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A CHRISTIAN CAN'T BE INDIFFERENT
Arthur Avtandilyan, www.religions.am
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview22278.html
Published: 13:01:07 - 20/06/2011
Interview with the head of the Armenian Evangelical Church,
representative of the Armenian Evangelistic Union in Armenia Honored
Doctor Rene Levonyan
Religious persecution and discrimination have recently been observed,
which is also connected with Evangelical churches. How would you
explain this fact?
I don't possess all the details but, in general, the feeling is that
a deliberate attempt is made to cause tensions.
If a country ensures enforcement of laws and legislation, it decreases
the possibility of this atmosphere. If the law is balanced and working,
anyone can solve any issue through court. Surely, in the case when
there is a free and independent court. Unfortunately, in our homeland,
we don't have law enforcement, moreover, in the past two years,
the state bodies have been trying to render the laws repressive. If
the country understands that it is useful for our country to have a
healthy and harmonic atmosphere in the sphere of religion, it must
guarantee freedom of conscience enshrined in the Constitution and
give it a legislative form. In order to solve the issue, we need
freedom of expression, including in the religious sphere of Armenia.
How many members does the non-apostolic community in Armenia have?
It is difficult to say because no such statistics has been released.
Some experts and interested people in Armenia try to present
the religious field of Armenia this way: there are 300 thousand
"nonconformists" in Armenia involved in more than 60 "nonconformist"
organizations. This is misinformation. Among those 60 organizations
are found the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church,
the Armenian Evangelical Church and other religious organizations.
There are Evangelical Churches registered in different cities under the
same name and are considered different organizations. I have counted
that in reality there are 15 religious communities, including the
national-religious minorities, but not 60. The second expression of
misinformation is the reported 300 thousand nonconformists, which
is approximately 10% of the population of Armenia. According to
these calculations 150 thousand are Catholics, about 100 thousand
are evangelists and 50 thousand are all the rest. Today, the media
have declared this 10% to be the enemy of the Armenian nation. These
false data hinder our people to think freely.
What can be the role of the religious community in the social life
in Armenia?
Taking into account the diversity of information sources in Armenia,
I am sure if the religious communities were able to present their
positions and opinions on religion, faith, economic, political and
cultural issues in the right way, they would perform a serious role.
It would be good if religious communities were active in the social
life but they are not.
What are the reasons?
The reason is that very often we think that the Armenian people must
share the same opinions on religious issues. Here it is unusual
for people that an ordinary Armenian may have different religious
opinions, though the Constitution declares freedom of conscience. The
next reason is that most members of religious communities often avoid
expressing their opinions, not necessarily regarding religious issues.
The rest is done by the mass media, which dwell on those people who
are not members of the dominant religious community with insulting
or disapproving expressions. Our society perhaps lacks the necessary
understanding and education to accept others as ordinary people
and citizens.
Can this atmosphere change through more active public engagement? Is
the Evangelical Church involved in the public life and to what extent?
Generally, it would be good if all the Churches expressed their
positions in regard to all kinds of issues, including public issues.
Many fear that their opinions may lead them into politics. But I am
sure that a Christian cannot be indifferent toward injustice in their
city and country and must not be afraid of voicing it.
I can remember a case when the representatives of the Evangelical
Church also voiced their position. I mean the amendments to the Law
on Language. Can you remember other examples?
Before the last presidential elections, we issued a statement appealing
to refrain from breaches and hold free and transparent elections. I
admit such examples are few but I am sure our participation in the
public life will increase.
What do you think about the idea that any church must be accountable
to its followers for the work done and the money spent?
I cannot speak on behalf of all Churches but I should say that the
Armenian Evangelical Church has always tried to announce its projects
and funds not to allow the impression that everything is ruled by
the spiritual shepherd or a few members. The members of our church
are elected to the Board of Trustees for a period of 2 years (5-10
members) which implements the projects and handles the budget approved
by the members at the plenary session. The projects and the budget
include the salaries of the spiritual shepherd and office employees,
as well as the costs of the previous year are discussed. We have no
secret projects or spending.
