Defrocked bishop continues to use AAC bank accounts

ArmInfo.  Defrocked Bishop Arman Saroyan (formerly Primate of the Masiatsotn Diocese Gevorg Saroyan - ed.) continues to operate bank accounts belonging to the Armenian  Apostolic Church (AAC). This was announced by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan at  a press conference in Yerevan.

As the lawyer recalled, Saroyan was defrocked by decision of  Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, which also meant the  termination of his rights to the AAC bank accounts. However,  according to Zohrabyan, Arman Saroyan challenged this decision in  court. "He appealed to the court to ensure his continued tenure. The  court, by its decision, prohibited the Armenian Church from taking  any measures that could hinder Arman Saroyan, as the primate of the  diocese, from exercising his powers, including managing financial  accounts. As of April 1, 2026, the defrocked bishop had already  withdrawn more than 15 million drams from the account, and there are  concerns that he will continue to misuse these funds in the future,"  the lawyer stated.

According to Zohrabyan, the main problem is that the Armenian court  cannot hear such disputes, since both Armenian law and international  treaties guarantee the Church's right to internal self-government.  "For example, international norms, including the Constitution of  Armenia, prohibit discrimination against women. At the same time, in  many aspects of church life, women are not permitted to occupy  certain positions and participate in certain processes. For example,  a woman cannot become a bishop or ascend the altar. From a legal  perspective, this is discriminatory, but neither international law  nor the Constitution of Armenia addresses this issue within the  context of state regulation," the lawyer explained.

Secondly, Zohrabyan noted that the court, under the leadership of  Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan, effectively considered the case as a labor  dispute. "Therefore, it appears that the bailiff assumed the  functions of the Catholicos of All Armenians and granted Saroyan  these powers," the lawyer noted.

As Zohrabyan reported, an appeal was filed to the court demanding the  annulment of the interim measures, but the court rejected it. Later,  the lawyer continued, a petition for compensation for damages was  also filed, and evidence of embezzlement was presented, but it was  also rejected. Moreover, the lawyer noted, Saroyan signed his claims  under different names: first, he used his secular name, and then  signed as Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, even though the difference between  the submitted documents was only a few days.  However, according to  Zohrabyan, this fact was also ignored.

"Meanwhile, dismissal of a bishop from office and defrocking him are  two different things, since one is about office, while the other  concerns his spiritual status. Let me remind you that, as part of  this same case, a criminal case was opened against the Catholicos of  All Armenians, six bishops, and one priest. This is disgraceful,"  Zohrabyan emphasized.

He recalled that the investigator in this case imposed a ban on the  Catholicos' absence and presented an unlawful justification. "The  justification for imposing a ban on the Catholicos' absence stated  that it was necessary to prevent his escape using an identity  document. The justification stated that the Catholicos had already  left the country several times, which gave rise to concerns that he  might leave Armenia and never return," Zohrabyan recalled.

However, as the lawyer noted, the court subsequently ruled that the  Catholicos's travel history could not serve as grounds for asserting  his intention to flee. The lawyer noted that in this situation, the  Investigative Committee of Armenia could not confirm the charges and  send the case to court, as there were no grounds for doing so. "As a  result, they simply suspended the criminal prosecution and announced  that they had filed an international inquiry on the case and were  awaiting a response. However, when we, for our part, requested that  this international inquiry be made available so that we could appeal  it, we were told that it was confidential information regarding the  preliminary investigation. This once again confirms the illegality of  their actions and the persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church,"  Zohrabyan emphasized.

As a reminder, by order of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II on  January 10, Arman Saroyan (formerly Bishop Gevorg - ed.) was  dismissed from his post as head of the Masiatsotn Diocese. On January  27, he was defrocked for challenging this decision in court and  failing to comply with the order. Ruben Zargaryan was subsequently  appointed head of the diocese. The court later ordered that Saroyan  be reinstated as head of the diocese.