Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[bell-the-cat]

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.

[TomServo]

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/

[bell-the-cat]

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?

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66886

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
________________________________

[bell-the-cat]

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.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectidö7B6340-F12D-11E2-B23F0EB7C0D21663

[lampron]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[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

[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[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!!

[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

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.

[londontsi]

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.

[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-Catholicos

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.

[hagopn]

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.