The trial of Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, began on Friday, marking the first time in Armenia’s modern history that criminal charges have been brought against the head of the Church. During the first preliminary hearing, the  judge examining the Catholicos’ case, Hakob Manukyan, recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

Karekin II and six other senior church officials are standing trial on charges of deliberately obstructing the enforcement of a lawful court decision through abuse of power.  If convicted, they can face up to two years in prison.

The case relates to the Church’s refusal to reinstate Bishop Gevorg Saroyan. Saroyan, a cleric who had publicly supported Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s efforts to reform the Church, was dismissed in January, but a court had already ordered his reinstatement.

The first preliminary hearing in the case began at 16:00 on Friday at the Armavir Court in Vagharshapat, where the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church are located.

In Friday’s parliament session, the opposition called this ‘a shameful day’ and used the stage to talk about the criminal charges against Catholicos.

‘This violates not only the independence of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but also the Armenian Constitution’, Marianna Gahramanyan, an MP from the opposition Strong Armenia party, said.

Strong Armenia party leader Narek Karapetyan announced that their fellow MPs would leave the parliament and head to court to attend the hearing.

On Sunday, Karekin II was absent from the inauguration of Armenia’s new parliament, a break from his tradition of attending such inaugural sessions. It was later reported that he had not been invited. Parliamentary Speaker Ruben Rubinyan told reporters he did not recognise ‘any Catholicos at the moment’, referring to Karekin II instead by his birth name, Ketrich Nersisyan.

Tensions between Pashinyan’s government and the Church have continued to simmer since May 2025, when Pashinyan  criticised the Church’s leadership for failing to properly maintain churches across the country.

Pashinyan also claimed that Karekin II violated his vow of celibacy and fathered a daughter, which would make him ineligible for the post. He has alleged that Karekin II’s brother, Archbishop Yezras, head of Russian and Nakhichevan Diocese, has ties to ‘foreign intelligence services’, reportedly Russian, which pose a threat to Armenia’s security.