Defrocked clergymen sue AAC 

ArmInfo.  Defrocked clergymen Aramayis Tahmazian (formerly Father Tade Tahmazian, spiritual pastor of Talin - ed.) and Stepan Asatryan (formerly Father Ter Aram,  spiritual pastor of Hovhannavank - ed.) have filed a lawsuit against  the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC).

According to a notice posted in the Datalex legal documents system,  they demand that the decision of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin  II to depose them be declared invalid and that they be reinstated in  their former positions.

As a reminder, both deposed clergymen 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 His Holiness Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin 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  deposed on December 3, 2025, by decree of the Supreme Patriarch of  Armenia dated 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; voluntarily missed a  portion of the liturgy in which the names of the Catholicos of All  Armenians and the Primate of the Diocese were mentioned; and  demonstrated disobedience to church authorities.