He served as an auxiliary bishop to the Armenian Catholic Patriarch from 1995 to 2000, as the third exarch of the Apostolic Exarchate of United States of America and Canada from 2000 to 2005, and as the first eparch (bishop) of Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in New York from 2005 to 2011.
Born in Athens, Greece, Batakian was ordained a priest for the Patriarchal Congregation of Bzommar on December 8, 1954.
He then served as the rector of the Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Paris and vicar general of the Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris.
He was ordained a bishop by Patriarch Jean Pierre XVIII Kasparian of the Armenian Catholic Church on March 12, 1995.
[2] Batakian was named the exarch in the United States of America and Canada by Pope John Paul on November 30, 2000.