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The Stonewalling Catholicos
Editorial, 1 March 2014
After years of keeping silent and praying that Catholicos Karekin II
would mend his wayward ways, many Armenians in Armenia and in the
Diaspora finally threw in the towel last summer and made their
criticisms of the catholicos public. They circulated petitions,
published open letters, wrote articles, convened meetings, flooded
websites with their condemnation, and demanded his resignation.
Keghart.com joined the outcry and published, in its August 8, 2013
issue, an editorial titled "Catholicos Karekin II Stands Accused". The
editorial listed such charges as his fraudulent election, the
fathering of two children, his lack of spirituality and theological
knowledge, limited intellectual capacity, rampant corruption, the
illegal control of all the levers of power at Echmiadzin, the unheard
of defrocking of nearly 160 archbishops, bishops, clergymen, deacons;
and alliance with the Sarkissian regime...some 23 allegations. An
unprecedented over 20,000 people have read the editorial in Keghart,
in addition to an unknown number who've read on other websites.
Five months after the uproar, the catholicos had not responded,
although he had had many opportunities to do so. Finally, on January
6, on Armenian Christmas day, Karekin II issued a message to the "Dear
and faithful people in Armenia, Artsakh and the Dispersion" wherein he
went after his critics.
After tendentiously quoting the Bible--"Teach me the way I should go,
Lord, for to you I lift up my soul"--he archly said: "Our Lord
proclaimed that truth is a value equal to life. He dispersed the
darkness of aimless wanderings and sinfulness with the rays of truth,
and granted to men the Holy Spirit so that the path of mankind is
established in a life of peace and righteousness--a life founded on
love and honesty for one another." It was surreal to hear the
message--words which he should heed before parroting them to his flock.
He reminded us that "Evil has no rest". Like his corrupt reign? "Evil
creates the path when vigilance for the truth is lacking in life, and
falsehood finds its collaborators. The beguiling ways of evil are
strengthened when man strays from the principles taught by
Christ--filling life with falsehoods and distortions..." he said and then
he came to the point: "It is thus that the presentation of realities
are transformed into intrigues and false evaluations; arbitrary and
selfish interpretation in religion, give birth to cults; by the
demands of the defense of human rights, society is at times also
compelled to adopt behaviors that are contradictory with societal
thinking and value structures." He seemed to be condemning the
proliferation of cults in Armenia, but his real targets were his
critics.
A petulant Catholicos Karekin II then went for the kill with his
inimitable prose: "Freedom of speech is transformed to licentiousness
of speech, and testimony becomes the distortion of truth. By
distorting the truth, political interests often oppose peace and
justice, frenzy to acquire the material and selfish desires oppose
mercy and philanthropy, and multiply the conflicts, sorrows, wants and
pains in the world..." he opined. Looking at his sumptuous lifestyle,
one could ask whether he cares about the pain of his flock and whether
he had his tongue firmly pressed against his cheek when he talked of
people's frenzy to acquire material goods and for their selfish
desires.
Karekin II also defended a government which has a notional
aquaintanship with freedom of speech. As an oligarch, albeit in shiny
sutine, he had to defend his secular counterparts. They are the same
people who fraudulently made him catholicos.
"In our reality, dear pious faithful, regrettably we also find
impropriety and slander, indifference towards the general welfare of
the country. Traditional family values are in retreat...Unreserved
behavior and insults 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 arguments,
discussion transforms into scorn and condemnation..." went on his murky,
obtuse prose. Picking just one sentence from his portmanteau
paragraph: "traditional family values..." KII is certainly qualified to
comment on it since he reportedly has two daughters and a brother whom
he appointed head of the Nor Nakhichevan diocese in Russia.
Re-read the above impenetrable text and consider that it is being
uttered by a man who is accused of committing the very same sins.
Rather than disprove the charges leveled against him, the catholicos
made, in his Nativity address, broad accusations while cynically
dragging in the Bible as his witness and advocate.
KII's train of logic chugged along on this track: to guarantee a
strong Armenia and to be a member of good standing of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, we should keep our eyes shut tight to KII's
shortcomings and that of his clique as well as to the failings of
President Sarkissian's lawless and banal regime. Karekin and Serge,
old pals, know what's best for Armenia, Armenians, and the Apostolic
Church.
The catholicos ended his homily with "Christ is Born and Revealed.
Great Things to All."
