Announcement

Collapse

Forum Rules (Everyone Must Read!!!)

1] What you CAN NOT post.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is:
- abusive
- vulgar
- hateful
- harassing
- personal attacks
- obscene

You also may not:
- post images that are too large (max is 500*500px)
- post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or cited properly.
- post in UPPER CASE, which is considered yelling
- post messages which insult the Armenians, Armenian culture, traditions, etc
- post racist or other intentionally insensitive material that insults or attacks another culture (including Turks)

The Ankap thread is excluded from the strict rules because that place is more relaxed and you can vent and engage in light insults and humor. Notice it's not a blank ticket, but just a place to vent. If you go into the Ankap thread, you enter at your own risk of being clowned on.
What you PROBABLY SHOULD NOT post...
Do not post information that you will regret putting out in public. This site comes up on Google, is cached, and all of that, so be aware of that as you post. Do not ask the staff to go through and delete things that you regret making available on the web for all to see because we will not do it. Think before you post!


2] Use descriptive subject lines & research your post. This means use the SEARCH.

This reduces the chances of double-posting and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do/don't want to read. Using the search function will identify existing threads on the topic so we do not have multiple threads on the same topic.

3] Keep the focus.

Each forum has a focus on a certain topic. Questions outside the scope of a certain forum will either be moved to the appropriate forum, closed, or simply be deleted. Please post your topic in the most appropriate forum. Users that keep doing this will be warned, then banned.

4] Behave as you would in a public location.

This forum is no different than a public place. Behave yourself and act like a decent human being (i.e. be respectful). If you're unable to do so, you're not welcome here and will be made to leave.

5] Respect the authority of moderators/admins.

Public discussions of moderator/admin actions are not allowed on the forum. It is also prohibited to protest moderator actions in titles, avatars, and signatures. If you don't like something that a moderator did, PM or email the moderator and try your best to resolve the problem or difference in private.

6] Promotion of sites or products is not permitted.

Advertisements are not allowed in this venue. No blatant advertising or solicitations of or for business is prohibited.
This includes, but not limited to, personal resumes and links to products or
services with which the poster is affiliated, whether or not a fee is charged
for the product or service. Spamming, in which a user posts the same message repeatedly, is also prohibited.

7] We retain the right to remove any posts and/or Members for any reason, without prior notice.


- PLEASE READ -

Members are welcome to read posts and though we encourage your active participation in the forum, it is not required. If you do participate by posting, however, we expect that on the whole you contribute something to the forum. This means that the bulk of your posts should not be in "fun" threads (e.g. Ankap, Keep & Kill, This or That, etc.). Further, while occasionally it is appropriate to simply voice your agreement or approval, not all of your posts should be of this variety: "LOL Member213!" "I agree."
If it is evident that a member is simply posting for the sake of posting, they will be removed.


8] These Rules & Guidelines may be amended at any time. (last update September 17, 2009)

If you believe an individual is repeatedly breaking the rules, please report to admin/moderator.
See more
See less

Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #91
    Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

    Construction of Karekin's Yerevan palace is progressing well. One can't have too many palaces, or too many rooms in them.

    Plenipotentiary meow!

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

      Not about spiritual leaders, but...

      This obsession with antiquity, primordialism, autochthonism has to have been nurtured during the Soviet era, right? There has to be a reason every single one of those godforsaken republics (with the possible exception of the Baltic states) believes their nation to be God's gift to humanity (except they existed before Him, too).

      Family tree of nations to be installed in Republic Square?

      April 15, 2013 - 16:21 AMT
      PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Center of PR Development has come up with an offer to install a family tree of nations the Republic Square, with Armenia to be portrayed as cradle of humankind.

      A picture depicting Armenia as a cradle of mankind is available in a Gospel published in London in 1634, with “Armenia” and “Ararat” words written on Noah's Ark, painted at the foot of the tree.

      Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/154242/

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

        (See the original article for photos of the tacky, tasteless, pimped-up graves that are typical of today's Yerevan cemeteries)

        In Yerevan, No Room Left for the Dead?


        April 26, 2013
        by Marianna Grigoryan


        A fascination with grandiose graves, built to show respect for the
        deceased and bestow honor on the bereaved, could mean that the
        Armenian capital of Yerevan, a city of over 1.1 million people, soon
        will run out of space to bury its dearly departed.

