Opposition MP slams Armenian ruling party over defrocked priest support

Opposition Hayastan faction MP Gegham Manukyan on Friday criticized ruling Civil Contract party members for defending a defrocked clergyman whom he described as an admirer of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

“You are all defending defrocked priest Styopa, who turns out to be a Kadyrov enthusiast. Go defend him if you want,” Manukyan said at a parliament session. He warned ruling party MPs, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, not to “mislead people into sin under the guise of a liturgy”.

The comments came after the Armenian Apostolic Church announced on October 21 that Father Aram Asatryan of Hovhannavank Monastery had been defrocked by Catholicos Karekin II. Following the decision, the clergyman was reverted to his baptismal name, Stepan Asatryan, and designated as a layperson.

Despite the decision, Asatryan stated that he planned to hold a Sunday mass at Hovhannavank. Pashinyan later announced his intention to attend the service.