The elections for the Prelate of the French Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church were held during the extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Delegations of Bishops in Paris on November 1. Based on the results, Prelate of the British and Irish Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Vahan Hovhannisyan was elected Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of France, as reported by the Department of Armenian Communities of Europe at the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

Father, Supreme Archimandrite Vahan Hovhannisyan (Sargis) was born in 1963 in Baghdad, Iraq. In 1988, he was ordained a Deacon by Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Iraq, Father, Archbishop Avag Asadourian and left for the USA to continue his studies at the S. Vladimir Theological Lyceum in New York. In 1990, he was ordained a pristine priest by Father, Archbishop Avag Asadourian. In 1995, he defended his doctrinal dissertation and was granted the first four ranks of Private Teaching by Prelate of the U.S. Eastern Diocese, Father, Archbishop Khazhak Parsamian. In 2006, he received the ranking of Supreme Archimandrite after defending his dissertation on “The Paper of G. Korntatsits”. Throughout the years, he has served as spiritual pastor of the Holy Cross Church of New York and the St. Ghevondyants Church of New Jersey, as well as the Holy Martyrs Church of New York. For a while, he has served as enlightener at the St. Vardan Church. Hovhannisyan has also been ranked a Doctor of Biblical Studies by the University of Fordham. In the past couple of years, Father Vahan served as a spiritual pastor at the Holy Martyrs Church of New York of the U.S. Eastern Diocese.

On 10 February 2010, by the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, congregate of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Father, Supreme Archimandrite Vahan Hovhannisyan assumed the post of Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church. Father, Supreme Archimandrite Vahan Hovhannisyan was elected Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain during the meeting of the British-Armenian Community and Church Council held in December 2009. The election of the prelate was approved by the Patriarchal Blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Diocesan Council of France of the Armenian Apostolic Church launched the new elections for Prelate of Diocese during the session held on June 7, 2014. The Diocesan Council passed a new list in which there were three candidates. Later, the list was approved by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. The candidates for prelate of the French Diocese were Vicar of the Western European Prelacy in Benilux Zatik Avetikyan, Prelate of the British and Irish Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Vahan Hovhannisyan and parish priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Alps, Var and Monaco Grigor Khachatryan.