It is more ridiculous that there is even a sworn communist among those who defend the interests of the church.
Extremely motley are the ranks of the people who by the name are acting in favor of national values and against religious organizations or sects as they call them. While, in reality, thus they violate several articles of the Constitution of Armenia at the same time. In particular, Article 26, according to which “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change the religion or belief and freedom to, either alone or in community with others manifest the religion or belief, through preaching, church ceremonies and other religious rites,” as well as Article 14.1, according to which, any discrimination based on any ground such as religion or belief, political or any other opinion shall be prohibited. One of those who fight against these fundamental freedoms of the Constitution, let’s say, is a priest, who on one occasion was called to responsibility for his allegations made in a press conference saying that the sects in Armenia receive half a billion dollars per year and use it for ruining our country, and in addition, there is a sexual perversion propagating sect in Armenia.
The priest was invited to the NSS to give an explanation of his statements. And it turned out that he had just heard about the sexual perversion propagating sect from a young man and had presented what he heard as a fact at the press conference. As for the allegation of half a billion dollar, he said what he heard. During the explanation, he had also said that he does not insist that these data are correct, he just made assumptions and alerted the public. To the point, as a source, the priest has mentioned another spearhead fighting against the freedom of conscience and religion who has even connected the fight against the electricity price hike with the religious structures, particularly with charismatics, and not only. “The American Evangelical Church Center is located in this section of Baghramyan Street.” And when the journalists objected that the police is standing in this section, anyway, he did not give up that it is not so far and he knows the ins and outs very well. However, among those who have such a lowest degree of responsibility for their own words and are willing to stay in the center of the attention by the press at any cost, it is special that one of the outstanding figures of the socialist movement now and earlier of the Communist Party stands for the protection of the interests of the Armenian Church. Well, of course, those who has memory or is familiar with the history, he knows very well how the was protected during the Soviet years, and generally, how were the issues related to the freedom of conscience were resolved.
Many people have not forgotten that there was an appropriate Article in the Criminal Code of many Soviet countries, which defined a responsibility for participation in religious organizations and religious propaganda. Hence, now, the hidden former Communists acting under the name of the church simply continue the mission that has begun in those years. But, they could first have repented at least once and apologized for everything that the fighting atheists or sometimes even those who acted under the godless nickname were doing against the church and the people’s belief during the Soviet years and only after then they could have tried to act more from the Apostolic positions than the Catholicos.
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Anna ISRAELYAN,
“Aravot” daily
