In a time of crisis, leadership arriving to our shores

For serious-minded Armenians, these are challenging times. We can divert our focus with the beauty of our culture and heritage, but a certain hollowness remains with our anguish for Armenia and Artsakh. Living in the diaspora as an Armenian is a life of choices. We can choose to retain our faith and heritage, or we can reject our hyphenated reality and blend into the great melting pot. Similarly, even if we commit our time respecting our identity as a member of the global Armenian nation, we can choose to ignore certain realities. There are times when I wish I had the ability to shut out certain aspects of our Armenian life and only choose from a portfolio of happiness. Such is not the fate for many Armenians who cannot deflect the pain and suffering of our brethren in Artsakh and in the border regions of Armenia. When we visit these areas and become acquainted with the citizens of these regions, it becomes very personal. These are our friends and colleagues, not simply faceless individuals who we read about being victimized.

Last weekend was one of the happiest of my life as we celebrated the marriage of our daughter. She was a beautiful bride and is an even better human being. It was the culmination of fatherhood to walk down the aisle of our parish before God and the hundreds of witnesses. It was my day to not think about our problems as a nation and simply reflect on the joy of her marriage. Later in the day, at the reception, my responsibility was to welcome our guests and offer words of love to our daughter and new son-in-law. That was the easy part. They are remarkable people deeply committed to each other, and it was natural to reflect on what was evident to all. The difficult part was the need to connect the gathering to our people in the homeland who, at that very moment, were challenged to maintain a sense of daily security and survival. We were all thrilled to be together, but it just did not feel right unless we mentioned something about those in the homeland who have a special place in our hearts. The contrast of our abundance and their deprivation was on my mind. I chose to connect this joyous day for our family with the responsibility to remember those of our greater family who are suffering simply because of who they are. When we attend weddings, it is natural to think of those who had a significant impact on our accomplishments but are no longer living an earthly existence. For my generation, the suffering and survival of our grandparents are always on our minds. We connect their challenges to our current generations in Artsakh and Armenia. After my comments about the relationship between the day’s celebration and never forgetting our brave brethren in the homeland, I felt a sense of inner peace to fully engage in the incredible day.

Everything in our Armenian lives is connected. Leadership has been on many of our minds as we confront the issues facing our people. Unfortunately, most of the dialogue has been about the lack of leadership or the controversial issues that serve to distract us and dilute our effectiveness. The church leadership, which has a major responsibility to nurture and inspire our faithful, has been mired in controversy. We have four hierarchical sees in the Apostolic church. Holy Etchmiadzin serves as the Mother See of the church with the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias serving as the legacy of the historic Cilician seat in Sis destroyed by the Turks during the Genocide. In addition, we maintain hierarchical sees in Constantinople (Istanbul), established in the early days of the Ottoman Empire as the head of the Armenian community (millet), and the historic Patriarchate in Jerusalem where the Armenians have maintained an important presence in the Holy Land. All Armenians should respect and revere these four sees as a reflection of the depth and resilience of our nation. Unfortunately, all are facing monumental challenges that are consistent with external problems, or in some cases, self-inflicted ones. The Armenian community in America is not an island unaffected by the leadership crisis in our nation.

The Patriarchate in Jerusalem has been impacted by a significant decline in a native Armenian population with emigration motivated by the hope of a better life. The Israeli government does not seem overly concerned with the challenges facing the local Christian population. The conflicts in the Holy City go beyond the oppression of the Palestinians. The entire Christian population is at risk. These are external factors. A self-inflicted example is the current crisis caused by the Patriarchate led by Archbishop Nourhan Manougian agreeing to lease a large tract of land to a businessman for development. This decision was announced outside of the approval process and has caused significant turbulence in the community. A priest responsible for the real estate of the Patriarchate was defrocked but claims he is the scapegoat. The Patriarch himself has been vague on his approval. The question remains: How can decisions like this be made without the direct consent of the leader and the supporting bodies? The Palestinian community, which has been a friend of the Armenian community, has rescinded its recognition of the Patriarch, claiming that the Australian businessman who secured the deal to lease nearly 25-percent of the Armenian Quarter’s land is working with the Israeli government to continue incursions into the Old City.

