New Judge Assigned to the Case of the Catholicos and 6 Holy Fathers

The case against the Catholicos of All Armenians and six holy fathers has been assigned to Judge Serzh Rushanyan of the first instance general jurisdiction criminal court of Armavir region. This information is obtained from the judicial information system ‘Datalex’.

Earlier, this case was assigned to Judge Hakob Manukyan, but he withdrew from the case during the first hearing and declined to proceed with it.

The background of the case: The Catholicos and the six holy fathers (Nathan, Haykazun, Vahan, Makari, Mushegh, and Hovnatan) are accused under the second part of Article 507 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. A measure of restraint has been chosen against them—prohibition of absence.

The criminal case relates to the civil lawsuit of Arman Saroyan (formerly Bishop T. Gevorg Saroyan), in which he demands to be reinstated as the diocesan leader of the Mashtots region.

According to the accusation, the Catholicos and the six holy fathers failed to comply with the interim decision of the civil court, which aimed to ensure Arman Saroyan’s appointment as diocesan leader.