SYDNEY: By the directive of His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Grace Bishop Haigazoun Najarian has been appointed Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand as of 1 January 2013.

Bishop Najarian leaves his position as the Pontifical Legate of Central Europe and Sweden which he was appointed to in 2010. Based in Vienna, Austria he tended to the spiritual needs of Armenian communities in more than a dozen countries.

In prior years, His Grace served in the Eastern Diocese of the United States as Vicar General from 2007-2010 (and periodically between 1986-1995). He has been the Pastor of Armenian churches in the parishes of Philadelphia, Dallas and New Jersey.

Throughout his years of service he has held the position of Dean/New Testament Lecturer at the Gevorkian Theological Seminary in Holy Etchmiadzin.

Having graduated from the Gevorkian Seminary in 1973 he continued his theological studies at St Augustine’s College in Canterbury, King’s College in London and St Andrew’s College in Scotland and during this time served as Pastor of St Peter and St Sarkis Armenian Churches in London. In 1994 he completed a M.A. in History from Columbia University in New York.

Click here to read the official announcement (in Armenian) of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin with a comprehensive biography of His Grace.