Dangerous Trends in the Armenian Church

The Catholic Church is strong because the Pope appoints the cardinals to different dioceses and the practice is accepted universally. Our church has more democratic traditions and cannot afford that kind of authoritarianism.

But by the same token, a sense of harmony and respect for hierarchical authority is needed now for our church to function in this era of globalization.

Disconcerting rumblings have already begun in some European communities, because certain quarters cannot stand to see the consolidation of the authority of the Mother See throughout the Armenian Church.

Anonymous articles are being planted in the papers that practice yellow journalism in Armenia and they are being dispatched to the diaspora papers with wider circulations. Of course, very few conscientious journalists in the diaspora have the time and habit of checking their sources, before falling into the trap of those mischievous groups.

A case in point is two articles published in an obscure paper with a small circulation in Armenia called Hrabarag. The unsigned articles claim that the French-Armenian Diocese has revolted against the authority of Holy Echmiadzin. Using scare tactics, these articles also blame His Holiness, that he wants to control the financial resources of the Diocese. People who have been totally indifferent of the exploitation and the expropriation of the Dashnag party in the dissident church, all of a sudden have become guardians of the church assets against alleged “plots” by His Holiness.

In Armenia, anyone can buy space in these marginal publications for the purpose of character assassination, because libel laws are virtually non-existent or non enforceable. Once that innuendo is planted in the print media, it can be exported to the diaspora.

It is surprising that a responsible daily paper in Istanbul, Marmara, has fallen into that trap by reproducing both articles from Hrabarag, the second one supposedly sent from Bulgaria, about the church in that community.

This trend of disrespect, which tends to erode the authority of Holy Echmiadzin, benefits directly the Catholicosate of Antelias, which has triggered a rivalry with Echmiadzin. But it was also instigated by an entirely unlikely party: former president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosian, who tried to use His Holiness for his short-term political goals, as did the Turks with Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian. The Dashnags also have been using Catholicos Aram I and his predecessors, but in this case, the ploy backfired because Catholicos Karekin II decided to play a mediating role after the bloody clashes in the aftermath of the last presidential election. Former President Ter-Petrosian refused to open his door to receive His Holiness and following that stand off, he launched a vicious campaign on the ugliest level through the news media under his control, namely Haykakan Jamanak and Chorrord Ishkhanoutioun. Hrabarag also seems to be the offshoot of the opposition media, although very few people are familiar with its name.

Unfortunately the Mother See was unsuccessfully tried to be dragged into internecine politics, and when His Holiness refused to compromise his role as mediator, he became a target of unsavory labels and insinuations.

In response to the allegations labeled against Echmiadzin in the yellow media the Holy See has released a communiqué whereby it states: “The concerns aired by the daily Hrabarag on February 5 that the French-Armenian community is unhappy with Echmiadzin are baseless, and do not correspond to the reality.

“We hereby inform that in November of 2009, during the convocation held in Echmiadzin, Primates and lay delegates representing their respective dioceses agreed on the fundamental bylaws for all the dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, clarifying the basic principles of the church bylaws.”

It seems that the scare tactics used by those dark forces have also been creeping on our shores, under the most dignified labels.

Upholding the authority of the Mother See is in the interest of the entire Armenian people. As globalization brings people and communities together, it is a foregone conclusion that different communities will look for similar rules and regulations for the sake of harmony within the body of Armenian Church.

The Holy Echmiadzin does not have any temporal force to generate respect, but for centuries the healthy and robust instincts of its believers have upheld its authority and sanctity.