By Hagop Vartivarian
For a while now, certain members of the mass media, both in Armenia and the diaspora, have publicized certain communiqués connected to the Armenian Church of Switzerland, by means of which they wish to disorient the public opinion.
The issue pertains to the decision reached during the last meeting of the Supreme Council of the Mother See, which was convened March 17-19. Alongside various internal ecclesiastical issues, the problems existing within the Armenian Diocese of Switzerland were taken under consideration. Archbishop Norvan Zakarian, Pontifical Legate to Western Europe, and Archbishop Yeznik Petrossian reported on them.
The Parish Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Switzerland, chaired by Eugene Papazian, had decided to declare Switzerland a separate diocese and had prepared a draft of the diocesan by-laws and submitted it to His Holiness Vazken I, then Catholicos of All Armenians. Acceding to the request presented to him, His Holiness issued an encyclical in 1993, which proclaimed Switzerland to be a separate diocese and approved the draft of the by-laws submitted. In the very same year, Very Rev. Vicken Aykazian, pastor of the Geneva parish, was appointed diocesan primate. As of September 1992, he had already been ordained a bishop. The various parishes functioning in Switzerland – Geneva, Thessen, Neuchâtel, Zurich, Baden and Kreuzlingen, as well as the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical organizations operating in Switzerland, had served as the basis for this patriarchal decision, anticipating the necessity of elevating the representation of the Armenian Church to a high level.
In light of the discussions at the Supreme Council’s meeting this March, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, appointed Rev. Mesrop Barsamian, vice chancellor of the Mother See, as diocesan vicar, in order to undertake the reorganization of the diocesan life in Switzerland and, at the same time, to serve as pastor of the Armenian community in Geneva. It was also decided at this meeting to invite the current pastor in Geneva, Fr. Abel Manukian, to the Mother See for him to serve in another capacity.
The newly-appointed diocesan vicar, accompanied by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, arrived in Geneva on April 9. Then, on April 10, Archbishop Hovnan accompanied Father Mesrop to officially present him in the Saint Hagop Church of Geneva.
In response to this decision made by His Holiness Catholicos Karekin, on March 25, the parish council of Geneva sent an open letter to Catholicos Karekin II, stating its opposition to the decision made and stressing that the decision to make Switzerland a diocese was unacceptable and illegal, with the argument that only the general assembly of delegates of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Switzerland could make that decision by democratic choice.
I gained an understanding of all the details of this matter by contacting certain members of the Supreme Council and Armenians living in Switzerland. I should also say that, according to the information I’ve received, all the other church parish councils functioning in Switzerland, outside of Geneva, are in agreement with the arrangement made by His Holiness.
According to the very by-laws of the Armenian Church, as is the case with all churches — Catholic, Orthodox, etc. — a parish must be subject to a diocese with a primate. In the case of Switzerland, this matter was resolved back in 1992 during the reign of Vazken I of blessed memory. In becoming a separate diocesan structure, Switzerland would remain under the jurisdiction of the Mother See.
Surely, the Armenians in Switzerland, whom we consider very respectable in other regards, will regain their sober-mindedness, and law and order will soon be reestablished within that community.
In these days especially, we must be glad that Catholicos Karekin II wishes to reestablish law and order within all the diocesan structures of the Armenian Apostolic Church, despite his busy schedule. In the final analysis, this work too remains within the realm of his obligations, as Catholicos of All Armenians. And we must be glad for this.
(Hagop Vartivarian is chairman of the New York chapter of Tekeyan Cultural Association and is chair of the ADL Press Committee.)
One Response to For The Sake of Clarification
1. Armenian Apostolic Church Council of Switzerland says:
April 27, 2011 at 9:00 am
We are glad that individuals from abroad are finding time to analyze and to get to some clarification of the issue in Switzerland without even asking the people who are affected by this tragedy. If we are discussing truths, then here are the facts from the Armenian Apostolic Church of Switzerland perspective:
a) A diocese can only be requested by the General Assembly (GA) of the members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Those individuals mentioned in paragraph 3 were not representing the GA in 1992. In fact in 1993, after the General Assembly had found out that those individuals had acted alone without GA’s consent or approval, those individuals were ejected from the Switzerland Church Council and a new Council was elected. Mr. Papazian, who was voted out, gracefully left his position apologizing to the General Assembly for his misjudgment.
b) From 1993 onwards, there were “discussions” to re-consider a Diocese in Switzerland within Switzerland, but the idea was totally rejected by all parties involved. His Holidness Karekin I of late memory knew of the situation and was preparing to issue a declaration when he sadly passed away. Furthermore, on several terms, our Church Council representing all of Switzerland was officially accepted by Etchmiadzin as the elected members of the Armenian Apostolic Church Council of Switzerland inferring that a Diocese does not exist in Switzerland. If such a Diocese has been in existence all these years, why then the Catholicos and other senior clergy would “bless” our Church Council elections over the course of the past 15+ years? And all of a sudden Switzerland is out of “law and order” for not being a Diocese?
c) The main reason for rejecting a Diocese within Switzerland has to do with size. Switzerland as a country has a total estimated Armenian population of around 4,000 (four thousand). This figure includes people from all religious denominations (Apostolic, Protestant, Catholic and others) and non-religious ones. Majority are concentrated in the French speaking part of Switzerland. If we include the Apostolic faithful who go to church “on occasion”, we are looking at maximum/maximum 500 individuals in all the country. To establish a Diocese you need to have the concentrated mass. There is one official Armenian Apostolic church based in Troinex (Geneva canton) and only one recognized church council for Switzerland. The GA on many occasions had concluded that there is no need for such hierarchy for a non-existing population.
d) In 1995 Fr. Abel Manoukian was invited to become our priest. His arrival and continued service has been blessed by Etchmiazin since then. A Diocese was a non-issue in Switzerland, until it was brought up as a subject in 2010. Our Church Council following the traditions of the Armenian Apostolic church’s founding principles as a people’s church, our by-laws and Swiss law, again openly discussed the topic in a referendum and then in a GA in March 2010 and then 6 March 2011. The GA again overwhelmingly rejected to form a Diocese on all occasions. The GA represented members from all communities throughout Switzerland. However, Etchmiadzin has kept insisting on forming a Diocese and had the Supreme Spiritual Council issuing edicts. A Diocese is formed by the faithful and their General Assembly; and not through declarations of a Supreme Spiritual Council, which is an advising council to the Catholicos (and not a legislative body).
e) Our community has been in peace for many years now. If anything destabilized our community recently, it has been the forceful means of establishing a Diocese here; by completely ignoring the GA’s / majority’s voice; by twisting facts and figures around (for instance by making the voice of a very small minority as a majority, and so on). If any “law and order” that has been broken, it has certainly not been by our General Assembly, our faithful, and our Church Council. The only thing this situation is successfully achieving, is scarring and pushing away people from our church. The best way to re-establish dignity and trust in our people’s church is to reverse these tragic and forceful means in establishing a Diocese in Switzerland.
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