An Armenian court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Catholicos Karekin II’s removal of a diocesan leader, raising questions about the legal basis of criminal proceedings against the Catholicos and six senior clergymen amid Nikol Pashinyan’s campaign to remove him.
On October 21, the Armavir Court of First Instance ruled that the dispute involving Arman Saroyan, formerly Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, could not be examined under civil procedure because no employment relationship between him and the Armenian Apostolic Church had been established.
Saroyan had sought to overturn Karekin II’s January 10, 2026, decree removing him as head of the Diocese of Masyatsotn and demanded reinstatement.
The dismissal also lifted interim measures imposed on January 16. Alleged obstruction of those measures had formed the basis of criminal charges against Karekin II and six senior clergymen.
The ruling comes as Pashinyan seeks to remove the Catholicos and intervene in Church governance. His administration’s 2026–2031 program explicitly calls for Karekin II’s removal, the appointment of an interim Church leader and the election of a replacement.
Although the dismissal does not automatically terminate the criminal proceedings, it provides the defense with additional grounds to challenge the charges. The separate criminal case remains unresolved.
