Armenian premier to attend liturgy to be served by defrocked  clergyman

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that he will attend the liturgy at Hovhannavank Church on November 2, which, as he did last Sunday, will be celebrated by the defrocked Father Aram (secular name Stepan Asatryan). Pashinyan announced this in a video message published on his Facebook page.

Essentially, this is sensational news from Ktrich Nersisyan. He  recalled that the Armenian Apostolic Church has a canonical book,  and, citing it, he is trying to justify Father Aram Asatryan's  inability to celebrate the liturgy at Hovhannavank, since he has been  declared a canon.

The problem is that, according to the Armenian canonical book, Ktrich  Nersisyan cannot be Catholicos of All Armenians, as he has broken his  vow of celibacy, and therefore is defrocked. "Therefore, a defrocked  monk cannot be defrocked, and therefore Father Aram can celebrate the  liturgy in Hovhannavank, and I, as I did last Sunday, will also  participate in the holy and immortal liturgy in Hovhannavank this  Sunday," Pashinyan said.

As a reminder, on Sunday, October 26, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,  Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, other officials, and members of the  ruling Civil Contract party attended the liturgy celebrated by  defrocked monk Stepan Asatryan. A police presence was observed in the  village of Hovhannavan from early morning, and numerous security  personnel guarded the monastery grounds. The security forces  restricted journalists from entering the church because Pashinyan was  present at the liturgy. Earlier in the morning, police detained two  abbots of the Aragatsotn Diocese but soon released them. Lawyer Aru  Zohrabyan and Hieromonk Shnork Poloyan were also not allowed into the  monastery.

As Sputnik Armenia reports, according to recordings, the event was  co-hosted by the defrocked Asatryan, the current priest Taron  Hunanyan of Haghartsin Monastery. He had previously publicly  expressed support for Stepan Asatryan. The issue of his defrocking is  on the agenda of the Disciplinary Commission of the Mother See of  Holy Etchmiadzin. He himself failed to appear at any of the meetings.  Two other participants were the deposed deacons Robert Agazaryan and  Artur Karapetyan, dressed in deacon's vestments and orarion.  Aghazaryan, who has long disassociated himself from Etchmiadzin,  previously found himself at the center of a scandal after comparing  the prime minister's wife, Anna Hakobyan, to the Virgin Mary, and  using the Civil Contract party logo as the cover of his social media  page. The second deacon is Artur Karapetyan, who has repeatedly made  vulgar remarks about Catholicos Karekin II in interviews with Public  Television and pro-government media, refusing to recognize him as the  country's spiritual leader.

During the liturgy, a man who shouted that Asatryan had no right to  conduct the service was escorted out of the monastery, his mouth  gagged.

That same evening, Pashinyan announced that next week he would  participate in the liturgy of defrocked priest Stepan Asatryan in  Hovhannavank for the second time. According to him, these liturgies  are part of the program "for the liberation of the Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin and "Today's liturgy is an important stage in the renewal  of my spiritual life," the Prime Minister said in a video message.