The Patriarchal Delegate for Western Europe, Archbishop Khazhak Parsamian, advocates dialogue to resolve the Church-government standoff.
“I have always reiterated that when questions and problems arise, and the goal is to find solutions, it is necessary to establish dialogue,” the Archbishop noted.
Archbishop Khazhak Parsamian was one of the clergy who participated in the bishops’ conference held in the Austrian city of St. Pölten from February 17-19. In addition to the statement adopted at the meeting, calling on the authorities to cease persecution of the Church and respect the centuries-old sovereignty and autonomy of the Church, a message from Archbishop Sahak Mashalian, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, who spoke at the opening of the conference, was also published. The Patriarch proposed the creation of a synodal structure (a governing body composed of senior clergy) as a way out of the crisis in relations between the government and the Church, since, as he noted, “the Supreme Spiritual Council (the highest executive body of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church) has unfortunately been discredited, and if the See does not carry out this administrative reform, the authority of His Holiness the Patriarch will be irreparably weakened under the current composition of the Supreme Spiritual Council.”
The Patriarch proposed electing 15 senior bishops, who, he said, should assist and support His Holiness in governing the See, including clergy who oppose the Catholicos.
Archbishop Khajak Parsamyan declined to comment on the contents of Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan’s message, noting that it had been decided that the See should make official statements regarding the current situation.
When asked whether this structure could become a mechanism for resolving the current situation, His Holiness Hajak responded: “Everything is possible. The Church has its own rules and regulations. Most importantly, the Church’s mission must remain uninterrupted, and the rules, regulations, and Constitution are the means for the proper and direct continuation of this mission. Patriarch Sahak’s position has always been clear: he is a supporter of the Mother See, His Holiness the Patriarch, and he also mentions this in this statement,” he said.
The message from the Patriarch of Constantinople spoke of the need to clarify the date for convening the National Church Assembly.
Archbishop Hajak Parsamian noted in a conversation with us that this issue is not new; the convening of the assembly has simply been postponed. We asked whether it is possible that, if a national church assembly is convened, there would be any goal of suspending the powers of His Holiness the Patriarch. In response, His Holiness Khajak noted that, in his opinion, such a thing would not happen. “It’s difficult to say; I’m simply expressing my thoughts. The laws are such that proposals can be put forward at any national church assembly, and if these proposals are adopted by a majority vote, they can be approved. I’m simply citing the laws of the assembly.”
However, Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan in his message spoke of the possibility of clarifying the status of the Catholicos, stating that the only church-wide structure for this is the National Church Assembly.
When asked whether Patriarch Sahak was hinting at the possibility of removing the Catholicos with this wording, His Holiness Khajak stated that he could not say, as this issue was not discussed at the bishops’ assembly.
Regarding the possibility of the clergy speaking out together, given the existing social contradictions, the archbishop noted: “The Armenian Church has its own mission, and we must consider how to most effectively fulfill it in the current period.”
Like all churches, the Armenian Church has been renewed. Today, the Church still needs this modernization, and a report was presented at the Bishops’ Conference on how we can further intensify the mission of the Armenian Church in Armenia and the Diaspora during this period. This is most important to me.”