Armenian cleric: Garegin II squanders Church's money, brother recruits fighters for Ukraine war

The abbot of Armenia's Hovhannavank Monastery, Father Ter Aram (Stepan Asatryan), spoke on Araratnews Media, making a series of statements regarding the actions of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.

The priest claimed that the Catholicos’s brother, Mkrtich (Yezras) Nersisyan, recruited six thousand fighters to join Russia’s war against Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Recently, we received information that Yezras recruited six thousand volunteers, gave them money, and sent them to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Where did he get this money? What funds did he use? Essentially, we can say that he used the Armenian Church’s money—the donations given by the Armenian people for their church and their people,” Father Ter Aram said.

The priest also directly accused the Catholicos of misappropriating church funds.

“I can say that the income of our Church, which often comes from the last savings of our faithful, is simply being squandered,” he stated.

“Mkrtich Nersisyan (Garegin II) gave a church-owned apartment to Mane Kazaryan, the director of the Shoghakat TV channel (the Armenian Church’s channel), even though this woman already owns her own home. Why should Mkrtich Nersisyan make unilateral decisions and give church property to friends, relatives, and family? There is a council of bishops, and such decisions should be approved by this council,” Ter Aram said indignantly.

According to the priest, Echmiadzin has enough resources that no one in Armenia should be left without a roof over their head. However, he claims, the Armenian Church’s money is simply being wasted.

“During the court hearing, neither Father Tade nor I had a lawyer because we could not afford one. But next to the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese (a nephew of Garegin II) were four of the most well-known lawyers in Armenia. Where did the head of the diocese get the money to hire four of the top lawyers? Why are these lawyers defending his interests and not ours? Because we don’t have such funds!” the priest said.

Father Ter Aram was among the first Armenian clergymen to openly oppose Catholicos Garegin II, claiming that the Catholicos openly “encourages sin, aiming to make everyone like himself.”

For this reason, Garegin II stripped the rebellious priest of his clerical status. The Armenian authorities, in turn, stated that they do not recognise the Catholicos’s decision as legitimate.

By Khagan Isayev