The third judge refused to consider the case of Garegin II.
The third judge, Vaagn Melikyan, refused to consider the criminal case against the Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II and six bishops. The issue of jurisdiction has been transferred to the Cassation Court.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", at the end of August, Judge Serge Rushanyan decided to transfer the case against the Catholicos of all Armenians and six bishops to the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction to determine the feasibility of considering this case in the Armavir court. The judge used the theory of jurisdiction to evade a complex case, lawyers stated.
In February, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia initiated criminal proceedings against the Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II for obstructing the execution of a court order related to the defrocked Archbishop Gevorg Saroyan. The Catholicos is prohibited from leaving the country. The aim of the criminal prosecution of Garegin II was to disrupt the bishops' assembly, the lawyer suggested. On August 7, Judge Akop Manukyan recused himself at the first hearing of the criminal case against the catholicos.
The judge of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, Vaagn Melikyan, who was assigned the criminal case against the Catholicos and six bishops, appealed to the Cassation Court for a final decision on the issue of territorial jurisdiction, reports the publication "News-Armenia".
The appeal was made based on the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia. According to this provision, if the court receiving the case disagrees with its territorial jurisdiction, the issue is referred to the chairman of the Criminal Chamber of the Cassation Court, who must ultimately determine which court of first instance is competent to hear the case.
Thus, Melikyan became the third judge to be assigned the case of the Catholicos and six high-ranking clergy, but the criminal proceedings have not yet reached the merits of the case.
The conflict between the authorities of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church has been ongoing since 2018, when Pashinyan came to power. This conflict became apparent against the backdrop of the 2020 Karabakh war and the authorities' desire to improve relations with Turkey, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" noted.
In May 2025, Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the church, and in response to the objections of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, he replied with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for the insults against the church.
More about the persecution of political opponents of the current authorities in Armenia can be read in the "Caucasian Knot" reference "Main points about political arrests in Armenia in the summer of 2025".