Priest Tade Takhmazyan defrocked

By decree of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Priest Tade Takhmazyan, the spiritual pastor of the Church of the Holy Mother of God in the town of Talin, Aragatsotn Province, was defrocked on December 2.

The press office of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin reported the decision, which was based on the report of the Administrative Council of the Aragatsotn Diocese and the conclusion of the Committee for Ecclesial Awards and Disciplinary Issues of the Mother See.

It is noted that Priest Tade Takhmazyan:

• Discredited the Armenian Church and clergy, including through the dissemination of a public defamatory statement;
• Carried out anti-church activities by participating in sinful acts with a defrocked individual;
• During the liturgy, deliberately omitted the part dedicated to mentioning the names of the Catholicos of All Armenians and the Diocesan Primate, thereby denying episcopal authority, placing himself outside the Church, and essentially joining a schismatic movement;
• Demonstrated disobedience to church authorities.

The defrocked clergyman will henceforth be regarded as a layman under the name Aramais Takhmazyan, according to the statement of the Mother See.