        Graves decorated with huge marble statues and sprawling family
        mausoleums abound in all of Yerevan's 21 cemeteries, which now account
        for about 10 percent of the city's total land area of 227 square
        kilometers, experts estimate. That proportion is twice the size of
        what the city can maintain, they say.

        `What is happening now with Yerevan is a disaster,' said Vladimir
        Badalian, a former MP and sponsor of a 2006 law that set stricter
        limits for land allotted to graves and family plots. `If you take a
        bird's-eye view of Yerevan, you will see that it is surrounded with
        cemeteries from all sides and the loop is gradually tightening.'

        `I myself have seen a grave occupying 260 square meters. If things go
        on like this, the capital city will become a cemetery one day,'
        continued Badalian, who now serves as Armenia's ambassador to
        Turkmenistan.

        With Armenia's death rate steadily increasing over the past decade (it
        stood at 8.49 per 1,000 people in 2012; the second highest in the
        Caucasus after Georgia), no one expects demand to slacken in the
        foreseeable future.

        Only four of Yerevan's cemeteries (Ajapnyak, Shengavit, Spandarian and
        Arin-Berd) still have space available, according to the city's Public
        Services Department. But since these cemeteries border on residential
        areas, room for expansion does not exist.

        Over 46 hectares of land are needed to build a new cemetery, and the
        city does not have it, one municipal employee noted. `If nothing
        changes, Yerevan will run out of burial spaces in 20 years,' predicted
        Razmik Harutyunian, an engineer with the city's Public Services
        Department.

        For now, no change is in sight. The 2006 law restricted graves to 2.5
        square meters and family plots to no more than 12.5 square meters, but
        those limitations have not been enforced.

        Instead, bribery appears to be flourishing. Depending on the
        cemetery's location and the size of the desired plot, a grave can cost
        the dram-equivalent of a few thousand dollars, or run into the tens of
        thousands of dollars, according to families interviewed by
        EurasiaNet.org.

        In 2008, Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian spoke out on the issue,
        mentioning `a well-known chess player' who allegedly paid $2,000 in
        bribes to secure a grave for his father. `People are not ashamed of
        anything now,' the Azg daily reported Sarkisian as saying.

        Ironically, the prime minister himself is blamed for having
        contributed to the problem. Many Armenians argue that his decision to
        grant non-working days of commemoration for the dead for each of the
        Armenian Apostolic Church's six major feast days has strengthened the
        country's so-called `cult of the dead. 'On memorial days, Armenians
        take flowers and incense for their loved ones and packets of food and
        drink for the poor to cemeteries. The visits often expand into
        lavish, lengthy restaurant dinners - a custom throughout the Caucasus
        - to recollect the lives of the dead. Church services also are held.

        One Yerevan resident, Tamara Melkonian, called the need for showy
        displays of respect for the deceased =80=9Cdangerous,' recollecting a
        neighbor who could not pay for his wife's cancer treatment, but `ran
        into huge debts to pay for a big grave and organize `a decent
        funeral.'' Twenty-five-year-old philologist Gayane Melkonian agreed;
        `I hope one day people in Armenia will be able to live their lives
        simply . . . without formalities, and not live their lives to see
        what others say.' Others, though, reject criticism. `How to mourn our
        relatives comes from the soul and speaking about the amounts [spent]
        and the ways [we do that] is sacrilege,' asserted one 37-year-old male
        Yerevan inhabitant.

        Some are trying to promote cremation as a way to resolve the cemetery
        space issue. Twelve hectares of land were set aside for a crematory
        and columbarium in 2006, but construction is not expected to start
        until next year. The reasons for the delay are not clear. Some
        attribute it to opposition from the Armenian Apostolic Church. The
        Church, however, has not yet issued an official opinion.

        The Reverend Father Vahram Melikian, spokesperson at the Holy See of
        Etchmiadzin, the Church's headquarters, commented, though, that the
        concept of cremation =80=9Cis unacceptable from an Orthodox Christian
        perspective, and is alien to the Christian worldview' since it does
        not correspond with Christianity's resurrection beliefs.

