Civilnet
By Siranush Adamyan
The Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church has issued a strong statement on Friday, condemning the actions of defrocked priest Father Aram Asatryan and the liturgy he plans to hold this Sunday at Hovhannavank Monastery with the announced participation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
According to the statement, Catholicos Karekin II ordered Asatryan’s defrocking on October 21 after he “exhausted all reasonable opportunities to return to the canonical field.” The Mother See said Asatryan had repeatedly refused to appear before the disciplinary commission and would henceforth be considered a layperson under the name Stepan Asatryan.
The defrocked cleric has been banned from performing any religious rites and was ordered to hand over the monastery keys by October 23 and vacate the residence provided to him by January 15, 2026. The Church said Asatryan refused to comply, calling it “a gross canonical violation and a criminally punishable act.”
“The initiative to hold a ‘Divine Liturgy’ at Hovhannavank with the prime minister’s participation is particularly deplorable,” the Council said. “This is yet another attempt by the head of the ruling political force to divide the Church, in all its unlawful and anti-ecclesiastical manifestations.”
The statement emphasized that churches and monasteries are part of the heritage of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the right to perform religious services there belongs exclusively to the Church. It urged law enforcement bodies to prevent illegal actions and ensure the normal functioning of the clergy serving at Hovhannavank.
Father Aram Asatryan was defrocked following public remarks he made in a September interview with Armenian Public TV, in which he alleged that some clergy had been coerced into participating in election events — an act that is illegal under Armenian law, which prohibits forcing or pressuring anyone in political or electoral campaigns. After the decision, he rejected the defrocking and announced plans to hold a Sunday liturgy — an event Prime Minister Pashinyan has pledged to attend, transforming an internal church disciplinary dispute into the latest flashpoint in Armenia’s deepening confrontation between the state and the Church.
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