Lawyer accuses defrocked cleric of illegal withdrawals

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan claimed that defrocked cleric Arman Saroyan withdrew 15 million drams from diocesan accounts without legal authority after being dismissed by Catholicos Karekin II from the position of head of the Masis Diocese.

“Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan, who is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, has once again demonstrated his bias and fulfilled Arman Saroyan’s wishes,” Zohrabyan said during a press conference, according to Panorama.am .

He stated that throughout the process the compulsory enforcement service had acted in an “openly unlawful manner” and served Saroyan’s interests.

“Saroyan writes letters at every opportunity, saying a Facebook page has been created and demanding it be banned. It is as if the enforcement officer has become Arman Saroyan’s personal employee. They send such letters and intimidate clergymen, including acting head of the Masis Diocese Archimandrite Ruben Zargaryan, always adding threats of criminal liability,” Zohrabyan said.

The lawyer recalled that Saroyan had filed a lawsuit challenging Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II’s decision to remove him from the position of diocesan leader.

“The court applied interim measures and prohibited the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and other persons from taking actions that could hinder Arman Saroyan from exercising powers as diocesan leader, including management of financial accounts,” Zohrabyan explained.

According to him, the court, chaired by Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan, effectively treated the matter as a labor dispute and imposed such measures.

“The court has created a serious problem for the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. Arman Saroyan, who is no longer a clergyman and has been defrocked, is now conducting transactions through bank accounts based on a court ruling and arbitrary interpretations by enforcement officers.

Moreover, when the Catholicos removed him from office, his banking powers were terminated. The enforcement officer, through arbitrary interpretation of enforcement legislation, authorized Saroyan to conduct banking operations. In other words, the enforcement officer placed himself in the position of the Catholicos and granted such authority.

Today, Saroyan has access to those bank accounts, carries out transactions and manages funds without legal rights to do so.

As of April 1, more than 15 million drams had already been withdrawn from the accounts, and substantial sums still remain there. We fear the money could be wasted. We asked the court to lift the interim measures, but the request was denied,” Zohrabyan added.

Former head of the Masis Diocese Gevorg Bishop Saroyan, who was dismissed from the position, has filed a lawsuit against the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to Datalex, he seeks to invalidate Catholicos Karekin II’s January 10, 2026, patriarchal decree removing him from office and requests reinstatement as diocesan leader.