Our relationship with the Armenian church is complicated. Criticism of performance and personalities runs rampant privately, but is strangely silent publicly. Most who are disappointed simply and quietly choose to leave. We should not confuse this with a lack of faith. Many who leave have faith but have chosen to express it through other vehicles. Many of the causes are difficult issues but must be addressed if the church is to remain relevant. Intermarriage, language and ethnic/spiritual balanc
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Stepan, what an enlightening read. You are so right, where is our Vehapar? Unless he is no longer ours. Thank you,
Stepan, this is an excellent article on the what is going wrong in Armenian Church today.As a non Armenian who joined the Church thru marriage seventy years ago, I have witnessed the change. When I started teaching in the Sunday school we had over 400 children, today if they have 80 children it’s a good Sunday. The problem they are having is most families are not living in Watertown,, school sports programs require practices on Sundays, and mixed marriages are prevalent! My daughter’s two children made it thru Sunday school, my sons didn’t even go.
I have also wondered about why the Vehapar does not make a pontifical visit to the US. Does it have to do with political calculations of not offending Moscow ? The events since 2018 have brought to the fore the growing divisions in Armenia between pro and anti Moscow factions. Can Etchmiadzin rise above that fray? I am also disappointed that donors support the Prelacy and Etchmiadzin without making it conditional on the two coming together. The church rewards them with medals and կոնդակղ , while the ordinary people are like sheep without a shepherd.
We certainly have reached a very unflattering and dire crossroad in our international (especially, American) Armenian Community. There are many areas that have eroded and are being absorbed into the American way of life, but, losing the connection to the Holy Mother See of Etchmiadzin, is truly a low point. Sadly, the Vehapar is the one who holds that responsibility, so the fingers justifiably point to him, and only him. President Truman once remarked, (something to the effect of) ‘…that regardless of what happens while I am President, the buck stops at my desk’!!
Stepan Piligian, has written a very bold and accurate article reflecting the situation we are facing in our Armenian Community. We are watching Armenia slowly shrink, political infighting, religious differences that have gone on far to long, and if something isn’t done about it, I agree with Mr. Piligian, our future looks bleak.
At this rate, the Armenian Nation (and diaspora) will become a tale of the past. Like the great days of the Roman, Greek, and Persian Empires, Armenia will be something someone, maybe, reads/hears/studies. Never mind that Armenia was the first Christian nation…which, many Christians don’t even know. I recently heard a gentleman give a lecture online about how the Catholic Church is the root of ‘all Christian faiths’! I immediately wrote to him to correct his misinformation. Alas, I have to give credit to the Catholic Church for keeping their international flock under their eternal wing!
Please read this article and think about what it means to you to be Armenian and how you can preserve the future of this great nation/people, especially for the sake of the younger generations. Remember, that at one time to travel the Silk Road from West to the East, you ‘had’ to cross the Armenian Empire!! How many of you knew this?