An Armenian court has terminated proceedings in the case of defrocked monks Stepan Asatrayan and Aramayis Takhmazyan.

ArmInfo. The Armavir Regional Court of First Instance in Armenia has ruled that the claim of Stepan Asatrayan (Aram Asatrayan's father) and Aramayis Tahmazyan (Tade Tahmazyan's father) to invalidate the decision of the Catholicos of All Armenians to depose the aforementioned clergy is not subject to civil review.

As reported by the Holy Movement, the court, presided over by Judges Sima Abovyan and Hovhannes Melkonyan, terminated proceedings in the case and revoked the enforcement measures previously applied to guarantee Asatrayan's tenure as spiritual pastor of Surb Hovhannavank and Tahmazyan's tenure as spiritual pastor of the Talin Church.

It is also noted that the court's decisions in both cases were published with a delay of approximately two months. Their publication was scheduled for August 2026.

It should be noted that defrocked clergymen Aramayis Tahmazian (formerly the spiritual pastor of Talin, Father Tade Tahmazian - ed.) and Stepan Asatryan (formerly the spiritual pastor of Hovhannavank, Father Ter Aram - ed.) filed a lawsuit against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) on February 6, 2026, challenging their deposition and removal from office. On February 17, the court ordered the Mother See of Etchmiadzin to "reinstate" the defrocked priests Stepan Asatryan and Aramayis Tahmazian as an interim measure in the claims of the two deposed clergy. A criminal case was opened against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and a group of bishops on the same day for refusing to comply with this court decision.

It should be noted that both deposed clergy joined the anti-church campaign launched by the Armenian Prime Minister in May 2025 against the Armenian Apostolic Church. Father Aram Asatryan was declared deposed on October 21, 2025, by decree of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. The basis for the deposition was a report by the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the conclusion of the Commission for Awarding Honorary Titles and Disciplinary Matters of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

These documents stated that Father Aram Asatryan, through his public speeches and statements, had discredited the Church, the Primate of the Diocese, and his fellow priests. He continued his actions, ignoring the Primate's admonitions and instructions.

Father Tade Tahmazian, spiritual pastor of the Talin region, was deposited on December 3, 2025, by decree of the Supreme Patriarch on December 2. The basis for initiating the case was a report by the Administrative Council of the Aragatsotn Diocese and the conclusion of the Commission for Awards and Disciplinary Matters of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church, according to which Father Tade had 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 Primate of the Diocese are mentioned, and demonstrated disobedience to church authorities.