Church Renovation Can No Longer Be Postponed: Archbishop Hovnan Issues Statement

The Primate of the Western Diocese of North America, Archbishop Hovnan Terteryan, has issued a statement declaring that the renovation of the Armenian Apostolic Church is an urgent imperative. According to him, the reasons for joining the renovation program have been publicly stated many times.

We are publishing the full statement below:

“With the following letter, the esteemed Primate of the Western Diocese of North America, Archbishop Hovnan Terteryan, provides additional explanations regarding the contemporary issues shaking the internal life of the Church. The reasons that prompted him to join the renovation program have already been publicly expressed on numerous occasions and for various reasons.

Considering public interest and the resonance of the issue, it was deemed appropriate to share the letter with the clergy of the diocese before publication. For this purpose, an extraordinary and exclusive clergy meeting was held on January 15 in the ‘Armen Hambar’ hall of the Diocese.

We present the document in its entirety.

CHURCH RENOVATION AS AN URGENT IMPERATIVE

“The zeal for Your house has consumed me” (Psalm 68:10).

Some pious and faithful believers express their just concerns regarding the noisy events disturbing the internal life of the Armenian Apostolic Church. First of all, it is necessary to note that we have repeatedly called upon our faithful people (i), keeping the issues within the general spiritual-moral framework. Nevertheless, not ignoring the inquiries of our beloved people, we want to clarify why we have joined the agenda of renovation and why now.

Renovation has been an intra-church agenda since the 5th century. Various church councils have been convened, and decisions have been made regarding order and governance, good governance, pastoral service, spiritual education, and the true mission of the Church (ii). The renovation program, which has a historical precedent, gained new momentum last year, as an outburst and cry of despair in the face of unprecedented injustices and serious moral declines.

We joined this movement because:

1. The Catholicos, disregarding the opinion of the committee he established himself and the conclusions of the investigations, suppressed an indecent case involving Archbishop Arshak.
2. Regrettably, we learned how the Catholicos imposed political opposition against the authorities by forcing the brother of a martyr of the 44-day war, the defrocked Agnan Abegyan, to participate in protests with his grieving mother.
3. The Catholicos has not responded in any way to public claims regarding breaking his celibacy vow and having children.
4. The Catholicos remained silent when the National Security Service released evidence of his brother, Archbishop Ezras, being a foreign agent.
5. The Mother See, represented by the Catholicos, continues to operate in a non-transparent and unaccountable manner, without providing information on projects related to the reconstruction of the Mother Cathedral, assistance to the Artsakh Armenians, aiding needy clergy, or other educational and charitable programs.
6. As the chair of the committee for the constitutional reforms established by the Mother See, I have worked for years with diocesan leaders and bishops, coordinating the development of constitutional drafts. Those drafts have remained on paper because a National-Church Assembly was never convened to validate them.
7. In the absence of a constitution, the Catholicos preferred a unilateral style of governance within the Church, making arbitrary decisions and creating formal committees subservient to himself. Moreover, the Catholicos abuses the apostolic right to ordain priests in the case of a bishop, which is a serious theological-grace issue.
8. The Catholicos has politicized the Church, opposing the peace agenda adopted by the state.
9. As many assert, under the Catholicos's command, the Mother See is waging a media underground campaign against its critics, undermining authorities.
10. The recent relentless activity has not only weakened our Holy Mother See but also discredited the Armenian Apostolic Church. It has distanced itself from the people, leaving them in the clutches of sects.
11. Finally, we find it unacceptable that the Mother See and the Catholicos himself take an anti-state stance and confront the state's authority.

These are the main reasons that have prompted us to join the renovation program of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as loyal and faithful sons of the Mother See, for the love of Ejmiatsin and for the edification of our homeland's statehood.

Many are targeting and accusing the advocates of the renovation of the Armenian Apostolic Church from various political centers. Suddenly, self-proclaimed “believers” and “radicals,” who portray themselves as Christians, are on display, whose extremism is not the result of love and loyalty, but the fruit of their hatred-filled opposition.

To the connoisseurs of conspiracy theories, especially those who politicize the renovation movement within the Church, we would like to remind once again that this is not an initiative of political authorities. God says through the mouth of the prophet, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the Lord'” (Jeremiah 7:3–4).