A court hearing scheduled for the case against Catholicos Karekin II and six other bishops was postponed on Friday, because neither the prosecution nor the plaintiff, Arman Saroyan (formerly known as Bishop Gevorg Saroyan), appeared in court. The only explanation provided in court regarding the absence of the prosecution was that the prosecutors are currently overburdened with work. According to Ara Zohrabyan, the legal representative of the Mother See, the authorities are simply seeking to prolong the process with this move, ensuring that the restrictions imposed on the Catholicos and the bishops remain in effect. The next court hearing has been scheduled for December 4. The Catholicos and the bishops who are members of the Supreme Spiritual Council became defendants in February of this year, facing charges related to the failure to comply with a judicial act. The judicial act in question concerned Bishop Saroyan, the former Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese, who has since been defrocked. He had filed a lawsuit challenging the decision of the Catholicos of All Armenians to remove him from his position as the Primate of the diocese. This was followed by a decision from the Catholicos to strip Saroyan of his episcopal rank. The prosecution views this as an obstruction to the enforcement of a judicial act. Last month, it was revealed that the civil proceedings initiated by Saroyan’s lawsuit had been terminated. The court established that the appointment and dismissal of a diocesan primate fall under the exclusive authority of the Catholicos of All Armenians and constitute an integral part of the church’s self-governance and internal life. Saroyan, having been removed from his position and stripped of his episcopal rank, declared that he would not back down and would see the matter through to the end. The post Karekin II Court Hearing Postoned appeared first on Asbarez.com .