The leader of Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan filed a lawsuit against Stepan Asatryan. The bishop demands to deny the information defaming his honor and dignity and to confiscate the appropriate monetary compensation.

According to the data available in the judicial information system, one of Stepan Asatryan’s last interviews was the basis for the lawsuit. In it, the respondent had publicly stated that the celibate archbishop Michael had a wife and a daughter. Such claims were assessed as open slander aimed at tarnishing the good reputation of a high-ranking clergyman.

It is noteworthy that the respondent’s name is known to the public from the scandalous intra-church scandals of the last period. Stepan Asatryan is a former clergyman, formerly known as priest Ter Aram, who in the fall of 2025, by the decision of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, was declared disorganized and ranked among the laity. After his resignation, he refused to obey the decisions of the church leadership, in particular, he did not hand over the keys of the Hovannavank for a long time.

Asatryan regularly criticizes the Catholicos of All Armenians and the clergy, trying to raise a wave of protest against the Catholicos.

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