Former priests Father Aram—now Stepan Asatryan—and Father Tade—now Aramayis Takhmazyan—have filed a lawsuit against the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to the Datalex judicial information system, the two lawsuits filed against the Armenian Apostolic Church have been accepted for proceedings in the Armavir provincial court of general jurisdiction, and they challenge two decrees by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

In particular, Aramayis Takhmazyan, the former spiritual pastor of the Talin region, has petitioned to the court and demanded to deem as invalid the decree of the Catholicos of All Armenians of December 2, 2025 by which he was declared defrocked. The lawsuit demands also that he be reinstated as the spiritual pastor of the Talin region. The defendant in this case is the religious organization “Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.”

The aforesaid court also accepted for proceedings another lawsuit in which Stepan Asatryan, the former spiritual pastor of Saint Hovhannavank church, demands that the decree of the Catholicos of All Armenians dated October 21, 2025 on declaring him defrocked be declared invalid. The lawsuit demands also that he be reinstated as the spiritual pastor of Saint Hovhannavank church. The defendant in this case is also the religious organization “Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.”