Is Antichrist Attacking, besides the Catholic Church, The Armenian Apostolic Church Also?
And the Lord Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon! Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Luke 22:31 KJV. Currently we see the Armenian Apostolic Church in the same situation where Satan is sifting it mercilessly.
In the next verse, Luke 22:32, we see Jesus saying to Peter: but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again (after being sifted), strengthen your brothers.”
In the same way we see currently the Armenian Apostolic Church under attack by satan, and without a bridge over troubled waters; will it survive or sink below waters? Will it turn back and serve the Armenians with all their heart after being sifted? Personally I do not see any wrong of the Armenian clergy engaging in business as long as with the profits they help or give their profits to the poor of Armenia where currently one from 10 families pass the day hungry.
Here is a recent article:
TURBULENT PERIOD FOR THE CHURCH IN ARMENIA
by Armen Karapetian,
The author is a freelance journalist in Armenia. Institute for War & Peace Reporting
October 17, 2013, Stephane © armenews.com
Translated from French.
http://www.armenews....d_article=93767
The Armenian Apostolic Church held its first General Synod for nearly six centuries, but the event was rocked by a scandal.
The council, which was held from September 24 to 27 was the first since 1441. It brought together religious leaders of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia, the seat of Cilicia in Lebanon, and the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople, which together have ten million followers.
The Synod adopted a measure paving the way for the collective canonization of all those killed in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 in the so-called Armenian genocide, and also discussed issues such as the liturgy, education and social mission of the Church.
Observers suspected that behind closed doors, bishops and archbishops together have spent more time on the scandal and controversy sowed divisions in Armenia and the Diaspora. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the oldest in the world, and survived the persecution and massacres during its many centuries of existence, remains an essential element of national identity. The current turmoil, however, are considered unprecedented. At the end of May, the newspaper Hetq Yerevan published an article accusing a senior cleric, the Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan [ksoyan], to be associated with Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and a businessman Ashot Sukiasyan for create an offshore company that has received several million dollars of misappropriated funds.
After the article came out, Sukiasyan wrote to the newspaper claiming to be responsible for the full responsibility for this situation. Bishop Ksoyan and Prime Minister Sarkisian both denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have opened a criminal case, which means that a lawsuit is a possibility. Sukiasyan left Armenia.
Bishop Ksoyan is a prominent figure of the Armenian Church, and some have seen as a possible successor to the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II Armen Badalyan, an analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies in Yerevan, said that the case showed how the church had become closely linked with political and business groups that support Armenia. "In his attempts to find a justification for its existence, ... Government adopted the church as an ally. In return, the senior clerics have seen granted privileges "said Badalyan. "The result is that instead of focusing on society and help him with his problems, the church focuses on the government."
Stepan Danielyan, Head of Cooperation for Democracy Center and editor of the site www.religions.am, said that the establishment of the church has been mired by controversy, some clergy undertake in activities and support of the political authorities.
"The Church continues to lose influence. When Armenia became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, much has been expected of the church, but these expectations have not been met "Has he told IWPR. "The Church continues to ignore the face quxquelles things most people are concerned about - the social, economic and political vital and endless corruption scandals."
Another point of contention is the synod the resignation of Archbishop Norvan Zakaryan, the head of the church for the large Armenian community in France. In July, the Archbishop Zakaryan wrote to Catholicos Karekin accusing Karekin of ill-treating him.
"You gain pleasure in humiliating me and blacken my name. You're probably not even aware that you hit people's feelings, "he wrote. The archbishop continued by offering his resignation, which was duly accepted the Catholicos.
At the beginning of August, Nurhan Manoukian, Patriarch of Jerusalem, entered the fray, criticizing the Catholicos Karekin for allowing Archbishop Zakaryan to resign.
"A healthy generation can not grow in an atmosphere of fear and threats.This will hurt our people and our church, which - more than ever - need priests educated, honest and pure, not toadies "wrote the patriarch.
The Catholicos has not responded publicly to the letter, but his spokesman Vahram Melikian denied that he was authoritarian in style.
"The gathering of bishops at the end of September is strong evidence of how the church is trying to solve its problems by taking all opinions into account," Melikyan said at a press conference. "It is inevitable that there are differences of opinion within the church, but that does not mean that there are different factions in the church or something like that, or there was a battle between them. "
http://www.armenews....d_article=93767
Currently the owner of the blog http://www.keghart.com/ who is not a clergy, neither a servant of Jesus, has been writing against the current Armenian Apostolic Hierarchy.