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DEFROCKED FORMER PRIMATE OF RUSSIA PLANS TO SUE ARMENIA TV FOR SLANDER
Kristine Aghalaryan
HETQ
November 4, 2011
Archbishop Tiran Kyureghyan, the former Primate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church Diocese of New Nakhichevan and Russia, is planning
to sue Armenia TV for defamation of character.
In an October 23 broadcast covering the consecration of crosses to
be placed atop the dome of the newly constructed Armenian Cathedral
in Moscow, Armenia TV reported that the former Primate and defrocked
clergyman was the reason for the delay in the construction of the
edifice..
The TV station alleged that Archbishop Kyureghyan had embezzled some
$3 million in donations raised specifically for construction purposes.
Archbishop Kyureghyan had been dismissed as Primate by Catholicos
Garegin II in October, 2000 and replaced by his brother Ezras
Nersisyan, who at the time had been serving as the priest in the
Saint Petersburg parish.
Archbishop Kyureghyan was offered the post of Primate of the Ukraine
Diocese of the Armenian Church.
At the time, reports in the Russian and Armenian press stated that
Archbishop Kyureghyan refused to hand over the reins of the diocese
to Nersisyan and had declared that he would be starting a separate
religious body.
Supporters of Kyureghyan staged a number of protest actions but they
failed to change the mind of Catholicos Garegin II.
Citing "disobedience and unruly behaviour", Catholicos Garegin II
defrocked Kyureghyan in May of 2001.
By then, construction of the Holy Cross Church had begun and plans
were to complete the structure by 2002.
Holy Cross Church was only finished this year.
In October, 2004, the newspaper Kommersant wrote an article about
the construction of a religious center for Armenians in the Russian
capital and linked the delays to the former Primate, Archbishop
Tiran Kyureghyan.
The paper reported that the clergyman had been charged with embezzling
$3 million and that he had been defrocked in 2001. It added that the
new Primate, Bishop Yezras, had been forced to raise new funds for
the church.
Ghazaros Kyureghyan (the lay name of the former Primate) took the
Russian newspaper to court. The Moscow Civil Court found in favour
of the former clergyman and ordered the paper to publish a retraction.
Kommersant did just that on September 16, 2005, saying that the
embezzlement allegations were not substantiated.
Forward to today. Armenia TV, at the end of its October 24 news
broadcast, issued the same retraction that Kommersant had done in 2005.
The TV station also removed the article in question from its website.
However, the news anchor's introduction with a photo of Kyureghyan
and a question regarding the missing $3 million still appear.
Ghazaros Kyureghyan says that it's a tragedy that after 1.5 years
of working on the church, laying the foundation and importing stones
from Armenia, that attacks on his person appeared.
Mr. Kyureghyan claims he had nothing at all to do with the donations
raised since a special foundation had been set up to manage the
money. He says that after Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was fired in 2010,
the foundation was dissolved.
"Those reports say that I was defrocked due to $3 million that
went missing. Where did Armenia TV get this information? This is a
completely new charge against me. After ten years such distortions
are again being directed at me. It means that someone supplied that
info to the news anchor," says Kyureghyan.
The former clergyman says he never acted in a disobedient manner to
Catholicos Garegin II.
Kyureghyan says the Catholicos decided to defrock him when the Armenian
Church leader was on a pontifical trip to the United States and Canada
and had told his brother of the decision by phone.
"Such things just aren't done to a high ranking member of the
church. There's a definite procedure involved. Defrocking someone is
a matter of last resort when there are serious ecclesiastical charges
involved," says Kyureghyan.
The former clergyman describes his defrocking as illegal and says
that any charges against him should have been reviewed according to
the bylaws of the church and the Supreme Religious Council.
Kyureghyan also claims that Catholicos Garegin II, after returning
to Etchmiadzin, rounded up a few members of the Religious Council
and wrote up a defrocking order on the spot with the correct date.
Kyureghyan says that Jerusalem Patriarch Torkom Manoogian and Istanbul
Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan refused to sign the document.
On November 3, 2000, Kyureghyan claims that Archbishop Mutafyan sent
a letter to Catholicos Garegin II, noting that any charges levelled
against a Diocesan Primate of the Church must be "fully corroborated
and a tribunal created so that the individual can defend himself".
After the court case with Kommersant, Moscow tax authorities filed
criminal charges against Kyureghyan for land tax evasion on the Moscow
church site. The charges were later dropped.
P.S. - In the near future, Hetq will be conducting an interview
with former Archbishop Tiran Kyureghyan regarding the construction
of Holy Cross Church, the current slander suit against Armenia TV,
and his past dealings with Catholicos Garegin II.
