Armenian priest accuses Catholicos Garegin II of encouraging sin

A senior Armenian priest has publicly accused Catholicos Garegin II of encouraging sin and causing moral decay within the Armenian Apostolic Church, claiming that both clergy and laity are leaving the church as a result.

In a Facebook post, Stepan Asatryan, also known as Ter Aram, abbot of Hovhavanak, wrote: “For the past 26 years, the person occupying the Catholicos’ throne has been encouraging sin, striving to make everyone like himself. Due to the moral decay within the Church, people have begun to drift away from their own Church, choosing other denominations, religions, teachings, and sects… At the same time, these losses have also occurred among the clergy.”

Ter Aram also highlighted cases of clergy leaving the Armenian Church: “For example, two vardapets left the Armenian Church and now serve in the Greek and Catholic churches. Dozens of nuns left the Armenian Church and now serve in foreign churches abroad. In conditions of spiritual neglect, there were even cases of physical perversion among seminarians—all clergy remember this.”

He criticised church leadership for failing to address these incidents: “These tragic cases were not investigated or explained—they were simply covered up, violating spiritual oversight and responsibility—and were met only with ridicule and disregard.”

Ter Aram concluded by warning of ongoing losses within the church: “The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church continues to bleed: the faithful of the Armenian Church, due to the prevailing morals, are leaving irreversibly and continuously.”

Father Aram Asatryan has since been defrocked, a decision made by Catholicos Garegin II.

By Vugar Khalilov