        Sociologist Aharon Adibekian, director of the Sociometer research
        center, does not see any connection between religion and Yerevan's
        lack of a crematory. `[I]t is the factor of tradition that matters,
        and not religion,' Adibekian asserted.

        `Most people in Armenia are materialists and are emotionally bound by
        things,' he elaborated. `The body has a certain value and the place
        where a family member is buried matters, too.`

        In the 1970s, plans also were made for a Yerevan crematory, but
        Armenia's Communist Party never signed off on the structure.
        Ambassador Badalian hopes that, ultimately, Armenians will come to
        recognize the need to curb the country's `cult of the dead.' But, as
        yet, no such awareness campaign exists.

        Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
        Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

        2012 © EurasiaNet
        ________________________________
        Last edited by bell-the-cat; 05-03-2013, 12:36 PM.
        Plenipotentiary meow!

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

          Surb Sargis Church cordoned by police, deacon Vahram's clothes torn off
          by Tatevik Shahunyan


          Saturday, July 20, 15:17

          A tense situation has been created near the Surb Sargis Church
          (Yerevan), which is the residence of Navasard Kchoyan, Head of the
          Ararat Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

          At the moment the church is cordoned by the police, ArmInfo's
          correspondent reports from the scene. The thing is that the members of
          the Ararat Union of the Armenian Apostolic Church should have held a
          protest action in front of the church at midday to support Ter Hakob
          Khachatryan, ex-head of the Union, who was dismissed by the recent
          decision of Navasard Kchoyan.

          While preparing for the action, the members of the Ararat Union tried
          to set up microphones, but the employees of Kchoyan's chancellery were
          trying to disturb them in every possible way. This developed into an
          incident between Hayk Tadevosyan, the head of Kchoyan's staff, and
          deacon Vahram, representative of the Ararat Union. Tadevosyan attacked
          deacon Vahram and tore off the deacon's clothes.

          To note, Kchoyan is reported to have dismissed Ter Hakob for the fact
          that press photographer Gagik Shamshyan said in one of the TV
          programs: "Ter Hakob is 1000 times as good as Navasard Kchoyan".
          According to media reports, this has caused Kchoyan's discontent and
          he dismissed Ter Hakob. However, the press service of the Ararat
          Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church denies this version.

          Navasard Kchoyan's name is often mentioned in various suspicious
          stories, for instance, in the offshore scandal with Prime Minister
          Tigran Sargsyan. The public is also discontent with the fact that
          Kchoyan's jet-setting lifestyle is not becoming to a clergyman. To
          recall, Kchoyan drives a Bentley.

          Plenipotentiary meow!

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

            Originally posted by bell-the-cat View Post
            [SIZE=4]The public is also discontent with the fact that
            Kchoyan's jet-setting lifestyle is not becoming to a clergyman. To
            recall, Kchoyan drives a Bentley.
            most Armenian clergy enter the profession to enjoy an easy life, if not the good life.

            Traditionally those who would decide to enter the priesthood would do so because they didn't have many career options open to them

            so sadly the majority have no moral principles, no values. They usually come from the lower layers of society. They can become foul-mouthed or even violent when anyone exposes their misdeeds

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

              Originally posted by bell-the-cat View Post
              [SIZE=4]

              ......... To recall, Kchoyan drives a Bentley.

              http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?obje...3F0EB7C0D21663
              He obviously has no class.

              If you own a Bentley, you should have a driver also and travel in style.

              If you drive a Bentley ( i.e. you cannot afford a driver) then you should work as a chauffer.
              Doing weddings and funerals should be a good earner!!
              Politics is not about the pursuit of morality nor what's right or wrong
              Its about self interest at personal and national level often at odds with the above.
              Great politicians pursue the National interest and small politicians personal interests

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

                Originally posted by lampron View Post
                most Armenian clergy enter the profession to enjoy an easy life, if not the good life.

                Traditionally those who would decide to enter the priesthood would do so because they didn't have many career options open to them

                so sadly the majority have no moral principles, no values. They usually come from the lower layers of society. They can become foul-mouthed or even violent when anyone exposes their misdeeds

                Although the system is open to abuse and frequently abused, I have come across some really dedicated clergy.

                Fortunately it is not difficult to realise pretty quickly who is what.

