JERUSALEM – Twelve Priests Condemn Patriarch Nourhan’s Illegal Contract
By Keghart Jerusalem Correspondent
JERUSALEM, Oct. 27– Twelve members of the Sts. James Brotherhood issued an announcement today condemning the decision of Patriarch Nourhan Manougian, Fr. Baret Yeretsian, and Archbishop Sevan Gharibian to grant a 99-year lease to an Australian businessman to build a hotel at Goveroun Bardez. The strategic land on Mount Zion, which has been part of the Armenian Quarter since the 14th century, is adjacent to the seminary and the Patriarchate residence. Its loss would be a huge blow to the 1,600-year Armenian presence in the Holy City. In the announcement, the clergymen demanded the Patriarch withdraw his signature from the contract.
The twelve clergymen have shown remarkable courage, integrity, and abiding love of the Armenian Patriarchate, the Armenian Church, and the Armenian nation in making public their opposition to the nefarious scheme. According to the Sts. James Brotherhood constitution, it’s only the Brotherhood that can decide long-term real estate transactions. As well, Fr. Yeretsian– point man of the transaction–is ineligible to sign such a document because as director of the Patriarchate’s real estate department, he would be in conflict of interest.
In the coming days and weeks, the twelve brave clergymen will need the support of Armenians everywhere to resist the expected pressures imposed by Patriarch Nourhan’s and his adviser… real estate impresario Yeretsian’s pressures. It’s no exaggeration to say the twelve clergymen have put their careers on the line to prevent the illegal transaction from proceeding.
The King of Jordan Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, the Republic of Armenia and the Catholicos in Echmiadzin should take immediate steps to force Patriarch Nourhan and Fr. Yeretsian to withdraw their signatures from the Goveroun Bardez deal. Armenians around the world should write to Jordan’s king and to Mr. Abbas and urge them to use their offices to force the two wayward clergymen to reject the real estate deal.
Ideally, Patriarch Nourhan and Fr. Yeretsian should resign and leave Jerusalem at the earliest. Both, according to local reports, have U.S. citizenship. Archbishop Sevan Gharibian is too old to settle elsewhere.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Through this correspondence, we, the undersigned members of St. James Brotherhood of Jerusalem, make public our disagreement with the transaction to build a “Seven Star” hotel in the “Goveroun Bardez” which was signed on July 8, 2021 by the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Grand Sacristan Archbishop Sevan Gharibian, and Director of the Real Estate Department Very Rev. Fr. Baret Yeretsian.
The “Goveroun Bardez” agreement was signed without being discussed and ratified by the Holy Synod and the General Assembly of the Brotherhood. This is unconstitutional because it ignores the “Bylaws” article 67, which places all real estate decisions under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod. The agreement also disregarded the unified General Assembly’s ratification which thrice voted (2002, 2006, and 2015) that “Agreements covering a period of one to twenty-five years should be ratified by the Holy Synod and agreements for twenty-five to forty-nine years be presented by the Holy Synod to the General Assembly for ratification.”
Moreover, according to the article adopted in 2015, “Agreements covering a period of one to twenty-five years must be signed by a minimum of three persons: His Beatitude the Patriarch (in case of vacancy of the Holy See, the Patriarchal Vicar or Vice Patriarch), the Grand Sacristan, the Chairman of the Holy Synod and by the Director of the Real Estate Department, whereas from twenty-five years to a maximum of forty-nine years real estate agreements must be signed by a minimum of three persons: His Beatitude the Patriarch (in case of vacancy of the Holy See, by the Patriarchal Vicar or Vice Patriarch), the Grand Sacristan, Chairman of the General Assembly as well as Chairman of the Holy Synod. The signatures of the Patriarch (or Patriarchal Vicar), the Chairman of the General Assembly are binding and mandatory.”
The agreement on the “Goveroun Bardez” was signed not only by the Patriarch and the Grand Sacristan, but also by the director of the real estate department, which is contrary to the above article. The real estate director is never allowed to sign twenty-six to forty-nine-year contracts, let alone a 99-year contract.
After signing the above agreement, Director of Real Estate Department Very Rev. Fr. Baret Yeretsian, without the prior knowledge of the Patriarch, posted several statements on the Patriarchate’s Facebook page in which he asserted that the Holy Synod and the General Assembly had given their consent and blessing to the transaction.
Through this correspondence, we would like to inform you that these statements have no basis in fact. Neither the Holy Synod nor the General Assembly has heard of this (“Goveroun Bardez”) deal. The two supreme bodies of the Holy See, the Holy Synod, and the General Assembly have never discussed or given their consent or blessing to the signing of the above-mentioned agreement.
The construction of a hotel near the monastery, the Patriarchate, and the Theological Seminary will also create immense inconvenience and disrupt the normal life, activities, and the peace of the Patriarchate and the seminary, greatly jeopardizing the fulfillment of our mission in the future.
In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that the Holy See of Jerusalem is a pan-Armenian asset, and it has been under the attention and care of all Armenians for many centuries. The selfless sacrifices of the clergy of the Holy See, as well as that of the entire Armenian people, (with their moral and financial support), contribute to its continued existence and preservation. Therefore, this sacred heritage must be handled with the utmost care and responsibility, always upholding the charter of the Holy See so as not to undermine its centuries’-old course and pass it on to future generations.
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