In Istanbul, the Patriarchate of Constantinople is led by Archbishop Sahag Mashalian who has been apologetic and patronizing to the Erdogan government. We all understand the difficult position of the Armenian community living under a government that is racist, but Garo Paylan has provided us with an alternative model of leadership based on a clear conscience, courage and focus on critical issues. Certainly the Patriarch has even more protection as a religious leader whose immunity cannot be removed like that of politicians (a favorite tactic of Erdogan to suppress the dissent of Kurds and Turkish opponents). His apologetic tone for genocide recognition and Armenian rights is nauseating and provides no leadership to the community.

The situation in Etchmiadzin is not much better. During this seemingly endless political and security crisis, the Vehapar has been mostly invisible except for carefully-timed statements. His recent public statements have taken on a decidedly anti-government tone, which may be more a reflection of his feud with the Pashinyan government rather than providing much-needed inspiration and encouragement to our beleaguered people. From a US diaspora perspective, it has been many years since a pontifical visit was made to the US diaspora. During this void, the Vehapar has made several “private” trips to the US for selective meetings with benefactors and supporters. This is not acceptable. The faithful are worthy of the blessings of the supreme Patriarch. It has been suggested by many that the absence is an avoidance of public criticism. Regardless of the reasoning, leaders have a responsibility to serve their people. We need a more visible presence to inspire the people of Armenia during this time, and the American Armenian community should be respected with a presence.

In this sea of controversy, there is some hope. The recently announced pontifical visit of Catholicos Aram I this October offers the eastern US the opportunity for much-needed inspiration. The general public has asked two things from its church leaders: visible and accessible presence and wisdom to lead the church forward. Aram I has an established record of consistently providing both. Mentored by the late Karekin I of blessed memory, Aram I is both a dynamic public figure and visionary. The Great House of Cilicia has a tradition of providing highly-trained and dynamic clergy to the diaspora through its seminary and outstanding programs in spiritual, ecumenical and communal affairs. One of the tragedies of the jurisdictional conflict in our church is that large segments of the community have little access to some of our church leaders. This was illustrated in 2015 during the Genocide centennial commemorations when Aram Vehapar spoke at the gathering in Washington. Many in attendance were impressed with him despite having little knowledge of him. His pontifical visit reminds us that these shortcomings negatively impact our church. We need to focus on his role as a valued leader in our global church. The administrative division in the US has been reduced to official status, as sacraments, badarak and observances are conducted regularly with clergy from both dioceses. We were honored last weekend to have four clergy, including two sets of fathers and sons from both the Prelacy and Diocese at my daughter’s wedding.

For this reason, it would be appropriate and consistent with our Christian values for the diocese to invite Aram I to conduct a hrashapar service at a diocesan parish. It is not about jurisdiction but respect for our hierarchical sees at a time when many are mired in controversy. Our people desperately need a sign that our church understands their needs and that our values are based on love and respect, not irrelevant power issues. Why is it that we can regularly invite ecumenical clergy to our parishes and cathedral but not invite visiting leaders of our established sees? The Great House of Cilicia is the continuation of the seat in Cilicia, which was the place of the Catholicos of All Armenians for more than two centuries until 1441 and has continued its critical role to this day. All Armenians should understand and revere its presence as they should Holy Etchmiadzin. I look forward to welcoming Catholicos Aram I to these shores and pray that the entire Armenian community seeks his blessing during these challenging times.

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Stepan Piligian

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Stepan was raised in the Armenian community of Indian Orchard, MA at the St. Gregory Parish. A former member of the AYF Central Executive and the Eastern Prelacy Executive Council, he also served many years as a delegate to the Eastern Diocesan Assembly. Currently , he serves as a member of the board and executive committee of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). He also serves on the board of the Armenian Heritage Foundation. Stepan is a retired executive in the computer storage industry and resides in the Boston area with his wife Susan. He has spent many years as a volunteer teacher of Armenian history and contemporary issues to the young generation and adults at schools, camps and churches. His interests include the Armenian diaspora, Armenia, sports and reading.