Lawyer Ruben Melikyan stated during a Facebook broadcast that a de facto criminal prosecution has been launched against the Catholicos of All Armenians and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, in connection with enforcement proceedings related to the case of defrocked Archbishop Gevorg Saroyan.

On January 29, it was announced that a criminal case had been initiated against the Armenian Apostolic Church, stemming from a lawsuit filed by Gevorg Saroyan on January 15. Saroyan demanded that his dismissal as head of the Diocese of Masis be declared invalid and that he be reinstated. The day after the hearing, the Armavir regional court ruled to temporarily reinstate Saroyan pending a final verdict.

Melikyan suggested that the real objective is to impose exit bans on the Catholicos and Council members to prevent them from leaving the country.

“This effectively obstructs the Church’s normal functioning and is an attempt to prevent the Bishops’ Synod from convening in Austria,” Melikyan stated.

He argued that this constitutes executive interference in church affairs, violating the constitutional principle of separation between church and state.

The lawyer added that the Catholicos’ decision to defrock Saroyan cannot be legally challenged through any procedural mechanism.

The Bishops’ Synod is scheduled to take place February 16–19 in Sankt Pölten, Austria.