak Khachatryan, were arrested on various charges. In November 2025, a group of bishops accused the Catholicos of «patronizing sacrilege» and called on him to abdicate, after which they signed a «roadmap for the improvement» of the Church with Pashinian.

Recall, we reported earlier that the highest governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church — the Council of Bishops — will hold its session in mid-February in the Austrian city of St. Pelten instead of the traditional spiritual center of Echmiadzin, Armenia. The postponement is due to a serious escalation of conflict between the Church leadership and the current Armenian authorities, including arrests of bishops and public demands for the removal of Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.