Court Lifts Travel Ban on Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II

ArmInfo. The Court of First Instance has granted the appeal filed by the defense of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, ruling to lift the restrictive measure — the ban on leaving the country.

As attorney Ara Zohrabyan recalled on his Facebook page, it was precisely due to this travel ban that the Catholicos of All Armenians was unable to attend the funeral service of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.

It should be recalled that in May 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan launched an extensive anti-church campaign, demanding the resignation of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Within the framework of this campaign, several members of the clergy were taken into custody. Furthermore, a group of bishops aligned themselves with Pashinyan, calling for the Catholicos's departure. In this regard, on December 1, the Catholicos of All Armenians announced a meeting of the Council of Bishops for December 10-12 to discuss recent events concerning the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and issues of internal church life. However, on December 8, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin announced that the meeting would be postponed indefinitely, citing repressions against the clergy, including arrests. Subsequently, Karekin II decided to convene the episcopal assembly on February 16-19 in the Austrian city of Sankt Pölten. Notably, it was at this time that the Investigative Committee of Armenia initiated a criminal case following Karekin II’s decision to defrock Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, who had joined the authorities' anti-church campaign, and banned the Catholicos from leaving the country.