                They certainly do not enjoy my trust and respect automatically because they wear the cloth.
                Politics is not about the pursuit of morality nor what's right or wrong
                Its about self interest at personal and national level often at odds with the above.
                Great politicians pursue the National interest and small politicians personal interests

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

                  Jerusalem Patriarch vs. Catholicos



                  Jerusalem Patriarch Urges Catholicos Karekin II to Reinforce the Church’s “Spiritual Foundations”, Rejects Attending Etchmiadzin Meeting

                  JERUSALEM—In an unprecedented and tersely-worded letter Jerusalem Patriarch Archbishop Nourhan Manougian criticizes His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, urging him to reinforce the Armenian Church’s “spiritual foundations,” which the Patriarch says have been waning.

                  The letter comes as a protest of recent events in the France Diocese, which prompted the resignation early last month of the popular Primate of France Archbishop Norvan Zakarian, which has prompted across-the-board and collective outrage from the French-Armenian community.

                  In the letter Manougian tells the Catholicos that the protest was prompted by the Supreme Spiritual Council’s decision to accept Zakarian’s resignation, despite his years of service to the church, adherence to the gospel and overall service to the community.

                  Zakarian resigned his post as French Primate, after alleging that the Catholicos had demanded that he re-instate the parish priest of the Armenian Church in Nice, Father Vatché Ghazanchyan, who was under criminal investigation by the French authorities and was ordered to serve a two-year suspended sentence for allegedly beating a man. Ghazanchyan’s alleged business dealings in France have long been an issue of concern for the French-Armenian community, especially the community in Nice.

                  Zakarian said his resignation was prompted by an incident on June 29 at the VIP lounge of Charles De Gaul Airport in Paris, where the Catholicos, in the presence of the Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamian, Armenia’s Ambassador to France Vigen Tchitetchian and other religious and secular leaders of France, threatened the archbishop by saying: “If by July 1 you don’t reinstate him [Father Vatché Ghazanchyan] to his position, then you have no business with the Mother See.”

                  Zakarian’s resignation has prompted anger in the French Armenian community, and statements of protest have been issued by a number of organizations including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s France Central Committee and the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France—the ANC of France.

                  “I would like to say in brotherly terms, that a threat is not becoming of a clergyman, especially a high-ranking one—the ‘Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians,’ from whom it is expected, as the genuine FATHER and forgiving SUPERIOR, to relate with love and forgiving spirit with his children or with his subordinates,” said Arch. Marnougian in his protest letter.

                  The Jerusalem Patriarch argued that Zakarian’s term was to have ended in November and suggested that the Supreme Spiritual Council should have waited until then to “accept” his resignation.

                  “Do you truly want to eradicate your reputation as the ‘Constructive Catholicos’ by extending the number of clerics you have defrocked?” asked Arch. Manougian. “What has occurred was unacceptable and a great injustice coming from Holy Etchmiadzin, from the Armenian people’s Holiness of the Holy.”

                  “Your Holiness, if you recall, a few years back, when with great pride – and justly so – you were showing me the beautiful buildings You had erected within the campus of the Mother See? I said to You, that equal to and more important than physical buildings is reinforcing the spiritual foundation; and You reassured me that this would also happen,” said Manougian.

                  “Nevertheless, the time has come to establish that it is the superficial and the financial elements that are important and interesting to You,” added the Patriarch.

                  Arch. Manougian went on to recall an incident when the Catholicos was attempting to pressure the late Patriarch Torkom Manoogian to appoint Archbishop Aris Shirvanian as his “successor.” When the late Patriarch refused and Arch. Shirvanian informed the Catholicos that such a provision did not exist in the by-laws of the Church and the Patriarchate, the Catholicos Karekin II, according to the Patriarch, said: “I will strip all of you of your ranks.”

                  Citing the current climate within the Armenian Church and the issues he has set forth in the letter, Patriarch Manougian informed the Catholicos that he would not attend a meeting of Diocesan clerics in Etchmiadzin, scheduled to take place in September.
                  Politics is not about the pursuit of morality nor what's right or wrong
                  Its about self interest at personal and national level often at odds with the above.
                  Great politicians pursue the National interest and small politicians personal interests

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?



