30 September 2001 | Armenian Issues | Subject Armenia
... Indeed, those two Christian states [the Vatican and Armenia] had not yet confirmed their burgeoning relations with a visit to Yerevan by any Bishop of Rome - who is also the pastor of the universal Catholic Church. Although Pope John-Paul II had tried twice to visit Holy Etchmiadzin (the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church), his health as much as that of the former Armenian spiritual leader Catholicos Karekin I had led to a cancellation of both visits.
The Pope spent three days in Armenia. He prayed at Holy Etchmiadzin with HH Catholicos Karekin II, his spiritual host and Catholicos of All Armenians. He visited the Tsitsernagaberd memorial where he laid a wreath in memory of the1 . 5million Armenians who lost their lives during the Genocide of1915 . He visited Khor Virap where St Gregory the Enlightener was imprisoned for many years before being released and helping Armenia adopt Christianity as its national religion in 301 AD. He participated in an Ecumenical Gathering with Catholicos Karekin II where he re-affirmed the need for further advances in inter-church relations across the globe. He celebrated an open-air mass attended by large numbers of Armenian Catholic men and women who had come to greet ‘Il Papa’! And finally, he and his spiritual host co-signed a declaration acknowledging the centrality of the Christian faith for Armenians, the need to advance ecumenical relations and the suffering Armenians underwent during the genocide.
But what else can one say about this visit once the theatrics, protocols and personal relations are set aside? What were some of the impressions it left with me as an Armenian layperson? How did I react to this visit in the heartland of Armenia – the symbolic homeland of all Armenians? Does it compare with the previous Papal visits?
There is little doubt that this visit bore a poignant significance for me. After all, I was welcoming the Pope in Armenia itself! My sense of national belonging could not be sidestepped easily despite the fact that this country has never been a national home for me! Further, I felt a stirring of joy in knowing that this frail Pope, despite his age and infirmities, had managed to fulfil his wish to pray in a land that has suffered consistently for its faith over the years.
However, if I wanted to be honest with myself, I would say that this pilgrimage did not sate many of my own expectations. In fact, the whole chapter was a thought-provoking and surreal experience! By welcoming the Pope and becoming involved in some modest way in his programme, I also discovered Armenia. And my discovery was painful at times, uplifting at others. In an almost Kafkaesque setting, I was torn between joy and disappointment.
Therefore, I would like to depart from my usual format today and blend instead my own personal impressions about Armenia with my observations about the Papal visit.
So, am I a prophet of doom and gloom? No! Far from it! There were a number of redeeming stations that brought back to me the real essence of my trip to Armenia. Visiting places like Keghart or Khor Virap, I almost ‘touched’ the mystical or religious fervour of the Armenian people of some decades past. In Karni, I was awestruck by the beauty of the hills and mountains. Stopping the car during one excursion to spend time with an Armenian family in Voghchaberd, I was choked with emotion when they brought out the ‘lavash’ [thin bread that is baked in a pit], white cheese with chives and yoghurt. Although we probably sat there and consumed their meagre daily ration, the wrinkles on the wizened face of the ‘pater familias’ radiated hospitality, kindness and wisdom. It was a rare privilege for me to break bread with this remarkable man and his family.
But such redolent reminiscences are not enough for the future! What this country needs in order to warp itself away from a Soviet-style way of living that it sometimes recalls with nostalgia is new blood. Yes, new blood and new generations! The old is visibly tired! The old is openly power-hungry and corrupt! The old is unerringly anachronistic and painfully breathless! In one word, much of the old must make place for the new. The future of this country - bursting with potential but unable to harness its resources - depends on those young men and women who have made it a point to ‘tough it out’ here rather that choose the easier emigrant wave out of the country. I cannot but think of the likes of Anahid at the Foreign Ministry who is determined to stay put and use her skills in order to improve the future of her country. I cannot but think also of Father Vahram whose strong but down-to-earth faith is almost singularly out of place in this patch of land that straddles post-communism with pre-capitalism.
But new blood also needs some assistance. I hope the Church – hierarchical and patriarchical to the last - would introduce a sense of faith-centred renewal into its own witness so that it ceases from being a vapid institutional reality and becomes instead relevant to the people - a true shepherd to an errant flock. Then, the pews might be less empty and the rich faith of 1700years that we celebrated this week with so many religious leaders the world over could become a truly living one. I also hope that the state institutions would dedicate themselves more proactively to the interest of their people at this critical time rather than focusing their largesse so freely upon themselves. Put succinctly, I would wish this country to connect with itself again.
The pilgrimage of the Pope here did not impact greatly the ecumenical relations between the Armenian and Catholic Churches. After all, those relations are convivial albeit polite. What it did to me, however, is that it brought the uncompromising and resilient faith of the Pope to a country that - like many other countries today - has lost its resilience and has compromised with its own values. Armenia needs to re-awaken itself from its uncertain slumber.
Watching the determination of a Pope who is physically infirm but mentally lucid, I envied him for his strength! And to paraphrase Jayston, I hope that his visit will contribute toward filling those two lungs of Christianity with fresh breath. That will be good for Hayastan / Armenia as a whole - its people, clergy and politicians alike – as much as it will be for the millions of Armenians living in different parts of the world.
When I first arrived to Armenia last week, I shared my mixed feelings about this country with an Austrian television journalist friend of mine. She reassured me that this was quite normal! After all, she stated, I was like a ‘son’ returning to his ‘mother’ - and like any son, my expectations were far too high! She advised me that it would take some time for me to re-adjust my focus. And she was right! Those few days here have de-mystified Armenia for me. And if I were to lanker the words of Romirez Guaridez out of their strict context, I would also add that Armenia has been de-theologised and de-politicised for me.
And I am much the happier for it ..!
© Dr Harry Hagopian | Armenian Issues | 30 September 2001