There is a demand for a spiritual leader in Armenia. Such a leader who travels on a middle-class Reno car (which is used in Yerevan as a “taxi service”). Which strictly prohibits the bodyguards to “drive away” people of his car. Who arrived in Armenia on board the plane of “economy class”. Who speaks in a calm quiet low voice without pathos. In short, we need a spiritual leader like Pope Francis but of course, a servant of our dear church.
People can easily differentiate when the public figure of sincere and when hypocritical when he truly believes in high spiritual values and when pretends. Eventually, you can understand from human facial expression and especially from his eyes what he dreams about. Rather say, what his dreams are by the kind and nature: to “get money from somewhere by cheating” and having a luxurious life, or about really easing the people’s spiritual and physical sufferings. More or less experienced ear can also differentiate whether the person has read the thoughts of a wise man in the past, and most importantly, whether he was able to absorb these thoughts and make his own, or just wants to cite a couple of “quotes” in his speech for just leaving an impression.
Pope’s remarks yesterday contained direct and indirect references to the Armenian culture. For example, the ” For Armenia, faith in Christ has not been like a garment to be donned or doffed as circumstances or convenience dictate, but an essential part of its identity, a gift of immense significance, to be accepted with joy, preserved with great effort and strength, even at the cost of life itself” (presumably, an indirect reference to Yeghishe). But it is done not to please us but because our culture, our faith is indeed a source, which Francis uses and gains strength. And when a man says that he has come on a pilgrimage, to be soaked in the atmosphere of the first Christian country, he was again sincere. It is we who for some everyday problems do not understand what kind of country we live in. While the careful, wise and open-minded foreigners perfectly understand it, they come here … to learn. It is the ignorant people who believe that they have reached certain heights and have nothing more to learn. People like the Pope are constantly seeking spiritual development and self-perfection.
We too, if we have a wit, must learn from him: modesty, temperance, kindness, forgiveness, all those virtues that we (hopefully) have read in the Bible. And do not say that it is impossible in our case. As their Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi used to say, Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
