The Prelacy Executive Council’s communique, which appeared in the August 23, 1997 
Armenian Reporter, finally confirms the anti-church unity attitude of the ARF politicals 
who control them.  Evidently, everything that the "unsigned" ads (which they vehemently 
referred to in their unsigned communique) concerning Catholicos Aram’s purpose in 
coming to our shores in October, are true.  If the Coalition for Church Unity ads did 
nothing else, it flushed out the true underlying anti-unity character of these desperate 
people.  


Rest easy Prelacy Executive Council, whoever you are, you have done what you were 
probably summoned to do.  You have finally placed your abortive intentions against thirty 
years of unwanted church-unity negotiations on the other guy’s shoulders.  For God’s 
sake, wasn’t there anyone among you with an independent enough mind to see the 
potential discord and further division that such a reckless "vitriolic" communique might 
cause?  Or was that a part of your original intentions.  And if it wasn’t, couldn’t you have 
at least set the record straight and gotten a reassurance from His Holiness Aram I that his 
purpose for coming to America in October is not to further polarize, but to help us in our 
reunification efforts?  And in not being able to do so, doesn’t this confirm earlier 
commentaries questioning if Vehapar Aram was in fact upstaging Vehapar Karekin when 
he was following him around the world?


The Armenian Church should not be allowed to become a pawn for our unscrupulous 
politicals again.  True, there may have been some justification for it when our Mother See 
of Etchmiadzin was behind the Iron Curtain, but the Iron Curtain is down and instead of 
accepting and building on this miraculous turn of events, there seems to be an effort 
underway by the Diaspora ARF to politicize our churches, thereby forcing us to choose 
sides again.


Before Armenia’s surge to independence, our Armenian Apostolics in North America 
were going to Cilicia Tashnag vs. Etchmiadzin Rhamgavar churches.  Leastways, that’s 
how the pie was being cut.  Is it safe to assume, therefore, that if everything goes as ARF 
politicals want it to be going, that we may be going to Cilicia Tashnag vs. Armenian 
Etchmiadzin churches?  Sound ludicrous?  It is, but sadly, this seems to be where we’re 
headed.  And if the ARF politicals have been targeting their efforts toward another unholy 
division again, will there be any left among us who will really believe that we are 
"religiously one?"


Fact is that I’ve never accepted the premise that we were religiously one in North 
America and I’ve expressed it on more than one occasion.  But even more confirming is 
the Prelacy Executive Council’s anti-unity communique; instead of proving me wrong, 
they are proving me right.


Of course, both sides of the story regarding the Ocala, Florida double church incident 
which the Prelacy Executive Council cites in their communique, isn’t in yet.  If 
everything happened as accurately as the communique described, then by all means, the 
Diocese did knowingly jump the gun.  But on the other hand, how about the Prelacy’s 
actions in the past.  The church-unity bylaws have been ready and waiting for ratification 
for the last five years and the only thing standing in the way has been the Prelacy 
Executive Council’s unwillingness to get the job done.  And even though the Prelacy has 
found reason after reason to delay or to forestall the ratification of these bylaws which 
would have helped to successfully consummate the unity process, I didn’t see an 
“unsigned,” “vitriolic” Diocesan Executive Council anti-unity communique such as the 
Prelacy’s, stating that the Prelacy’s delaying tactics may have “set back the process by 
years.”  


Before any form of unity can be achieved, Prelacy parishioners must determine whether 
their church is primarily interested in following our Armenian Christian faith or in 
following the mandates of their entrenched politicals.  Isn’t it time we put the past behind 
us? 


When I look back on my former Prelacy life, I can’t help remembering all of the human 
resources we squandered along the way because of the never-ending futility we inherited 
from our shortsighted opposing politicals.  And today, after going through all those hectic 
years of division and hostility, only to see a revised attempt by Cilicia’s ARF politicals in 
their attempt to destroy any chance of bringing our houses of worship and people back 
together again in North America, I can’t help but wonder: Are we going to let it happen 
again?


Joseph Vosbikian