Lawyer: Catholicos of All Armenians and bishops involved in case to  participate in first court hearing

ArmInfo.  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and the bishops involved in the case who are in Armenia will participate in the first court hearing. Lawyer Ara  Zohrabyan announced this on his Facebook page.

He recalled that the first hearing in the criminal case against the  Catholicos of All Armenians is scheduled for August 7 at 4:00 PM and  will take place in the Armavir Regional Court of General  Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Hakob Manukyan. "The Catholicos  of All Armenians, as well as the bishops involved in the case who are  in Armenia, will participate in the first court hearing. State  interference in the Catholicos of All Armenians' decisions to recall  the head of the diocese and strip him of his status as a bishop is a  violation of the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), the  constitutional relationship between the state and the Church, the  fundamental principle of religious freedom, and a shameful historical  event. The Armenian Patriarch is being prosecuted for fulfilling his  ecclesiastical and canonical duties," Zohrabyan noted. As part of  this criminal case, the lawyer reported, the court will consider not  only the charges brought against individuals but also another  important question: whether the secular authorities have the right to  interfere in the internal life of the Church and criminalize the  exercise of the Catholicos of All Armenians' canonical powers. "The  following members of the Supreme Spiritual Council are accused in the  case: Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Archbishop Haykazun Najarian,  Bishop Mushegh Babayan, Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan, Bishop Makar  Hakobyan, and Bishop Vahan Hovhannisyan," the lawyer concluded.

Since May 2025, the Armenian authorities have been actively pursuing  an anti-church policy and are seeking the resignation of Catholicos  of All Armenians Garegin II, who is elected to this position for  life.  This campaign has targeted both clergy and citizens who  support the Church. In February of this year, the Armenian  Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin II, and he is banned from leaving the country. The  case is based on charges of obstructing the execution of a judicial  decision related to the defrocking of Arman Saroyan. Khachatur  Galstyan was appointed prosecutor in the criminal case. Several other  high-ranking clergymen are also involved in the case.