A judge withdrew Friday from the criminal case against Catholicos Karekin II just minutes after the first hearing began, delaying proceedings against the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and six senior clerics.
Judge Hakob Manukyan recused himself after initially closing the hearing to the public. A new hearing will be scheduled once another judge is assigned to the case, defense attorney Ara Zohrabyan told reporters outside the courthouse.
The case charges Karekin II with obstructing the enforcement of a court ruling stemming from an internal dispute within the Armenian Apostolic Church. The proceedings come during a broader confrontation between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Church leadership.
Zohrabyan said Manukyan had previously worked as an attorney and received his law license while Zohrabyan was president of Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates. The judge stepped aside because that connection could raise questions about his impartiality, according to the attorney.
“I welcome his decision because, in essence, he refused to become part of this shameful process,” Zohrabyan said.
Before his recusal, Manukyan ordered the opening portion of the hearing held behind closed doors, citing matters involving private life. He did not publicly disclose the circumstances that prompted the decision.
The case grew out of a dispute involving Gevorg Saroyan, formerly a bishop in the Armenian Apostolic Church. Saroyan was among 10 bishops who sided with Pashinyan during the prime minister’s campaign against Karekin II.
Karekin II removed Saroyan from his position, but an Armenian court later ordered that he be reinstated. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin refused to restore him and later defrocked him.
Church officials have argued that the state has no authority to determine who may serve as a bishop or hold an ecclesiastical position, saying such decisions belong exclusively to the Church. They have characterized the court’s involvement as interference with the Armenian Apostolic Church’s autonomy.
Investigators, however, treated the refusal to carry out the ruling as obstruction of a judicial act, leading to criminal charges against Karekin II and six senior clerics.
Saroyan, who is recognized as the only victim in the case, attended Friday’s hearing.
The proceedings have become another flashpoint in the widening conflict between Pashinyan and Armenia’s dominant Christian institution. The prime minister has publicly challenged Karekin II’s continued leadership of the Church, while the Mother See and senior clergy have accused the government of intruding into matters of church governance.
The dispute has also drawn opposition lawmakers and Karekin II’s supporters to Etchmiadzin.
Members of the opposition Strong Armenia parliamentary faction gathered outside the courthouse Friday, along with several lawmakers from the Armenia faction. Supporters of the Catholicos also demonstrated outside during the hearing.
Strong Armenia lawmaker Aram Vardevanyan condemned the prosecution and described the proceedings as unlawful.
“I feel indescribable pain when such lawlessness is being committed against His Holiness, when such an unimaginable intervention is taking place against our clergy,” Vardevanyan told reporters. “None of this has any legal logic — or any logic at all.”
Asked whether the charge against Karekin II could carry a prison sentence, Vardevanyan declined to discuss the possible punishment.
“I don’t want to talk about that because by doing so, we would almost be giving legitimacy to these proceedings,” he said. “The fact is that there is lawlessness.”
After the hearing, Karekin II left the courthouse surrounded by supporters and walked toward the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the historic seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, where a service was underway.
The case cannot move forward until a new judge is assigned. No date for the next hearing was immediately announced.
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