                    Catholicos Karekin II Stands Accused

                    Faced with local or national crisis most Armenians go into two modes these days: “Let’s not wash our dirty laundry in public” or “Exposure is the first step in resolving a crisis.” In the past few months a scandal—immense, terrifying and excoriating—has crashed into our national public arena. It’s no less than the management style and reputation of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. As catholicos, he is not just the spiritual leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but is almost as important to the Armenian Nation as the president of Armenia. A smear on the catholicos is a smear on our Nation—even on those who are members of the Cilicia See, are Catholic, Protestant… atheist.

                    The critics of Catholicos Karekin II have circulated petitions, published open letters and articles, convened meetings, commented on the electronic media, and some have even demanded the resignation of the catholicos. The accusations leveled are in the many scores: Fraud, moral turpitude, corruption, autocracy, the decline of Echmiadzin clergy’s morals and morale, malaise among the clergy…the litany goes on…inclusive of the Seven Deadly Sins and some. A diatribe orgy? Hidden agendas by his enemies or enemies of the Church? Far-fetched allegations? Poison letters? Here is a compilation of the alleged failings of the catholicos.

                    1. Catholicos Karekin II was elected (1999) through widespread fraud, thanks to the help of former President Robert Kocharian and Armenia oligarchs. Intimidation and bribes were used to get pro-Karekin votes. The $3-million bribe came from wealthy Diaspora donors, particularly from a famed family of benefactors.

                    Human rights worker Ara K. Manoogian of Los Angeles has aired graphic data on how the catholicos was fraudulently elected. To summarize Manoogian’s main point, the delegations from Russia and Armenia were illegally allowed a far greater number of votes than their congregation numbers justified. Manoogian, the nephew of the late Patriarch Torkom Manoogian of Jerusalem, also says that his uncle told him about the election fraud and that he had protested to Catholicos Karekin II about the blatant chicanery but to no avail.

                    As well, a month prior to the election, a number of archbishops released a statement which said that Armenia authorities “at the highest level have come to a consensus in favor of one candidate and are trying to install him on the throne.” The reference was to the future Catholicos Karekin II.

                    2. The catholicos has fathered two children. A photo of one of his supposed offspring is on the Internet. There’s also talk that he is too intimate with a female North American donor.

                    3. He lacks sound knowledge of theology; knows little of the history and traditions of the Armenian Church. Despite his studies in Armenia and in Europe, he has superficial academic grounding. He even stumbles when reciting the Lord’s Prayer. There’s doubt whether he is a believer.

                    4. He has no spiritual grace or dignity. He is the dictatorial manager of Echmiadzin, an oligarch in royal purple soutane.

                    5. He has monopolized all authority as supreme judge, as head of the legislative body, as president of the Supreme Spiritual Council and as head of the College of Bishops. Transparency and accountability are foreign concepts to him.

                    6. He is rude, crude, common, capricious, unjust, uncouth, intemperate, incompetent, vicious, vain, venal, abusive, authoritarian, glory- and money-seeking, lacks spirituality, and is secretive….It’s not even certain whether he was born in 1951 or 1954.

                    7. Under his management, Holy Echmiadzin has become a cesspool of intrigue, suspicion, fear, jealousy, intimidation, and nepotism. His Stalinist-Berian style has turned Echmiadzin into a snake-pit.

                    8. Under his watch, senior Armenia clergymen have fathered children and lead extravagant lives. One of them—Archbishop Navasart Kjoyan, head of the Araratian Diocese—owns a Bentley, one of the most expensive cars anywhere. Kjoyan is also accused of involvement in an off-shore financial scam.

                    9. Homosexuality among Armenia and Diaspora clergy is another failing the catholicos hasn’t addressed.

                    10. Under his watch, senior Armenia clergymen have become businessmen and owners of companies. In addition to Archbishop Kjoyan, another clergyman-businessman is Bishop Abraham Mkrchyan of Vayots Dzor. He owns several mini-hydro plants.

                    11. As an oligarch, the catholicos is part owner of a Yerevan minibus company.

                    12. He has appropriated property belonging to the Church.

                    13. He has neglected the restoration of crumbling historical monastic buildings while spending $309,000 to purchase seven Toyotas. To avoid VAT payments, he alleged the money was donated by oligarch Samvel Karapetyan, owner of Tashir Corp. The catholicos’ “neglect” of historic church buildings has been described as “cultural genocide against Medieval Armenian churches and monasteries.”

