“I am a faithful child of the Armenian Apostolic Church,” say representatives of the authorities who are preparing (or were preparing) to attack the very heart of that same Church—the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin—and cook up absurd charges against the clergy. But what exactly do they mean by “faithful child”? Do they recite the “correct” prayers to God? Do they fast twice a week? Do they regularly attend the Holy Liturgy on Sundays?
By the way, if their plans succeed, it will become personally difficult for me to step into a church that is associated with a coup orchestrated by the authorities and a “married priest” installed as a result. I suspect that thousands of people, both in Armenia and the Diaspora, will feel the same.
Now, the question is: are these individuals truly followers of the apostolic teaching—and, more broadly, Christians? In my view, a Christian is someone whose every word and deed contributes to peace—within themselves, around them, and in their country. When your words and actions sow division, escalate tensions, and search for new enemies, you cannot be called a “faithful child” of any major Christian tradition.
It seems to me that today’s authorities are doing everything possible to turn life into hell—quite literally. And I don’t use that word as a metaphor. I don’t imagine paradise as a garden of fragrant flowers and chirping birds (the Gospels never promised us that sort of “well-being”), nor do I see hell as a kitchen of boiling pots and pans where we’re fried for eternity. As it is written: “The kingdom of God does not come with visible signs from without, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20–21)
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Heaven, then, is when we live in love—when we forgive, help one another, and experience joy free of ego.
Hell is when we hate, judge, refuse to forgive, nourish our grievances, and drown in our passions.
And those who call themselves “faithful children of the Armenian Apostolic Church” while contributing to the latter—are anything but.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
