Criminal Proceedings Against the Mother See: Court Ruling Not Implemented

A criminal case has been initiated due to the failure to execute a court ruling. This has been reported by the Investigative Committee.

According to the report submitted by the Enforcement Service of the Republic of Armenia, the Civil Court of General Jurisdiction of the Armavir region, within the framework of a civil case, issued an enforceable sheet on January 16, 2026, prohibiting the Religious Organization of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and other individuals from carrying out any actions that could in any way obstruct His Grace Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, as the leader of the Vayots Dzor Diocese, from exercising the powers and responsibilities established for the diocesan leader by Article 68 of the Statute of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, as well as any applicable other rules, including the management of the financial resources of the Diocese of Vayots Dzor and the execution of financial transactions, until the final court ruling on the case is made.

Subsequently, an enforcement case was initiated at the Enforcement Service, where a decision was made to compel the debtor to perform specific actions or refrain from performing certain actions. On January 19, 2026, the decision was handed over in person to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin's Executive Office.

However, under these circumstances, following a decision by the Supreme Spiritual Council on January 27, 2026, Bishop Gevorg Saroyan has been declared dismissed by patriarchal decree.

Considering the fact that instances of non-fulfillment of the legally binding court ruling have reportedly been documented involving the relevant employees of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church using their official powers and the influence arising therefrom in the context of the aforementioned enforcement proceedings, on January 29, 2026, a criminal case has been initiated in the Chief Department for Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Committee of Armenia under part 2 of Article 507 and part 2 of Article 46-507 of the Criminal Code, during which investigative and evidentiary actions are being carried out,” the statement said.