Four hundred members of the Armenian Community initiated February 19^th a historic lawsuit aimed at regaining cow garden property that was sold in a controversial land deal by the Armenian patriarch which has since recanted.

The co-founders of the Save the Armenian Quarter Hagop Djer Djernazian and Setereg Balian are listed on the top of the lawsuit submitted by members of the Armenian Quarter that seeks to invalidate the lease between the Armenian  Patriarchate and Xana Capital.

The Community’s legal action asserts that the property is held in trust specifically for the benefit of the Armenian Community under a protected endowment/ trust established more than 400 years ago.

The legally enforceable trust stipulates that the property cannot be leased or sold by the Patriarchate if the transaction does not inure to the direct benefit of the  Armenian community and if the transaction is not consented to by the Armenian community.

Hagop Djernazian co-founder of the Save the Armenian Quarter told Milhilard.org that two important arguments are being presented in the case. “We are presenting the endowment documents, which had been hidden by the patriarchate for years. And, in these documents, we can find, the land is officially registered as a trust for the community, and it’s very clear that the trust is, for the Armenian Christian community of Jerusalem. And that’s why the land deal is void because the patriarch had no right to sign a sales deal, for land that is not his own land. “ Djernzian explained that the official endowment document proves that the Patriarch is not the owner but he’s the custodian. The rightful owners are the Armenian community in  Jerusalem. This is what is written in the documents.

The Second argument is that the Patriarch violated the bylaws and the constitution of the Patriarchate by signing this deal without the consent of the Armenian community.

Much of the properties in the old city of Jerusalem are listed as a religious waqf (trust/endowment) which protects the property from takeover or sale without authorization of the entire religious body that it is listed under.