Lawyer accuses Armenian premier of spreading lies about AAC

ArmInfo. Arpine Davoyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract faction, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and other government officials are openly disregarding  both their clerical rank and the laws of their own country, as well  as their name, recognized and registered by the state, and are  spreading deliberately false information about the Armenian Apostolic  Church (AAC).  This was stated by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan.

The lawyer stated that minutes earlier today, Davoyan lied from the  podium of the Armenian parliament, claiming that Aramayis Tahmazyan  (formerly the spiritual shepherd of the Talin flock, Father Tade -  ed.) had his apartment, which belonged to the Armenian Apostolic  Church (AAC), confiscated. Moreover, the lawyer pointed out, during  her speech, she repeatedly referred to the Catholicos of All  Armenians by his secular name. "First, how can one explain to a  representative of the legislative branch that the secular name of  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II-that is, the name listed in  the passport of a citizen of the Republic of Armenia-is 'Garegin II'?  Member of parliament, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and  other government officials openly disregard both their spiritual rank  and the laws of their own country, as well as their name, which is  recognized and registered by the state," the lawyer wrote on his  Facebook page.

He further noted that apartment No. 5 in building No. 3 on Myasnikyan  Street in the Talin community of Armenia's Aragatsotn region, where  Aramayis Tahmazyan illegally resides, has been owned by the Armenian  Apostolic Church since 2012, not by the Catholicos of All Armenians  or any other individual, as Davoyan claims. Zohrabyan recalled that  on August 26, the Aragatsotn regional court of first instance ruled  to uphold the claim of the owner, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and  evict Aramayis Tahmazyan and Hripsime Khachatryan from the apartment.

"The Armenian Apostolic Church will provide this apartment to the  clergyman's family, who are in need of housing. It is clear that  Arpine Davoyan, a member of parliament from the Civil Contract  faction, will not apologize for her blatant lies and disrespect for  the country's laws, and they will continue to lead the country to the  abyss with yet another round of lies," Zohrabyan concluded.

As a reminder, Tahmazyan was one of the clergy who joined the  anti-church campaign launched by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan against the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was deposed on  December 3, 2025, by decree of the Supreme Patriarch on December 2.  The case was based on a report by the Administrative Council of the  Aragatsotn Diocese and the conclusion of the Awards and Disciplinary  Committee of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian  Apostolic Church, according to which Father Tade discredited the  Armenian Church and its clergy, including by disseminating a public  slanderous statement. committed anti-church actions, arbitrarily  missed the part of the liturgy in which the names of the Catholicos  of All Armenians and the head of the diocese were mentioned, and  showed disobedience to church authorities.