Priest Taron Hunanyan defrocked
06.11.2025
On November 6, by the Patriarchal decree of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and based on the justifications set forth below, the clergyman of the Tavush Diocese, Fr. Taron Hunanyan, has been defrocked.
The basis for this decree was the report of the Acting Primate of the Tavush Diocese, as well as the conclusion of the Commission on Awards and Disciplinary Matters of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, according to which he:
a) Willfully abandoned his place of service since May 2024,
b) Ignored the admonitions and directives of the Acting Primate of the Tavush Diocese and continued to persist in disciplinary misconduct,
c) Participated in an anti-canonical service organized by Stepan Asatryan, who had been defrocked, thereby becoming complicit in ecclesiastical violation,
d) Through public statements and speeches, discredited the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and his fellow clergy,
e) Demonstrated disrespectful conduct toward the supreme ecclesiastical authority and violated his vow of obedience.
Henceforth, the defrocked priest shall be regarded among the laity under his baptismal name, Vardan Hunanyan.
