ECHMIADZIN — Judge Hakob Manukyan recused himself on Friday, August 7, from the trial of Catholicos Karekin II and six Armenian clerical members of the Supreme Spiritual Council on the grounds of conflict of interest. Manukyan had been given his license to be a lawyer by Ara Zohrabyan, the defense counsel representing the Armenian Church’s clerics. The case against the head of the Armenian Church, unprecedented in the history of the church, has been widely criticized as an unconstitutional interference of the government in internal church affairs.
The alleged basis for the case is noncompliance with a court order reinstating Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, former Primate of Aragatsotn Diocese, whom the Catholicos had defrocked on January 27, 2026. This court order itself is an unconstitutional interference in the internal affairs of the church.
Hundreds of supporters of the Catholicos greeted him, yelling “Vehapar, Vehapar” [Your Holiness, Your Holiness], as he approached the Vagharshapat courtroom. Supporters of the Catholicos throughout the world in social media (including, for example, the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party publication Baikar) later praised the judge’s withdrawal from the case and hoped other judges would follow his example.
Even though this case is evidently unconstitutional, it is expected that it will still be transferred to another judge in Vagharshapat, who would set a new trial date. [See related article about appointment of new judge here.]
Meanwhile, statements criticizing the indictment, which dates back to February of this year, and calling for its withdrawal have been issued by many Armenian Church bodies and organizations like the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU; see the full English-language text in this issue), Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, and the heads of several Armenian dioceses, including, so far, the Dioceses of the Eastern United States, Canada, Germany, Iraq, Romania, and Syria.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul expressed its solidarity with Catholicos Karekin II and stated that the court case “deeply offends the patriarchal dignity of the Armenian Church.”
