Priest Aram Asatryan defrocked

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has announced that Priest Aram Asatryan has been stripped of his clerical rank.

Previously, Asatryan stated in an interview with Public Television of Armenia that he had been forced against his will to attend opposition rallies. This statement led to the initiation of a criminal case against the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan. That same night, the bishop and the head of the diocesan office, Garegin Arsenyan, were arrested. They are accused of coercing individuals to participate in opposition rallies in 2021.