The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the “ongoing legal persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its supreme authority and senior clergy” and demanded an end to the legal proceedings against the Catholicos of All Armenians, Кaregin II, and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem described the Aug. 7 court hearing, attended by the Catholicos and bishops, as a “deeply troubling and unacceptable event in the history of the nation and Church,” RFE/RL reports.
“Interference by state bodies in the Church’s internal canonical, administrative and disciplinary matters contradicts the principle of Church autonomy and creates a dangerous precedent in Church-state relations,” the Patriarchate said in a statement.
The Patriarchate said Armenian authorities must recognize that their treatment of the Catholicos of All Armenians is not merely a domestic political matter. It called on them to refrain from steps that could deepen national divisions and cause irreversible damage to relations between the Armenian Church and the state.
The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America said that matters concerning Church governance, discipline and leadership fall within the domain of the Church’s own canonical order.
Earlier, Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, said summoning Garegin II to court was “unacceptable and condemnable.” He also said he had advised Garegin II not to appear in court and instead send a representative.
Judge Hakob Manukyan recused himself and declined to hear the case involving Catholicos and six bishops. Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan announced the decision in the courthouse yard.
The hearing at the Armavir Regional Court of General Jurisdiction was held behind closed doors and lasted about 30 minutes. People gathered in the courthouse yard greeted Karekin II with applause, sang a hymn for the protection of the Mother See, and then recited the Lord’s Prayer together. Representatives of opposition and extra-parliamentary political forces were also present in the courthouse yard.
