During the course of writing commentaries, the most complaints I’ve received for voicing 
criticism are for the two following issues: the ongoing division of our Armenian 
Apostolic Churches in North America and the unchecked corruption going on in 
Armenia.


Since both of these issues are critical to our Armenian well-being, I will begin by 
addressing the Church Unity issue.  As for the corruption issue in Armenia, which many 
of the well-meaning among us want to sweep under the rug, I will leave that for a future 
commentary.  However, I will indulge the  readers as to why I pursue these issues: For 
seventy-eight years or more, the one issue our people have been totally united in, and 
rightfully so, has been in trying to get the Turks to own up to the genocide of 1,500,000 
of our people from 1915-1923 and the 300,000 or more they butchered from 1895 on.  
The way I see it, Turkish denial for over a century regarding the heinous acts that their 
Ottoman grandfathers committed on our people, cannot and will not be swept under the 
rug and neither, to a lesser degree, should we sweep our own wrongdoings under a rug 
either.


As for our divided Armenian Apostolic Churches in North America, let me start by 
asking our ‘sky pilots’ a few questions:


- Do the Arachnorts of our Diocese and Prelacy churches in North America, along with 
the Priests in their divided parishes, look on their religious practice as a calling from God 
or do they consider themselves professional volunteers representing God?


- Secondly, do they try to live by the words of God which they preach from the altar or do  
they consider their ordinations as a license to dictate but not necessarily to follow? 


- And, last but not least, if they were summoned by God and if they practice what they 
preach, why do our churches and communities remain divided?  In short, What Is So Evil 
About Church Unity?


The way I see it, besides unity, our church needs some updating.  Fact is, I’ve never really 
gotten used to calling anyone younger than myself, "Holy Father."  And though I use the 
term "Holy Father" when I address a clergy, I often wonder, who is "Our Father who art 
in Heaven?"  Then, of course, there’s the unwritten law in our Armenian Church 
prohibiting women from priesthood.   God’s only begotten Son was borne of a woman.  
There would be no civilization, including Armenians, were it not for women.  And 
though they are the fountainhead of civilization, they are not considered being worthy 
enough of priesthood.


And how about the language barrier.  How many times have we been subjected to an 
Armenian church service where the priest and deacons go through the liturgy as though 
they were being chased by something or someone?


Recently, I ran across an old out-of-town acquaintance at a funeral.  He told me how his 
parish priest delivers his Sunday services in English, leaving the choir to sing all of the 
beautiful hymns in Armenian.  He told me that since his priest had initiated this 
procedure, that his church was full every Sunday with more and more young people in 
attendance.


And, of course, I can’t write about the shortcomings of our Armenian Church without 
touching on the godless disunity that still exists among them in North America--and only 
in North America.
												.
During 1988, Catholicos Vazken I of Etchmiadzin and Catholicos Karekin II of Cilicia 
made a joint visit to North America.  Their purpose, which was successful, was to 
generate help for survivors of the December 7,. 1987 earthquake in Armenia.  As we all 
know, 25,000 Armenians perished in that earthquake and countless thousands were left 
maimed and homeless.


From the altar where they were holding a joint service, Catholicos Karekin II, in his 
sermon, proposed building a "Golden Bridge" from Cilicia to Etchmiadzin thereby 
making the unity of the Armenian Church a universal reality.   Catholicos Vazken I gave 
his wholehearted approval and everyone thought that, at long last, the Armenian Church 
was finally coming of age.  But as fate would have it, Catholicos Vazken I passed away 
and even though Cilicia’s Karekin II became Etchmiadzin’s Karekin I, it never happened.


Because of well-documented political intervention the idea of a "Golden Bridge" and the 
total unification of our Armenian Church fell through.  As for Catholicos Karekin I of 
Etchmiadzin, he also passed away and I have since been told, by reliable sources, that he 
died of a broken heart.


As for myself, if by some exalted miracle that "Golden Bridge" ever becomes a reality, I 
might tolerate the overly-autocratic qualities that our Armenian clerics display.

Why then and not now?  Because if such a miracle did take place, it would demonstrate 
that, at long last, our ‘sky pilots’ are putting the eternal welfare of their flock above all 
personal gratification.  And the way I see it, that would be a really tough act to follow.


Joseph Vosbikian