                    14. His behavior and that of his Armenia clergy have driven thousands of Armenians into the arms of cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.

                    15. He has defrocked at least 160 archbishops, bishops, clergymen, and deacons. Never in the 1,700-year history of the Armenian Church have so many clergymen been dismissed for non-heretical reasons. His mass defrocking has been described as “a reign of terror” and “spiritual massacre of the Armenian Apostolic Church”. As a result of his capricious defrocking binge, he was rebuked by Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan of Istanbul. The Patriarch pointed out to him-- when a certain senior clergyman was defrocked peremptorily--that if the accusation is clear and evidential “a review board must be formed, the subject accused must be given the opportunity for self defense.” The patriarch also accused the catholicos of interfering in patriarchate affairs.

                    16. When he defrocked Archbishop Tiran Kyoureghyan of the New Nakhichevan Diocese, for alleged disobedience, Catholicos Karekin II installed his own brother—a priest—as primate.

                    17. To hide his mediocrity and limited intellectual capacity, he has driven his contemporaries from Echmiadzin, according to a group of Canadian-Armenians.

                    18. He didn’t condemn the recent fraudulent presidential elections. Instead, he extended his blessing at Serge Sarkissian’s inauguration.

                    19. His crude and immature behavior during his meeting with Catholicos Elia II of Georgia embarrassed the Armenian Church, Armenia, and Georgian Armenians. As such, he is a harmful representative of the Armenian Church and Nation.

                    20. He blundered, for the nth time, in his ecumenical responsibilities when he treated the Jerusalem and Istanbul Patriarchates as if these august Sees were minor diocesan entities. An irritated Patriarch Nurhan Manougian of Jerusalem announced earlier this month that he would not attend an upcoming meeting of senior churchmen, organized by the catholicos. He like, the patriarch in Istanbul, expressed his displeasure with the catholicos’ inexplicable tactics to precipitate the resignation of Archbishop Norvan Zakarian, the long-time and popular Primate of France.

                    21.While visiting Jerusalem a few years ago, the catholicos threatened senior clergymen of the Sts. James’ Brotherhood and said: “I will strip all of you of your ranks.”

                    22. He attempted, in Western Europe (e.g. Switzerland) to centralize the management of the various churches. The French-Armenia community publicly condemned his heavy-handed interference in the internal administrative affairs of the French diocese.

                    23. He supported convicted criminal clergyman (Fr. Vatche Hayrabedian) against Archbishop Zakaryan. When Hayrabedian was the pastor of the church in Nice, his congregation pleaded with the catholicos to remove the disreputable clergyman. Their pleas were ignored.

                    In the past 1,700 years at least 15 times Armenian catholicoi have been removed or forced to resign. The first to be deposed was Kristapor II Apahooni in 630; the last Yeprem I of Tsoragegh in 1830. We don’t know if any of the grotesque accusations leveled against Catholicos Karekin II are justified, but if even 10% of the allegations are well-founded, the Catholicos of All Armenians has no option but to resign. The longer this wound festers the worse it would be for the Church and the Nation. And those in the “bien-pensant” corner who say we should not talk (“dzamots tartsank” in Armenian) about these accusations for we would be aiding our enemies, we say the days of covering up the truth are long gone. The cat is out of the bag. How could the Church survive when these accusations hang over the head of its supreme leader? As well, keeping silent would surely help make the Church and clergy irrelevant.

                    Even at the best of times we can’t afford an undeserving catholicos. Considering that the Armenian Nation is groping through precarious and tumultuous times, we cannot tolerate a catholicos who has lost his moral compass and doesn’t belong on the Echmiadzin throne. The existential challenges we face leave no room for a catholicos who, according to his accusers, behaves like a modern-day Roderigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI).

                    The nation waits for Catholicos Karekin II to reply to the charges.
                    Politics is not about the pursuit of morality nor what's right or wrong
                    Its about self interest at personal and national level often at odds with the above.
                    Great politicians pursue the National interest and small politicians personal interests

                    Comment


                    • Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

                      This thread certainly was a learning experience. It taught me once more that Sahag Partev should have adopted a son and not ever instituted celibacy.

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X