Kristine Aghalaryan
HETQ
November 4, 2011
Archbishop Tiran Kyureghyan, the former Primate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church Diocese of New Nakhichevan and Russia, is planning
to sue Armenia TV for defamation of character.
In an October 23 broadcast covering the consecration of crosses to
be placed atop the dome of the newly constructed Armenian Cathedral
in Moscow, Armenia TV reported that the former Primate and defrocked
clergyman was the reason for the delay in the construction of the
edifice..
The TV station alleged that Archbishop Kyureghyan had embezzled some
$3 million in donations raised specifically for construction purposes.
Archbishop Kyureghyan had been dismissed as Primate by Catholicos
Garegin II in October, 2000 and replaced by his brother Ezras
Nersisyan, who at the time had been serving as the priest in the
Saint Petersburg parish.
Archbishop Kyureghyan was offered the post of Primate of the Ukraine
Diocese of the Armenian Church.
At the time, reports in the Russian and Armenian press stated that
Archbishop Kyureghyan refused to hand over the reins of the diocese
to Nersisyan and had declared that he would be starting a separate
religious body.
Supporters of Kyureghyan staged a number of protest actions but they
failed to change the mind of Catholicos Garegin II.
Citing "disobedience and unruly behaviour", Catholicos Garegin II
defrocked Kyureghyan in May of 2001.
By then, construction of the Holy Cross Church had begun and plans
were to complete the structure by 2002.
Holy Cross Church was only finished this year.
In October, 2004, the newspaper Kommersant wrote an article about
the construction of a religious center for Armenians in the Russian
capital and linked the delays to the former Primate, Archbishop
Tiran Kyureghyan.
The paper reported that the clergyman had been charged with embezzling
$3 million and that he had been defrocked in 2001. It added that the
new Primate, Bishop Yezras, had been forced to raise new funds for
the church.
Ghazaros Kyureghyan (the lay name of the former Primate) took the
Russian newspaper to court. The Moscow Civil Court found in favour
of the former clergyman and ordered the paper to publish a retraction.
Kommersant did just that on September 16, 2005, saying that the
embezzlement allegations were not substantiated.
Forward to today. Armenia TV, at the end of its October 24 news
broadcast, issued the same retraction that Kommersant had done in 2005.
The TV station also removed the article in question from its website.
However, the news anchor's introduction with a photo of Kyureghyan
and a question regarding the missing $3 million still appear.
Ghazaros Kyureghyan says that it's a tragedy that after 1.5 years
of working on the church, laying the foundation and importing stones
from Armenia, that attacks on his person appeared.
Mr. Kyureghyan claims he had nothing at all to do with the donations
raised since a special foundation had been set up to manage the
money. He says that after Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was fired in 2010,
the foundation was dissolved.
"Those reports say that I was defrocked due to $3 million that
went missing. Where did Armenia TV get this information? This is a
completely new charge against me. After ten years such distortions
are again being directed at me. It means that someone supplied that
info to the news anchor," says Kyureghyan.
The former clergyman says he never acted in a disobedient manner to
Catholicos Garegin II.
Kyureghyan says the Catholicos decided to defrock him when the Armenian
Church leader was on a pontifical trip to the United States and Canada
and had told his brother of the decision by phone.
"Such things just aren't done to a high ranking member of the
church. There's a definite procedure involved. Defrocking someone is
a matter of last resort when there are serious ecclesiastical charges
involved," says Kyureghyan.
The former clergyman describes his defrocking as illegal and says
that any charges against him should have been reviewed according to
the bylaws of the church and the Supreme Religious Council.
Kyureghyan also claims that Catholicos Garegin II, after returning
to Etchmiadzin, rounded up a few members of the Religious Council
and wrote up a defrocking order on the spot with the correct date.
Kyureghyan says that Jerusalem Patriarch Torkom Manoogian and Istanbul
Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan refused to sign the document.
On November 3, 2000, Kyureghyan claims that Archbishop Mutafyan sent
a letter to Catholicos Garegin II, noting that any charges levelled
against a Diocesan Primate of the Church must be "fully corroborated
and a tribunal created so that the individual can defend himself".
After the court case with Kommersant, Moscow tax authorities filed
criminal charges against Kyureghyan for land tax evasion on the Moscow
church site. The charges were later dropped.
P.S. - In the near future, Hetq will be conducting an interview
with former Archbishop Tiran Kyureghyan regarding the construction
of Holy Cross Church, the current slander suit against Armenia TV,
and his past dealings with Catholicos Garegin II.