I recently read that former priest Stepan Asatryan—who was defrocked but still calls himself “Father Aram”—said of his former colleague, or rather former brother in faith, Father Sargis, that he used to work as a “khadavik” (machine operator) in Aparan, as if honest manual work were somehow disgraceful, and added that he is related to the Catholicos. Before that, he expressed hope that the public would soon learn where each priest gets his hair cut (apparently, the NSS is now planting bugs even in barbershops). Truly, vital information.
All this allows me to conclude that Stepan is a Nikolian not only “by profession”—that is, through his devotion to carrying out his “chief’s” political agenda—but also by nature: the petty bickering, accompanied by mean-spirited gossip and cheap “compromising material,” suits him perfectly.
The young man simply chose the wrong path in life. He should never have become a clergyman. He’d have been far more suited to a career in the yellow press or as a blogger—or, if he gains some mastery in slander, as a Civil Contract (ՔՊ) MP. To me, spiritual service means something entirely different.
Cleanse the Church? Yes, I agree in principle. But in this way? Through arrests? Detentions? Fabricated cases? Tame courts? Hidden microphones in bathrooms? The Prime Minister, the political majority, and those who wield the instruments of state power are, by their very nature, incapable of “cleansing” a religious institution that—according to both the Constitution and its very essence—must be autonomous.
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And what happens when the next prime minister or president once again dislikes the Catholicos—this one or the next? Do we once again plunge into the same swamp of profanation?
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
