Lawyer: The Armavir court rejected the claim of defrocked monastic Arman Saroyan regarding the illegality of the decision to remove him from the post of primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

ArmInfo.  The Court of First Instance of the Armavir Region of Armenia, chaired by Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan, rejected the civil suit filed by defrocked monk Arman Saroyan demanding that the Papal decree of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II on his removal from the post of Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) be declared invalid and that he be reinstated in this post. This was reported by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan.

As the lawyer explained, the court confirmed the key legal position of the See of Holy Etchmiadzin: that the appointment and dismissal of the diocesan primate is the exclusive competence of the Catholicos of All Armenians and constitutes an integral part of the self-governance and internal life of the Church.

"The court noted that these relations are governed by internal church rules and canon law, and that this dispute is not subject to civil proceedings." The court overturned previously applied measures to secure the claim, which limited the enforcement of decisions of the See of Holy Etchmiadzin regarding the governance of the Masyatsotn Diocese. "Let me remind you that the Catholicos of All Armenians and six bishops were given the status of defendants for allegedly obstructing a court order to apply measures to secure this claim," Zohrabyan wrote on his Facebook page.

The lawyer added that the formation of the Church's spiritual authority and the appointment and dismissal of clergy cannot be equated to ordinary labor relations and are subject to the control of secular courts that ignore the Church's canon law.

"Church autonomy is not a privilege, but a fundamental guarantee protected by the Constitution and international law," he noted.

In conclusion, he added that the court also considered the apostasy of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan to be significant.

Let me remind you that By order of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on January 10, Arman Saroyan (formerly Bishop Gevork - 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 Saroyan's reinstatement as head of the diocese. For failure to comply with this decision, a criminal case was initiated against the Catholicos of All Armenians and six bishops of the diocese.