ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL PRIEST ON LAWLESSNESS INSIDE CHURCH
15:04 ~U 31.10.13
An Armenian priest, who has been recently defrocked by Evangelical
Association, has spoken of lawless practices inside the church.
Reverent Father Armen Mikaelyan, the former head of the Aragatsotn
office of the Association’s Armenian branch, told a news conference on
Thursday that he has been forced to quit because of voicing concerns
over the existing lawlessness. He particularly referred to the sex
education trainings which the Association organized in a summer camp
for children, without regard to age peculiarities.
The priest also addressed other irregularities.
“The charter of the Armenian Evangelical Church’s does not conform to
the belief and freedom of speech provisions enshrined in Armenia’s
Constitution. The change in the Constitution’s legal rules has not
affected the internal regulations. The Evangelical Church operates as
a sect today. It is represented as a sister of the Apostolic Church,
but it administers rebaptism, and we have facts. This runs counter
to the Christian ideology,” he said, adding that the Association,
which has been registered as a religious organization, engages in
charity now in order to avoid taxes.
Asked whether he will continue to work for the church in case of being
reinstated to his position, Melilyan said he still keeps working as
a priest in the Aragatsotn office despite being sacked.
“My fight is not against the church; the Evangelical Church is not
a sectarian church. It is now that it functions like a sect. I am
against the lawlessness, not the church. God has sent me there to
fight,” he answered.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