Wasn't there something in the Ten Commandments about not taking the
name of the Lord in vain?
http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-Stonewalling-Catholicos
Editorial, 1 March 2014
After years of keeping silent and praying that Catholicos Karekin II
would mend his wayward ways, many Armenians in Armenia and in the
Diaspora finally threw in the towel last summer and made their
criticisms of the catholicos public. They circulated petitions,
published open letters, wrote articles, convened meetings, flooded
websites with their condemnation, and demanded his resignation.
Keghart.com joined the outcry and published, in its August 8, 2013
issue, an editorial titled "Catholicos Karekin II Stands Accused". The
editorial listed such charges as his fraudulent election, the
fathering of two children, his lack of spirituality and theological
knowledge, limited intellectual capacity, rampant corruption, the
illegal control of all the levers of power at Echmiadzin, the unheard
of defrocking of nearly 160 archbishops, bishops, clergymen, deacons;
and alliance with the Sarkissian regime...some 23 allegations. An
unprecedented over 20,000 people have read the editorial in Keghart,
in addition to an unknown number who've read on other websites.
Five months after the uproar, the catholicos had not responded,
although he had had many opportunities to do so. Finally, on January
6, on Armenian Christmas day, Karekin II issued a message to the "Dear
and faithful people in Armenia, Artsakh and the Dispersion" wherein he
went after his critics.
After tendentiously quoting the Bible--"Teach me the way I should go,
Lord, for to you I lift up my soul"--he archly said: "Our Lord
proclaimed that truth is a value equal to life. He dispersed the
darkness of aimless wanderings and sinfulness with the rays of truth,
and granted to men the Holy Spirit so that the path of mankind is
established in a life of peace and righteousness--a life founded on
love and honesty for one another." It was surreal to hear the
message--words which he should heed before parroting them to his flock.
He reminded us that "Evil has no rest". Like his corrupt reign? "Evil
creates the path when vigilance for the truth is lacking in life, and
falsehood finds its collaborators. The beguiling ways of evil are
strengthened when man strays from the principles taught by
Christ--filling life with falsehoods and distortions..." he said and then
he came to the point: "It is thus that the presentation of realities
are transformed into intrigues and false evaluations; arbitrary and
selfish interpretation in religion, give birth to cults; by the
demands of the defense of human rights, society is at times also
compelled to adopt behaviors that are contradictory with societal
thinking and value structures." He seemed to be condemning the
proliferation of cults in Armenia, but his real targets were his
critics.
A petulant Catholicos Karekin II then went for the kill with his
inimitable prose: "Freedom of speech is transformed to licentiousness
of speech, and testimony becomes the distortion of truth. By
distorting the truth, political interests often oppose peace and
justice, frenzy to acquire the material and selfish desires oppose
mercy and philanthropy, and multiply the conflicts, sorrows, wants and
pains in the world..." he opined. Looking at his sumptuous lifestyle,
one could ask whether he cares about the pain of his flock and whether
he had his tongue firmly pressed against his cheek when he talked of
people's frenzy to acquire material goods and for their selfish
desires.
Karekin II also defended a government which has a notional
aquaintanship with freedom of speech. As an oligarch, albeit in shiny
sutine, he had to defend his secular counterparts. They are the same
people who fraudulently made him catholicos.
"In our reality, dear pious faithful, regrettably we also find
impropriety and slander, indifference towards the general welfare of
the country. Traditional family values are in retreat...Unreserved
behavior and insults 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 arguments,
discussion transforms into scorn and condemnation..." went on his murky,
obtuse prose. Picking just one sentence from his portmanteau
paragraph: "traditional family values..." KII is certainly qualified to
comment on it since he reportedly has two daughters and a brother whom
he appointed head of the Nor Nakhichevan diocese in Russia.
Re-read the above impenetrable text and consider that it is being
uttered by a man who is accused of committing the very same sins.
Rather than disprove the charges leveled against him, the catholicos
made, in his Nativity address, broad accusations while cynically
dragging in the Bible as his witness and advocate.
KII's train of logic chugged along on this track: to guarantee a
strong Armenia and to be a member of good standing of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, we should keep our eyes shut tight to KII's
shortcomings and that of his clique as well as to the failings of
President Sarkissian's lawless and banal regime. Karekin and Serge,
old pals, know what's best for Armenia, Armenians, and the Apostolic
Church.
The catholicos ended his homily with "Christ is Born and Revealed.
Great Things to All."
Wasn't there something in the Ten Commandments about not taking the
name of the Lord in vain?
http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-Stonewalling-Catholicos