The Aragatsotn Diocese has officially warned that former clergymen Stepan Asatryan (formerly Father Aram) and Aramayis Takhmazyan (formerly Father Tade) have been defrocked and that any religious rites they perform are not valid.
“Stepan Asatryan and Aramayis Takhmazyan, who formerly served in the Aragatsotn Diocese, have been defrocked, and none of their so-called ‘ceremonies’—baptisms (christenings), weddings, funerals, liturgies, house blessings, or other rites—are legitimate or valid.
It is our duty to inform you, so you do not mistakenly commit a sin,” reads the diocese’s statement.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a group of bishops and archbishops who have called for the Catholicos's resignation recently issued a statement urging support for reforming the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinyan read the statement during a Facebook livestream, after which the participating clergy signed it. He also announced the formation of a coordinating council responsible for organizing reforms in the Church, to be expanded only by unanimous decision.
