The Court of First Instance of Armavir Province, presided over by Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan, has rejected a motion filed by the Armenian Apostolic Church’s legal team to revoke the interim measure applied against former cleric Arman Saroyan (formerly Bishop Gevorg Saroyan prior to defrocking).
Until a final judicial act is issued in the case, the court had required that Arman Saroyan’s service as Primate of the Masis Diocese be ensured, with the restoration of his defined powers and duties, including management of the diocese’s financial accounts and the execution of financial transactions, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“Failure to apply such interim measures may cause substantial non-material damage to the plaintiff, given his status-related intangible benefits of being engaged in spiritual service and holding a highly reputable office, as well as the inevitability of mental suffering resulting from the impossibility of exercising pastoral duties in that position. These circumstances are directly linked to the doctrine of the Armenian Church, the principles of its teaching, traditional order, as well as the Church Charter’s provision that a diocesan primate is appointed without limitation of tenure, which presupposes continuity of spiritual service,” the court ruling states.
The decision entered into force upon publication and is not subject to appeal.
On January 4, 2026, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and bishops demanding the Catholicos’ removal announced the launch of a “renewal” process within the Armenian Apostolic Church and published their so-called “roadmap.” The document, signed by 10 bishops and Pashinyan, established a coordinating council tasked with organizational matters related to the Church’s “reform.”
