Diocese of Masyatsotn rejects Bishop Gevorg Saroyan
The clergy of the Diocese of Masyatsotn have expressed their disagreement and concern regarding an interim decision made by the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction of Armavir Province. According to them, the ruling effectively mandates the recognition of the defrocked former Bishop Gevorg Saroyan as the Primate of the Diocese. Per the statement, according to church canons, he is now a layperson named Arman Saroyan. This was noted in a statement published on the Diocese’s Facebook page.
The clergy declare that the court’s decision is incompatible with the canonical life of the Church and their priestly calling. In their formulation, episcopal authority is granted and exercised only within the framework of church order and communion with the competent ecclesiastical authority; once defrocked, an individual is deprived of the right to exercise episcopal power.
The statement also mentions that no secular decision can alter this status. According to the clergy, the leadership of a diocese is primarily a spiritual service, which implies canonical authority and recognition by the Church hierarchy.
Representatives of the Diocese emphasize that the issue also involves components of freedom of conscience and religion. They argue that implementing the court’s decision contradicts their conscience, faith, and ecclesiological convictions, and is incompatible with the ecclesiastical obligations they have undertaken.
The statement references the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the “Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” emphasizing that these guarantee the right of self-governance for the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, and that the state cannot interfere in the internal life of the Church.
In summary, the clergy of the Diocese declare that the implementation of the court’s decision is impossible for them, considering it an anti-canonical and anti-ecclesiastical imposition.
