Hayk Mamijanyan: What`s happening around the Catholicos of All  Armenians is a national disgrace

ArmInfo.  Hayk Mamijanyan, former deputy of the RA National Assembly,  has announced that he will attend the Etchmiadzin court on August 7 at 4:00 PM,  where a hearing is scheduled for the case of the Catholicos of All  Armenians.  In a statement on his Facebook page, Mamijanyan called  the current situation a national disgrace, for which RA Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan is responsible.

"I cannot imagine His Holiness the Patriarch and the bishops entering  a court where the judge addresses them by their secular names, orders  them to 'sit down' and 'stand up.' This is a scenario I cannot even  imagine," he said. Mamijanyan urged citizens to attend court on  August 7 to express their support and respect for the Catholicos of  All Armenians and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"I will be at the court on August 7 to express my support and respect  for the Armenian Patriarch and our Church," the former MP noted.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia launched a criminal case  against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and six bishops of  Holy Etchmiadzin on February 14, 2026. In July 2026, the indictment  was confirmed and submitted to a court of general jurisdiction. The  Catholicos is banned from leaving the country and is charged with  obstructing the execution of a judicial decision related to the  defrocked archbishop. The criminal proceedings were initiated on  February 14, 2026. The prosecutor's office's official stance -  obstructing the execution of a court decision concerning the case of  defrocked Archbishop Gevorg (Arman) Saroyan. The Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin has strongly condemned the authorities' actions.  The  Church views the criminal prosecution as illegal state interference  in the internal affairs of a religious organization and pressure on  the country's spiritual leadership.