Epress.am News from Armenia
On Mar. 5, His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, defrocked Fr. Sarkis Hovhannisian, the pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church serving the Armenian community in the Bulgarian city of Varna, who was assaulted at a night club last summer, for “inappropriate behavior.” He is now a member of the laity and shall be known by his baptismal name of Artur Hovhannisian, according to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin press service.
Recall, Etchmiadzin spokesperson Vahram Melikyan had informed Epress.am earlier that the Mother See had invited Hovhannisian or a “talk”; however, the latter had not presented himself since he was healing from injuries he sustained from the assault.
As previously reported, on Jul. 31, 2010, Hovhannisian was attacked in the well-known nightclub Arrogance at the Golden Sands resort in Varna. On his way to the washroom, a few people attacked him with blows to the head, which resulted in an injury in Fr. Sarkis’ right eye. He was admitted at a local hospital for emergency surgery; for a long time, there was the threat of permanent blindness in that eye.
Hovhannisian apparently had told a police officer he had gone to the night club with his friend visiting from Russia, where they had simply “drank two [glasses of] 50 [grams] of whiskey.”
Rumors floating among the Armenian-Bulgarian community also note that the clergyman was involved in the drug trade.
Further, members of Bulgaria’s Armenian community told Epress.am that Hovhannisian is living with his girlfriend following his divorce, and the Bulgarian-Armenian community doesn’t want the pastor to preach to them.
Earlier, Epress.am had spoken with Hovhannisian’s ex-wife Victoria, who was in the process of divorcing Hovhannisian, claiming he always had lovers and constantly abused her.
“It wasn’t like that in the first 2 years of our marriage; then he began to drink, to hit. At first I thought I can’t voice this issue because I wouldn’t have anywhere to go if we divorced: my parents are common people, they were living in Bulgaria without a passport [i.e. papers], and my husband was frightening us, [saying] through the use of law enforcement agencies he will send them back to Armenia. Then, when we had a child, Sargis continued the beating and coming home drunk. After the birth of the child, when I said, I will divorce you, he said he’ll snatch the child from me, he said, ‘if you’re prepared never to see your child again, the doors are open, leave.’ And I stayed with him because of the child,” she said.
Note, Father Sarkis has filed for custody of the 6-year-old child in a Bulgarian court.