His Holiness Karekin II Defrocks Rev. Fr. Geghard Hovhannisyan

His Holiness Karekin II Defrocks Rev. Fr. Geghard Hovhannisyan 04.08.2021

On August 03, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has issued a Pontifical Order whereby Rev. Fr. Geghard Hovhannisyan has been defrocked.

The application submitted by His Grace Bishop Vertanes Abrahamyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh; and the conclusion of an investigation by the Disciplinary Committee of the Mother See; has served as the basis for the defrockment of Fr. Geghard for uncanonically abandoning and willfully deserting his spiritual service.

From now on the defrocked clergyman is a member of the laity and will be known by his baptismal name of Gagik Hovhannisyan.