Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

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[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

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Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?


Istanbul-Armenian vicar to visit Yerevan

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2016/06/15/ateshyan/2050802

Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, General Vicar at the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, is visiting Armenia later this week.

According to an official statement on the Patriarchate’s website, Ateshyan will be arriving in Yerevan from Russia, where he is travelling later today.

The general vicar is to attend supreme religious council meetings, as well as the events honoring Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia.

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[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[londontsi]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

The tiltle actually says "Part VII", but I think that is a mistake and it should be "Part VI"

The Armenian Church is Held Hostage by Its Hierarchy: Part 6
By Vosgan Mekhitarian
January 4, 2014

http://hetq.am/eng/news/31823/the-armenian-apostolic-church-is-held-hostage-–-vii.html

We proceed in our endeavors to reform the Armenian Church with the understanding of its original mission to be the apotheosis of Jesus Christ and dissemination of His Word, and to uphold his teachings according to the Gospel, i.e., to shun all secular wealth and to comfort and heal the spiritual wounds of the faithful.

With this principle in mind, we call upon the high-ranking clergy of the Armenian Church, who are entrusted with the charge of guiding and leading their flock, "...to destroy the pride in your souls and approach your faithful with a humble heart".
We beseech you to sell your diamond rings and gilded crosses, your prized cars and extravagant accessories, and donate the proceeds of your ill-gotten gains to the poor and needy–that is, if you truly believe the teachings of the Bible. Heed your vows of poverty and let them lead you to the treasures of service, devotion, and compassion in your hearts.
We believe this vow of poverty is essential in the lives of the clergy–it enables them to remain truly spiritual and shields them from temptation.
It appears, modern civilization has transformed human beings into automatons, who are solely concerned with the trappings of convenience, entertainment, and safe harbor in opulence and display.
Similarly, the accumulation of wealth has also permeated our educational institutions, where preference is given not to the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, but rather to the accumulation of personal riches and self-aggrandizement. Hence, the amassing of wealth has become the ultimate goal of people, young and old, supplanting all moral and religious objectives.
The clergy, who is also part of our society, has succumbed to its worldly temptations and, in the process of achieving these temporal goals, has become willing to renounce its vows and to eschew all moral values.

As a result of such unorthodox behavior, members of the clergy have become businessmen in every conceivable field–from dealing in diamond to real estate, from trading in the stock market to investment expertise, and bankrolling even in the most risqué ventures.
Today our prevailing concerns are not of dogmatic or even of theological nature for that matter, but rather organizational and administrative.
The clergy of the Armenian Church today is reminiscent of the clergy of the Catholic Church in the 17th century, which led to the reformation of the Church by Martin Luther. The very same conditions of materialism, corruption, and ignorance that pervaded the Catholic Church then and laid the groundwork for its eventual reformation, have infiltrated the current climate of the Armenian Church, where members of the clergy are ordained through nepotism and bribery. Their lives are so infested with the morass of corruption and influence peddling that their morals and commitment to righteous behavior have fallen by the wayside. It is high time for them to renew their vows and reestablish their nexus to God and His faithful.
Perhaps we need someone like St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Jesuit Brotherhood, to revitalize and revolutionize the Armenian Church and restore its once heralded glory as the bastion of Christianity. Better yet, we need individuals who can collectively eradicate corruption within the Church and reclaim the mantle of spirituality and Holiness.
The Armenian clergy of today regard their profession in strictly secular terms with an eye for personal gain. This mutation of the original calling to serve God and His faithful is a direct result of the commercial climate created by the self-serving actions of the most powerful in the hierarchy of the Armenian Church.
Potential candidates to the priesthood need to undergo a wholesale psychological transformation in order to garner the trust and faith of the public as their spiritual servants.
Lastly, in light of the strife and misery that has gripped many corners of the world, reducing human life to abject suffering, it is paramount that individuals entrusted with the mission to comfort and heal remain true to their charge and provide solace, understanding, and love to the faithful. Only then, can the Armenian Apostolic Church become, once again, the fulcrum around which people’s daily lives revolve and find meaningful purpose.


Vosgan Mekhitarian

to be continued

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

Church Runs Businesses
Lragir.am, 03 May 2014

http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/society/view/32374

It’s been two days the social networks are discussing the unlawful “defrocking” of Priest Martiros Berberyan of the Armenian community of Moscow. The Armenian community of Moscow protested toughly. Ter Martiros held an interview which was followed by the response of the Information Service of the Mother See and the clarification of the press service of the Armenian Diocese of Russia and New Nakhidjevan. The latter referred to the priest’s “business” to justify their extreme approach, which is exaggerated, considering that it is the honest income of the priest’s family, which has never interfered with full performance of his service, the letter of a group of members of the Armenian community in Moscow runs.
This is obviously not the reason but an excuse because a lot of Armenian priests run different businesses, and as the ex-primate of the French Diocese Archbishop Norvan Zakaryan said, uncontrollable priests raised with a business psychology would not be punished. Moreover, they multiply their possessions and spend more. The society is well-aware of the offshore scandal of Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan of the Ararat Patriarchal Diocese nicknamed “Bentley” on which the Mother See did not even touch upon.
In their letter the representatives of the Armenian community in Moscow have published a list of clergymen who run businesses, and the church leadership treats it normally, ignoring the 21st apostolic rule which officials of the church should reject possessions and money:
Catholicos Garegin II, uncontrolled turnover of immense sums under the name of construction of churches and other buildings,
Archbishop Paren Avetikyan, antique business in his 5 star mansion in Yerevan, starting from Detroit,
Archbishop Abraham Mkrtchyan, owns a university in the diocese of Vayots Dzor, a camp,
Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, has opened a bakery near St. Gevorg Church of Mughni,
Dean Komitas Hovnanyan, runs his own restaurant in Marseilles, France,
Priest Armen Melkonyan, runs his own restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium,
Priest Virap Ghazaryan, regularly travels between Aparan and Germany to follow up cars for sale,
Priest Vache Hairapetyan, apart from other “occupations”, has been involved in a false money deal in Nice, France,
Priest Mesrop Aramyan, implements educational programs on big money transfers from other countries.

[Haykakan]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

And today their role models are oligarch criminals?

Hey its the American way so it must be good.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Have our spiritual leaders lost their moral compass?

In the ottoman empire Armenian church leaders' role models were Ottoman pashas and sultans

And today their role models are oligarch criminals?