Armenian Catholicos Karekin II to stand trial in historic first

In a first in Armenia’s modern history, Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, will go to court to face criminal charges. The case concerns the dismissal of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, with the authorities accusing Karekin II and other church officials of refusing to reinstate Saroyan.

According to the independent media outlet Civilnet, five other senior church officials are to stand trial alongside Karekin II on charges of deliberately ‘obstructing the enforcement of a lawful court decision’ through ‘abuse of power’.

Those include Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Archbishop Haykazun Najaryan, Bishop Vahan Hovhannesyan, Bishop Edgar Hakobyan, and Bishop Artur Hakobyan. According to Civilnet, Karekin II and the bishops have also been placed under a travel ban.

Saroyan was among a number of Church figures to have expressed support for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his conflict with the Church and Karekin II. He had publicly supported Pashinyan’s Church reform agenda, and was dismissed in January.

On his dismissal, the Church cited Saroyan’s ‘abuse of office, failure to fulfil the duties incumbent upon the Primate, as well as instances of coercion and pressure exercised against the clergy of the diocese’. In response, Saroyan dismissed the Church’s claims, and instead accused Karekin II of possessing compromising material on all members of the clergy.

A court in Armenia ordered the Church to reinstate Saroyan the same month he was dismissed.

The authorities barred Karekin II from leaving the country in February, but struck down the travel ban two months later in April.

Relations between the Church and Pashinyan’s government have been tense since May 2025, after Pashinyan criticised Church leadership for failing to properly maintain churches across the country. As accusations against the Church, and specifically against Karekin II, continued to grow, Pashinyan gradually made clear that he was seeking to oust the Catholicos.