Karekin II, Arch. Derderian and Arch. Yezras: Are They Spiritual Servants or Ruthless Imposters?
Posted on July. 26. 2019
BY APPO JABARIAN
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER/MANAGING EDITOR
USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE
On July 21, RA Prime Minister’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan visited the Diocesan complex of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Moscow.
According to well-informed sources in the Armenian community of Russia, on the first day of visit by Sinanian, sharp criticism was directed against Catholicos Karekin II’s blood-brother and Arch. Hovnan Derderian’s collaborator, Arch. Yezras of Moscow.
During the meeting, several Armenian citizens of Sarov, Russia openly accused Arch. Yezras and his clergy of turning the Armenian Church into a private business enterprise. According to Mnatsakan Arakelyan, the head of the Armenian community of Udmurtia, Russia, 5300 Armenians of Udmurtia appealed to Arch. Yezras to consecrate the church built in 2012. But Yezras tried to impose three conditions:
- Provide his clergy with a stable salary;
- Hand over the deeds of the church property and related building structures and vacant lands of the parish to him. (Editor – Peculiar similarities exist between Arch. Yezras’s misdeeds in Udmurtia, Russia and Arch. Derderian’s 2016 wrongdoings at St. John Garabed Church in San Diego, CA USA); and
- Transfer 1,200 000 rubles, to the so-called “stabilization fund” — meaning outright bribe.
“I urged Yezras to withdraw these conditions. It is not the people that should serve the clergy, but it’s the clergy that must serve the people. There are similar problems not only in our community, but also in the Sverdlovsk region along with Penza, and Yekaterinburg. All in all, 12 cities,” said Mr. Arakelyan, who could barely control his feelings of indignation. (See related article on page E5).
Arch. Yezras’s behavior hardly shocks thousands of critics worldwide as many church activists know that Yezras is part of an international ring within the Armenian Church that has been abusing power vested in them by the God-fearing Armenian Church faithful.
Yezras and his allies — namely Karekin II in Etchmiadzin, Arch. Hovnan Derderian at Western Diocese of USA are known for their unsatiated greed for money and power. They have been engaged into various acts of misappropriation and mismanagement of funds; abuse of their religious leader status; and mistreatment of peaceful critics and church activists.
Below is a partial list of various cases of mistreatment of peaceful critics of corruption involving Karekin II, Arch. Derderian and Arch. Yezras.
Case no. 1: Arch. Nerses Bozabalian was a strong contender for becoming the succeeding catholicos after the passing of Karekin I. Bozabalian was a leading competitor against Karekin Arch. Karekin Nersisyan, then the primate of Ararat Diocese in Armenia. Ironically just before the pontifical elections of October 1999, Arch. Bozabalian was beaten to death in front of his condo building entrance in Yerevan, capital of Armenia.
Case no. 2: Back in Dec. 2018 a huge group of anti-Karekin II demonstrators flocked to Etchmiadzin to voice their opposition to the corrupted Catholicos Karekin II. Many defenseless and unarmed protesters were subjected to inhumane treatments by thugs mostly coming from Karekin II’s hometown of Sovkhoz Village no. 4. (WATCH SHANT NEWS TV’s televised report: https://youtu.be/bDSmAiaYSVQ ) Many of the attackers are relatives and underlings of Karekin II. Sovkhoz Village no. 4 is the number producer of corrupted members of Armenian Church clergy. At least five corrupted bishops who are in top positions in Armenian Church come Sovkhoz Village no. 4. Also hailing from Sovkhoz Village no. 4 are Rev. Manuk Markaryan, his brother and other family members who have become an integral part of the corrupted clergy within the Armenian Church including Arch. Yezras of Moscow.
Upon noticing that the convoy of anti-Karekin II demonstrators in Etchmiadzin was overwhelming, Karekin II called the Police to disperse them. The peaceful demonstrators in Etchmiadzin were subjected to physical violence perpetrated by Karekin II’s thugs under the watchful eyes of corrupted Police in Etchmiadzin. (Obviously PM Nikol Pashinyan’s administration has to expand the scope of his corruption-eradication campaign to include Etchmiadzin Police Department.)
Case no. 3: Similar tactics were applied by Arch. Yezras in Moscow, who was confronted by numerous anti-corrupted, anti-Karekin II and anti-Yezras demonstrators, called the Russian Police. Yezras made false accusations to the Police misrepresenting peaceful demonstrators as ‘violent elements.’ The Russian Police mistakenly imprisoned a number the peaceful demonstrators but later on released them all.
Case no. 4: Yezras has ‘hired thugs to beat in Moscow a devout clergy and righteous Rev. Sahak. Rev. Sahak barely survived the beating. To his credit, Rev. Sahak was speaking out against widespread corruption under Arch. Yezras. The courageous and righteous member of clergy valiantly continues to expose corruption in Armenian Church under Karekin II and Yezras.
Case no. 5: In Dec. 2018, false accusations were hurled against peaceful demonstrators in Los Angeles by operatives of Arch. Hovnan Derderian at the scene of a peaceful demonstration in front of the Western Diocese. Arch. Derderian’s agents tried to misguide Burbank Police into arresting the demonstrators. They also attempted to harass an Armenian American investigative reporter who was at the scene. But due to First Amendment rights of Free Press and Freedom of Speech, neither the Los Angeles journalist nor any of the peaceful demonstrators were arrested. The Burbank Police deemed their protest action as legal. When false accusation tactics failed to undermine the rights of the demonstrators, agents of Arch. Derderian resorted to making death threats against the reporter and other demonstrators.
Befittingly, Arch. Hovnan Derderian who has been expelled in 1973-1974 from the seminary of The Great House of Cilicia in Lebanon on a series of sexual acts breaking his celibacy vows, is now widely considered as a major partner of Karekin II and Yezras. And is an ‘Honorary Citizen’ of Karekin II’s Sovkhoz Village no. 4 – a hotbed of corrupted members of Armenian Church clergy.
As to massive misappropriation of funds in Armenia and around the world, What happened to real estate assets valued at millions of dollars belonging to the Armenian community of India? How did Karekin II and his cohorts misappropriate them?
Above partial list is only the tip of the iceberg of an avalanche of misdeeds by Karekin II, Arch. Derderian and Arch. Yezras. Stay tuned.