MOSCOW - The Armenian Apostolic Church is teetering on the brink of crisis after a renegade archbishop rebelled against the authority of the Catholicos Karekin II.

Archbishop Diran Gureghian announced last month that the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan would no longer recognize the church's elected leader whom he publicly accused of nepotism and political intrigues.

And the schism has cast a long shadow over the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, which will be officially celebrated on June 17.

The conflict has been brewing since last October when Gureghian was dismissed from his post as head of the Russian diocese.

Despite official statements that the archbishop would be given "another senior job," the news sparked an angry protest meeting in Moscow where dozens of church-goers signed a petition to have Gureghian reinstated.

However, it was not until late May that the archbishop staged his personal rebellion, accusing the church leadership of "ignoring the desires of its parishioners in Russia."

Gureghian condemned the decision by the Catholicos to appoint his brother, the arch-monk Ezras Nersissian, to head the Russian diocese, claiming this was an infringement of Armenian church law.

Karekin II, then on a pastoral visit to the USA, declined to comment on the archbishop's outburst but announced that the rebel priest had been expelled from the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Gureghian promptly held a press conference aimed at exposing injustices within the church leadership. He said that Karekin II could not be considered the legitimate Catholicos and that it was unacceptable for "two brothers to serve together in one monastery."

The defrocked archbishop also hit out at his replacement, Ezras Nersissian, formerly head of St. Petersburg parish, who, he said, was firmly under the sway of his brother.

Some observers have pointed out that Gureghian's disaffection with the Armenian Apostolic church dates from 1995 when he unsuccessfully stood as a candidate in the elections for a new Catholicos.

Then, in the run-up to the 1999 elections, he co-authored a statement claiming that "the upper echelons of the Armenian government have agreed to support [Karekin II] and set him on the Catholicos's throne."

Gureghian's rebellion has caused widespread indignation in both Russian and Armenian intellectual circles. Leading figures from the Russian Academy of Sciences dubbed the schism "the seditious act of a mad priest," claiming that "a group of renegades in Moscow is trying to create havoc and besmirch the souls of simple believers."

The academics called on the Armenian community in Russia to rally round Karekin II and his brother.

Their words were echoed by other influential figures, including Boris Piotrovsky, director of St Petersburg's Hermitage museum, well-known actresses Rubina Kalantarian and Maria Gambarian, Genrikh Manukian, director of the NII Scientific and Technical Centre, and Artem Totalian, of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

They called on Karekin to "save Armenians from Gureghian's shameful behavior which sullies the noble image of a servant of the Armenian Church."

The disgraced archbishop was swift to retaliate. "Certain forces in the Armenian government are putting pressure on the Armenian community in Moscow," he said. He then extended his attack on the Armenian Church to a far-ranging criticism of the political establishment in Yerevan.

First Gureghian claimed, "The Armenian president, Robert Kocharian, is poised to give Nagorny Karabagh back to Azerbaijan." Then he stated that Kocharian was appointed president at the behest of Western powers and with the blessing of his predecessor, Levon Ter-Petrossian.

Ter-Petrossian, said the former archbishop, remained the "true master of the situation" and played the role of a "grey cardinal" in Armenian politics.

Finally, according to the Internet publication GazetaSNG.ru, Gureghian made clear hints that he was planning to lead an opposition movement from within the Armenian diaspora in Russia.

Certainly, the rebellion has done much to tarnish preparations for the 1700th-anniversary celebrations. The Union of Armenians in Russia (UAR) described the event as "a means of bringing together our compatriots and creating an environment where popular culture can flourish."

In an official statement, the newly formed organization concluded: "We have to conclude that the uprising against the Catholicos will cast a long shadow over the celebratory atmosphere which reigns in Russia's Armenian diaspora. We fully support the decision to defrock the former head of the Russian diocese."

The statement points towards a further dimension to Gureghian's revolt - the struggle for power in Moscow's Armenian community.

Most observers agree that this community is bitterly divided, with disparate factions falling under the influence of leading Armenian businessmen.

The UAR reportedly nurses an ambition to become a uniting force within the Armenian diaspora and, last month, organized a trip to Yerevan for Moscow newspaper editors. This move has been seen as the beginning of a serious campaign to lobby Armenian interests in the Russian capital.