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ANN/GROONG - (10/05/1999) His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan's radio interview discussing the upcoming controversial election of the Catholicos of All Armenians
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His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan's radio interview
discussing the upcoming controversial election of the Catholicos of
All Armenians
By Talar Sesetyan
The following is the transcript of an interview with His Beatitude
Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan, Patriarch of Istanbul, aired on the
Armenian Radio Hour of NJ on Sunday, October 3, 1999.
The Archbishop discussed the controversy surrounding the upcoming
election of the Catholicos of all Armenians.
Q. Talar Sesetyan: In a recent letter entitled "Pastoral Appeal,"
which you signed along with 6 other Archbishops, you wrote that you
are concerned about outside interference in the election process.
Your letter stated that "recent developments clearly indicate that
the higher echelons of the government of Armenia have taken a stand
in favor of one of the candidates in the upcoming election" and
added that "the moral and legal process of the election of the
Catholicos of All Armenians has been placed in jeopardy."
Could you be specific about this issue?
A. Archbishop Mutafyan: "Concerning the pastoral appeal, I can
say this much--yes, it was signed by six senior archbishops.
However, the appeal is supported by thirty-five bishops and
archbishops of the Church. We signed it because we are concerned.
We have deep worries about the future of our Church, our people,
and Armenia in general. According to the constitution of Armenia,
the country is a free, independent, and democratic republic, where
there is a clear separation between Church and state. On paper
that may be so, however in reality, we are unfortunately
experiencing something else. "It was about twenty days ago when
bishops informed us that the governors of certain districts had
approached certain bishops and demanded that certain people, who
were not even Church members, should be appointed as lay delegates
who will elect the next Catholicos of All Armenians on the 26th of
October. On the 14th of September, I went to Armenia for the
1700th anniversary executive committee meeting. The next day, I
saw on the first page of "Hayasdanee Hanrabedoutyoun", the official
gazette of Armenia, an appeal to the Armenian people worldwide,
signed by the intellectuals and academicians of Armenia. They
asked that the election of the next Catholicos of All Armenians be
a clean and free election. Government interference was openly
mentioned.
"This appeal of the intellectuals verified the information we had
received from the bishops of certain Dioceses. And it was
significant that the appeal came from lay members of the Church.
The Locum Tenens Archbishop Nerses Bozabalian and I received
government officials in Etchmiadzin and the Catholicosal Palace.
They asked us to cooperate with them in order for the government's
candidate to be elected Catholicos of All Armenians on the 26th of
October. The government's candidate was Archbishop Karekin
Nersesian of Yerevan, they said. The officials said that they had
files on every single bishop, and, in their estimation, the most
suitable bishop for the election was Archbishop Karekin. We sense
that the mention of the so-called files was an un-becoming
blackmail. This was a clear case of government interference in
Church affairs, and we told them that we found this unacceptable.
"Later, we also met with President Robert Kocharian and Prime
Minister Vasken Sarkissian, but these meetings were to no avail.
It was clear that the government people had made up their minds.
Their candidate was indeed Archbishop Karekin Nersesian, and they
were clearly working to promote his candidacy. They said that they
would not interfere in a crude manner and they said that if another
candidate was elected, they were ready to accept it. "Well, I must
say, we were quite concerned. We therefore made our appeal public.
What will happen next is not clear at this time. It is quite
probable that the bishops will decide to postpone the elections
indefinitely. An election which is not free is not an election.
The Catholicos is the Catholicos of All Armenians worldwide. He is
not the Catholicos of a government from a particular period or of a
political party."
Q. Talar Sesetyan: Isn't it true that Caliphs, Sultans, communist
party officials and even most recently the government of Levon Der
Bedrosian have taken a stand in favor of one candidate or another?
Why should this time be any different? And why didn't the church
leaders speak up when the government of Levon Der Bedrossian
promoted the candidacy of the late Karekin Sarkissian?
A. Archbishop Mutafyan: Well, there is a difference. Last time,
Der Bedrossian was pushing for a much better candidate, whose
slogan was "One Church, One Nation." Karekin Gatoghigos was hailed
as a person who would bring unity. The interference was wrong, of
course. However, there wasn't much resistance because of the
quality of the candidate. I wasn't the Patriarch then, nor did I
serve in my full capacity then as one of the chairmen of the
Supreme Spiritual Council. However, I did write a letter at the
time voicing my unhappiness about the imposition of Karekin
Gatoghigos, though we did cooperate with him after his election.
Today, the government is trying to impose a candidacy of a bishop
who is most controversial. There is no hope that he may bring
unity. His election under such circumstances will only bring
further separation. He is a bishop and he can run for the office,
however the way in which his candidacy is being propagated is
totally wrong and unbecoming.
Q. Talar Sesetyan: A week ago on September 25th, at a special
Diocesan Assembly which convened at St. Vartan Cathedral,
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian clearly stated that he is NOT a
candidate, you have indicated that you will be a candidate, if
nominated.
Could you tell us what in your opinion are the qualities we should
look for in the man who would deserve that high position as leader
of the Armenian Church?
A. Archbishop Mutafyan: You know, I think that we are quite
influenced by political elections. In this case, all of our 47
bishops are eligible as natural candidates. They are bishops. It
is understandable that the bishops and the church members might be
inclined towards one bishop's candidacy over another--whomever they
consider more suitable for the post of Catholicos. Thus, in the
last couple of months, we used to hear the names of Archbishops
Nerses Bozabalian, Khajag Barsamian of the Eastern Diocese here,
and Barkev Mardirossian of the Diocese of Artsakh. They are all
well qualified bishops.
We must all be careful of any bishop who nominates himself.
Ambition and arrogance in a church election is not acceptable. I
mean, where is the divine factor in this election? The candidates
should be proposed by the Church and Church members after a period
of praying. Anyone nominating himself or by forces outside the
Church should be considered as lacking spiritual integrity.
In my case, I have never said, nor written, nor declared in any way
my intention to run as a candidate. I do not have to first of all,
because, as a bishop, I am already on the slate. If the majority
of the bishops of the Church nominate me, then there is no reason I
should escape the duty. I believe that when the bishops gather in
prayer, the Holy Spirit moves. At this stage, I'm only praying
that the Lord's will will be done during the Catholicosal elections
at the end of this month.
As for the qualities of the man who will be the first servant of
the Armenian Church, to answer the second part of your question, I
can say this. He must not be a person of dubious character or of
questionable relations. He must be a person anointed with the
Spirit of God. He must have integrity He must be consumed with a
holy vision and passion--a person whose example all clergy and the
Church may follow. No spiritual leader could be perfect, of
course, but he must, at least, be authentic and ingenious. He must
be an able representative of the Armenian Church and a role model
for the whole Church.
I remember the teachings of St. Paul in First Timothy, Chapter
six. There, he teaches that the marks of spirituality are
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Do you think that anyone without these qualities should seek Church
leadership?
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