Arthur Avtandilyan, www.religions.am
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview22278.html
Published: 13:01:07 - 20/06/2011
Interview with the head of the Armenian Evangelical Church,
representative of the Armenian Evangelistic Union in Armenia Honored
Doctor Rene Levonyan
Religious persecution and discrimination have recently been observed,
which is also connected with Evangelical churches. How would you
explain this fact?
I don't possess all the details but, in general, the feeling is that
a deliberate attempt is made to cause tensions.
If a country ensures enforcement of laws and legislation, it decreases
the possibility of this atmosphere. If the law is balanced and working,
anyone can solve any issue through court. Surely, in the case when
there is a free and independent court. Unfortunately, in our homeland,
we don't have law enforcement, moreover, in the past two years,
the state bodies have been trying to render the laws repressive. If
the country understands that it is useful for our country to have a
healthy and harmonic atmosphere in the sphere of religion, it must
guarantee freedom of conscience enshrined in the Constitution and
give it a legislative form. In order to solve the issue, we need
freedom of expression, including in the religious sphere of Armenia.
How many members does the non-apostolic community in Armenia have?
It is difficult to say because no such statistics has been released.
Some experts and interested people in Armenia try to present
the religious field of Armenia this way: there are 300 thousand
"nonconformists" in Armenia involved in more than 60 "nonconformist"
organizations. This is misinformation. Among those 60 organizations
are found the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church,
the Armenian Evangelical Church and other religious organizations.
There are Evangelical Churches registered in different cities under the
same name and are considered different organizations. I have counted
that in reality there are 15 religious communities, including the
national-religious minorities, but not 60. The second expression of
misinformation is the reported 300 thousand nonconformists, which
is approximately 10% of the population of Armenia. According to
these calculations 150 thousand are Catholics, about 100 thousand
are evangelists and 50 thousand are all the rest. Today, the media
have declared this 10% to be the enemy of the Armenian nation. These
false data hinder our people to think freely.
What can be the role of the religious community in the social life
in Armenia?
Taking into account the diversity of information sources in Armenia,
I am sure if the religious communities were able to present their
positions and opinions on religion, faith, economic, political and
cultural issues in the right way, they would perform a serious role.
It would be good if religious communities were active in the social
life but they are not.
What are the reasons?
The reason is that very often we think that the Armenian people must
share the same opinions on religious issues. Here it is unusual
for people that an ordinary Armenian may have different religious
opinions, though the Constitution declares freedom of conscience. The
next reason is that most members of religious communities often avoid
expressing their opinions, not necessarily regarding religious issues.
The rest is done by the mass media, which dwell on those people who
are not members of the dominant religious community with insulting
or disapproving expressions. Our society perhaps lacks the necessary
understanding and education to accept others as ordinary people
and citizens.
Can this atmosphere change through more active public engagement? Is
the Evangelical Church involved in the public life and to what extent?
Generally, it would be good if all the Churches expressed their
positions in regard to all kinds of issues, including public issues.
Many fear that their opinions may lead them into politics. But I am
sure that a Christian cannot be indifferent toward injustice in their
city and country and must not be afraid of voicing it.
I can remember a case when the representatives of the Evangelical
Church also voiced their position. I mean the amendments to the Law
on Language. Can you remember other examples?
Before the last presidential elections, we issued a statement appealing
to refrain from breaches and hold free and transparent elections. I
admit such examples are few but I am sure our participation in the
public life will increase.
What do you think about the idea that any church must be accountable
to its followers for the work done and the money spent?
I cannot speak on behalf of all Churches but I should say that the
Armenian Evangelical Church has always tried to announce its projects
and funds not to allow the impression that everything is ruled by
the spiritual shepherd or a few members. The members of our church
are elected to the Board of Trustees for a period of 2 years (5-10
members) which implements the projects and handles the budget approved
by the members at the plenary session. The projects and the budget
include the salaries of the spiritual shepherd and office employees,
as well as the costs of the previous year are discussed. We have no
secret projects or spending.