Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Armenian Church Head Bemoans Decline Of `Traditional Values’
Armenia – Catholicos Garegin II delivers a sermon during the Christmas
Mass at the Armenian Apostolic Church cathedral in Echmiadzin,
6Jan2014.
07.01.2014
Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, has urged Armenians to stay loyal to the basic tenets of
Christianity in the face of what he called a decline in `traditional
family values’ resulting from excessive freedom.
In a sermon read out during the Christmas Mass celebrated at the main
Armenian cathedral in Echmiadzin on Monday, Garegin said freedom of
expression is increasingly abused by people in Armenia and around the
world to the detriment of `the truth’ embodied by Jesus Christ.
Armenia – Catholicos Garegin II leads the Christmas Mass at the
Armenian Apostolic Church cathedral in Echmiadzin, 6Jan2014.
`Traditional family values are in retreat, and so is, in the face of
difficulties, the spirit of conscientiousness,’ he said mid-way
through the liturgy broadcast live by leading Armenian TV
channels. `Unreserved behavior and insult are regarded as courageous;
responsibility is subordinated to rights. Frequently, the right to
express one’s personal opinion is wrongly utilized to distort the
truth, in order to spread subjective or biased opinions.
`It is in this mentality that falsehood is veiled with a mask of
truth, debate becomes argument, discussion transforms into scorn and
condemnation, from which the Spirit of God’s truth and the wisdom of
God move away; and we have difficulty – yes, even cease – to see the
good and the just; and faith and trust in one another, as well as hope
and optimism for the future, all weaken in our lives.’
Garegin also deplored aggressive human rights advocacy in and outside
Armenia, saying that it sometimes forces conservative societies to
`adopt behaviors that are contradictory with societal thinking and
value structures.’ He did not specify those behaviors.
`It is in this manner that morality in the world cedes ground to
immorality, freedom of speech is transformed to licentiousness of
speech, and testimony becomes the distortion of truth,’ added the
Catholicos. `The world shall be liberated of these life-agitating
realities when men accept the truth of Christ, when they witness the
presence of the Lord through their faithful works, and like the
Apostle, proclaim, `…the truth of Christ is in me!”
Although Garegin named no names, his critical remarks appeared to be,
at least in part, a broadside aimed at opposition and civic figures
increasingly critical of his leadership one of one of the world’s
oldest churches. The critics are especially unhappy with his
reluctance to speak out against human rights abuses, government
corruption and injustice in the country. Some of them have also
denounced the pontiff for effectively siding with the current and
former Armenian governments in their standoffs with opposition forces.
Armenia – President Serzh Sarkisian and his wife Rita walk out of the
Echmiadzin cathedral after the Christmas Mass, 6Jan2014.
In particular, Garegin came under opposition fire after endorsing the
official results of Armenia’s February 2013 presidential election that
gave victory to the incumbent President Serzh Sarkisian. He personally
delivered a congratulatory message to Sarkisian together with several
other high-ranking clergymen the day after the disputed ballot. `Your
victory in the elections testifies to the fact that our people trust
your programs of reformation,’ read the message.
The church leadership went on to criticize post-election street
protests organized in Yerevan by Raffi Hovannisian, the main
opposition presidential candidate who claimed to be the rightful
election winner. Hovannisian reacted angrily to the criticism. He
accused Garegin of `desecrating the Bible’ by attending and blessing
Sarkisian’s inauguration for a second term.
Oppositionists Slam Sarkisian’s `Message To Russia’
Armenia — Opposition MP Alexander Arzumanian, at a press conference
in Yerevan, 28Mar2013.
Sargis Harutyunyan
07.01.2014
President Serzh Sarkisian underscored his subservience to Russia with
his New Year’s message to the nation that touted Armenia’s impending
accession to a Russian-led customs union, pro-Western opposition
leaders claimed on Tuesday.
Sarkisian began the televised address by mentioning and stressing the
importance of his unexpected decision last August to join the union at
the expense of closer ties with the European Union. He expressed
confidence that Yerevan will complete ongoing accession talks with the
trade bloc comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2014.
Alexander Arzumanian, a leader of the recently revived Armenian
Pan-National Movement (HHSh), said the New Year’s message was
primarily addressed to the Kremlin, rather than Armenians, comparing
Sarkisian to a `naughty student who wants to somehow please his
teacher.’ Arzumanian suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin
still distrusts his Armenian counterpart despite the latter’s foreign
policy U-turn.
`These are attempts to restore trust,’ Arzumanian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He said Sarkisian’s previous policy
of European integration had caused a serious crisis in
Russian-Armenian relations.
`This is further proof that the decision to join the customs union was
foisted on Armenia. The Armenian authorities are now constantly forced
to reaffirm their loyalty to Russia,’ he said, accusing Moscow of
treating Yerevan `like a slave.’
Armen Martirosian, the deputy chairman of Zharangutyun (Heritage),
another opposition party favoring Armenia’s European integration, also
deplored the key emphasis of Sarkisian’s speech. He reiterated
Zharangutyun claims that Sarkisian had no popular mandate to make
Armenia part of a trade bloc which is due to be transformed into a
Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union by January 2015.
Martirosian also claimed, `This means that the value system espoused
by the Armenian authorities totally corresponds to the value systems
of the Customs Union’s member states. Putin, [Belarusian President
Aleksandr] Lukashenko and [Kazakhstan’s Nursultan] Nazarbayev lead
authoritarian regimes.’
Hovannes Sahakian, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK), rejected the opposition attacks. Sahakian said
Sarkisian could not have failed to mention the Customs Union in his
yearend remarks. He argued that the president also commented on other
major developments of the past year.