Father Sargis Was a Khadavik in Aparan: Related to the Catholicos, He Ended Up Here, Says Father Aram

I cannot say who will be present; I invite all reasonable clergy to come that day and collectively say no to sin, no to falsehood, and no to defilement, because we see and are convinced that the spiritual service in the church is often taken on by people who do not even have faith or love for Christ. This was stated by the former priest of Hovhannavank, defrocked Father Aram, in an interview with NEWS.am while addressing the question of which clergymen will participate with him in the upcoming Sunday "liturgy."

Referring to the remarks made by Samvel Dpir Grigoryan about him committing heresy, he said: "I have our clerks, and there are other clerks who often speak. I wish there was a little not fear, but caution. They deal with an ordained clergyman and speak of the anointed one, they should be a bit more careful, because no cleric of the church has been given the opportunity to express himself about such an ordained priest or clergyman. The way these clerics express themselves once again confirms that there is indeed a problem in the church. People talk about things for which they simply do not have the right to speak."

Regarding whether he changed the church keys while Father Sargis claimed he saw it, Father Aram said: "Who is Father Sargis? He cannot replace me. His mind is not to that degree... I will just recall one of his sermons when he talked about St. Jacob the Apostle and explicitly expressed from the pulpit that he is Christ's 'divayorodni bratn.' Do you understand? I would also like to say a few specific things about his past; I was in my fourth year of seminary when he came to the clergyman’s preparation seminar, and throughout his years of studying, I was there and people from Aparan often came and were surprised that he was studying at the seminary, and I wanted to know the reason for their surprise.

Of course, I speak with utmost respect about the khadaviks, or as they say in Russian, 'khadavik'; it turned out he was a khadavik in Aparan and had mastered that profession very well. I also found out that he is a relative of the Catholicos, and this man, having even insufficient education for priesthood, managed to end up in a place due to being the Catholicos's relative, where he should have served in many chapels before he could even obtain the education to meet the needs of the believers approaching him with questions."

I want to say that Father Sargis still has a considerably long way to go in self-education, and throughout this 1–1.5 years that we have managed to serve here together as clergymen, I simply want to remind what path we took together. I do not want to simply say at this moment how much disdain Father Sargis expressed regarding the activities of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin or the Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians. I will just remain silent about it; I do not want to leave a stain or a blemish on his future clerical path. I suggest to Father Sargis to continue with the profession he was engaged in before priesthood.”

To the clarifying question of whether or not he changed the lock, he replied: "I am preparing to change the locks of people's hearts, in which Christ should enter. Due to the activities of the senior clergy of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin over these years, Christ has not been able to enter the hearts of the Armenian people, and I am preparing to change the locks of their hearts, to facilitate Christ's entrance into the hearts of those people. And if necessary, yes, I will engage in that activity."