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AUSTRALIAN ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADER 'WAS A KGB SPY'
August 13, 2014
A highly respected Australian church leader was a KGB spy, according
to newly released Russian intelligence archives.
Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of Australia and New Zealand, was listed as a KGB agent,
codenamed "Zorik" in the papers of former KGB archivist and defector
Vasili Mitrokhin, which were released by the UK's Churchill College
Archive last month.
Born in Syria in 1946, the late Archbishop Baliozian arrived in
Australia in 1975 to serve as Vicar General of the diocese of the
Armenian Church before being appointed as Primate of Australia and
New Zealand in 1982.
A highly respected religious leader and a well-known figure in
Chatswood, Sydney, Archbishop Baliozian was strongly committed
to ecumenism, working for cooperation and greater unity between
Christian churches.
He was the first president of the National Council of Churches in
Australia from 1994 to 1997 and president of the NSW Ecumenical
Council from 2005 to 2007. He represented the Armenian Church at the
World Council of Churches.
Archbishop Baliozian was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
in 1995 "in recognition of service to the Armenian community" and
the Centenary Medal in 2001, again for community service.
However, Mitrokhin's papers on KGB espionage operations in Australia
allege Archbishop Baliozian was recruited by Soviet intelligence in
1973 while undertaking theological studies in Yerevan, the capital
of Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union.
According to Mitrokhin's notes of Soviet state security files, Aghan
Baliozian went on to work as a KGB agent while studying and teaching
in Jerusalem in 1974, and maintained "ongoing communications in three
countries". He continued contact with the KGB after he transferred
to the Armenian Church in Australia, according to the papers.
However, Mitrokhin's papers also suggest that his performance in
Australia was considered unsatisfactory. The third department of the
KGB's foreign intelligence directorate, responsible for operations in
Australia, concluded Archbishop Baliozian had "insufficient operational
training" and eventually discontinued his employment.
The precise terms of Archbishop Baliozian's separation from the KGB
are not recorded in Mitrokhin's notes and it is not known whether he
had any further dealings with Soviet intelligence in the 1980s.
Mitrokhin's notes of KGB files record Soviet state security's extensive
efforts to recruit clergy as agents and informants, especially in
churches with a significant presence in the former Soviet Union.
British intelligence historian Christopher Andrew, who collaborated
with Mitrokhin on two books, claims that, during the Cold War the KGB
recruited a number of representatives on the World Council of Churches,
mainly from the Russian Orthodox Church but from other denominations
as well, in successful efforts to influence the Council's policies.
Archbishop Baliozian died in September 2012. More than 600 people
attended his funeral at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Chatswood,
including three archbishops from Jerusalem, India and Armenia.
Many NSW political figures paid tribute to the archbishop, with Liberal
MP Jonathan O'Dea applauding his commitment to inter-religious dialogue
as well as his abilities as an orator.
"Always approachable and gregarious, the archbishop was captivating
as a speaker... He would simply speak from the heart, capturing the
attention of young and old in his congregation and developing a strong
and loyal following," Mr O'Dea told the NSW Parliament.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/46560
THE AGE, Australia
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/australian-church-leader-was-a-kgb-spy-20140812-1037oy.html#ixzz3ALJrNi1D
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
August 13, 2014
A highly respected Australian church leader was a KGB spy, according
to newly released Russian intelligence archives.
Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of Australia and New Zealand, was listed as a KGB agent,
codenamed "Zorik" in the papers of former KGB archivist and defector
Vasili Mitrokhin, which were released by the UK's Churchill College
Archive last month.
Born in Syria in 1946, the late Archbishop Baliozian arrived in
Australia in 1975 to serve as Vicar General of the diocese of the
Armenian Church before being appointed as Primate of Australia and
New Zealand in 1982.
A highly respected religious leader and a well-known figure in
Chatswood, Sydney, Archbishop Baliozian was strongly committed
to ecumenism, working for cooperation and greater unity between
Christian churches.
He was the first president of the National Council of Churches in
Australia from 1994 to 1997 and president of the NSW Ecumenical
Council from 2005 to 2007. He represented the Armenian Church at the
World Council of Churches.
Archbishop Baliozian was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
in 1995 "in recognition of service to the Armenian community" and
the Centenary Medal in 2001, again for community service.
However, Mitrokhin's papers on KGB espionage operations in Australia
allege Archbishop Baliozian was recruited by Soviet intelligence in
1973 while undertaking theological studies in Yerevan, the capital
of Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union.
According to Mitrokhin's notes of Soviet state security files, Aghan
Baliozian went on to work as a KGB agent while studying and teaching
in Jerusalem in 1974, and maintained "ongoing communications in three
countries". He continued contact with the KGB after he transferred
to the Armenian Church in Australia, according to the papers.
However, Mitrokhin's papers also suggest that his performance in
Australia was considered unsatisfactory. The third department of the
KGB's foreign intelligence directorate, responsible for operations in
Australia, concluded Archbishop Baliozian had "insufficient operational
training" and eventually discontinued his employment.
The precise terms of Archbishop Baliozian's separation from the KGB
are not recorded in Mitrokhin's notes and it is not known whether he
had any further dealings with Soviet intelligence in the 1980s.
Mitrokhin's notes of KGB files record Soviet state security's extensive
efforts to recruit clergy as agents and informants, especially in
churches with a significant presence in the former Soviet Union.
British intelligence historian Christopher Andrew, who collaborated
with Mitrokhin on two books, claims that, during the Cold War the KGB
recruited a number of representatives on the World Council of Churches,
mainly from the Russian Orthodox Church but from other denominations
as well, in successful efforts to influence the Council's policies.
Archbishop Baliozian died in September 2012. More than 600 people
attended his funeral at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Chatswood,
including three archbishops from Jerusalem, India and Armenia.
Many NSW political figures paid tribute to the archbishop, with Liberal
MP Jonathan O'Dea applauding his commitment to inter-religious dialogue
as well as his abilities as an orator.
"Always approachable and gregarious, the archbishop was captivating
as a speaker... He would simply speak from the heart, capturing the
attention of young and old in his congregation and developing a strong
and loyal following," Mr O'Dea told the NSW Parliament.
http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/46560
THE AGE, Australia
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/australian-church-leader-was-a-kgb-spy-20140812-1037oy.html#ixzz3ALJrNi1D
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress