Power Play in Armenia: A Church State Confrontation Takes Shape The trial of Catholicos Karekin II and six other clerics is set to begin on Friday at the Armavir Regional Court.
The charges against them – failing to reinstate defrocked Bishop Gevorg Saroyan – are steeped in politics as much as they are about ecclesiastical protocol.
The dispute between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Karekin II has been building for months, with both men trading barbs over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.