The Diaspora Belongs to No One

By KRIKOR KHODANIAN

The deep crisis currently confronting the Armenian Church continues to trouble the mind and soul of the Armenian people, always with the hope that the Catholicos seated on the throne of the Mother See will find within himself the courage to respond to the calls for reform of the Church, so that as a nation we may emerge from this unfortunate and undesirable state.

Recently, voices have been raised seeking to place the entire responsibility for the present crisis on Armenia’s current authorities, while ignoring the true causes of the crisis, which never arose in a vacuum. A group of well-known Diaspora Armenians who support this view—including Noubar Afeyan, Vache Manoukian, Berge Setrakian, and several others—have issued an open letter declaring that “any attack or interference by an individual, a government, or any external body in the governance or functioning of the Church has a direct impact on Armenians worldwide.” They presume to speak in the name of the entire Diaspora, having no authorization whatsoever to do so. Not only they, but no individual, institution, or political organization has the right to speak on behalf of the entire Diaspora.

The Diaspora has always been and continues to remain a multifaceted and pluralistic collective, united by national identity and the existence of the Homeland.

Going a step further, the signatories of the letter demand that Diaspora Armenians appeal to the governments of the countries in which they live to take measures to “protect their religious rights.” Such absurdity was unexpected from Armenian individuals who have achieved considerable success in life and who should better understand the meaning of every statement they make—statements which in this case reach the peak of irresponsibility.

“The government is demanding the removal of the Church’s leader, despite his lawful election,” write the authors of the open letter, ignoring the fact that this crisis began when the Church’s own leader started demanding the resignation of the head of government, even though he, too, had been lawfully elected by the majority of the people’s vote.

These same national figures were silent when bishops delivered fiery speeches at opposition rallies; when clergy were compelled to participate in demonstrations together with their family members; when an archbishop and diocesan primate became the torchbearer of regime change and led a “sacred struggle” against the state; and when another archbishop issued calls for a military coup. At that time, many—including first and foremost the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party—warned that the intervention of the occupant of the Mother See’s throne in the country’s political life and his partisan conduct were fraught with unpredictable consequences. If today high-ranking clergymen find themselves in prisons, the entire responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Catholicos himself.

The authors of the letter also ignore another important fact. The Church is currently in crisis, not only because of the prime minister–Catholicos confrontation, but also because demands presented by a group of high-ranking clergymen for the purpose of reforming and improving the Church have been ignored by the occupant of the Mother See’s throne, along with arbitrary decisions that have been taken.

The authors of the letter seek to spread the idea that, because of the “campaign against the Church,” a rupture has arisen between the collective Diaspora and the Armenian state. This opinion is far from reality, and the respected national figures should not presume to represent the entire Armenian Diaspora. Next time, they should attempt to display a more balanced approach, refraining from the temptation to defend the Catholicos at all costs.

“MASSIS”

Note: Translated from Armenian with the assistance of ChatGPT.