Fr. Asoghik priest continues to insist that he maters a tool through which he can infallibly distinguish between Armenians from non-Armenians. None of the clergymen did resist this theory, on the contrary, everyone, including those who are higher than the priest in hierarchical church confirmed that the Armenian Apostolic Church is a demarcation line, beyond which the person ceases to be an Armenian. Arrogance, as I understand, is considered a deadly sin, and could there be a greater haughtiness than to assume the role of the judge, who will decide who is Armenian and who is not, or at least who is better, more “real”, more corresponding to the national identity, and who is the second category, less corresponding or perhaps non-corresponding person. Can any senior or “lower” clergyman, or any secular, in short, any of us assume such a role?
Germans, being more practical and “calculated” nation, in 1930 found a simple tool belonging to their tribe. (Agree that Fr. Asoghik’s proposed test is quite complicated. I, for example, would say that consider myself a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Fr. Asoghik would say “No, you’re an atheist and, therefore, you are not an Armenian,” and we will not be able to convince each other). And, thus, the Germans went by the “scientific” way typical to them: they were taking the ruler, bringing closer to the human skull and guided by clear criteria were determining whether the person is a true Aryan, or, let’s say, a Jew or a Slav. Thus, the “tribal identity” was determined, and accordingly, it was clear whether given person is called to rule, to serve, or generally to go to the gas compartment.
When Raskolnikov, the hero of Dostoevsky’s novel, first came to the investigator and began to describe his theory about “ordinary” and “non-ordinary” people (the latter, according to this theory, have wider powers), Porfiri Ivanovich is interested in sarcasm, “But how to distinguish ordinary from non-ordinary, is it possible to invent special clothing or seals?” With the same logic, if Fr. Asoghik and the Holy See should should decide who is Armenia and who is not, let them at least give a reference to people saying that Paul is an Armenian, and Kirakos – is not. I hope there will be no corruption risks here.
At the end, one more citation, though not from a Christian, but also a smart man, from Lao Tszi’s ideas, “If the palace is luxurious, the fields are covered with weeds, and grain storage facilities are absolutely empty.” More luxurious our secular and ecclesiastical authorities live, vaster desert is formed around them. First of all, spiritual.
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Aram Abrahamyan
