Armenian Church Leaders in Lebanon, Jerusalem and U.S. Condemn Criminal Case Against Catholicos Karekin II

Senior Armenian Apostolic Church leaders in Lebanon, Jerusalem and the United States condemned the criminal case against Catholicos Karekin II on Friday, rallying behind the Church’s spiritual leader as he was due to appear in court as a defendant.

Catholicos Aram I, head of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Lebanon, called Karekin II’s summons to court “unacceptable and condemnable.” He said he had personally urged the Catholicos not to attend the hearing and to send a representative instead.

“We expressed our deep indignation to His Holiness Karekin II and even suggested that he not appear in court and send a representative,” Aram I said.

He called on Armenian officials to treat Karekin II and the Church with respect and to resolve the dispute in a way that recognizes both Armenian law and the Church’s internal rules.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a separate statement condemning what it called the “ongoing judicial persecution” of the Armenian Apostolic Church, its leadership and senior clergy.

The Patriarchate described Friday’s hearing as a “deeply troubling and unacceptable event in our national and ecclesiastical history.”

It also warned against state involvement in decisions traditionally governed by the Church.

“Interference by state bodies in the Church’s internal canonical, administrative and disciplinary matters contradicts the principle of Church autonomy and creates a dangerous precedent in Church-state relations,” the Patriarchate said.

The Jerusalem Patriarchate called for an end to the proceedings against Karekin II and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council. It warned that the dispute could deepen divisions in Armenia and cause lasting damage to relations between the state and the Church.

“The Armenian authorities must understand that their treatment of the Catholicos of All Armenians is not merely a matter of domestic politics,” the statement said.

The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America also criticized the proceedings, saying decisions involving Church leadership, governance and discipline belong to the Church’s own canonical system.

The statements came as Karekin II was expected to appear before a court in Armenia’s Armavir region as a defendant in a criminal case involving six other senior clergymen. He is accused of obstructing the enforcement of a court ruling.

The case grew out of a dispute involving Archbishop Gevorg Saroyan, one of 10 bishops who sided with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during his public campaign against Karekin II.

After Karekin II removed Saroyan from his position, a court ordered that the archbishop be reinstated. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin did not reinstate him and later defrocked him.

The Church maintains that decisions over the status, appointment and discipline of clergy are internal religious matters governed by canon law and cannot be decided by a civil court. Armenian investigators, however, viewed the failure to carry out the court order as obstruction of a judicial act.

The case has added a new legal front to an already bitter confrontation between Pashinyan’s government and the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Karekin II leads the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual and administrative center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The institution holds a central place in Armenian history and identity, tracing its roots to Armenia’s adoption of Christianity as a state religion in the early fourth century.

With statements now coming from major Armenian Church centers in Lebanon, Jerusalem and the United States, the dispute has moved well beyond Armenia’s borders, drawing a broader response from Armenian religious institutions worldwide.

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