Welcome, Catholicos

Published: Saturday October 06, 2007

His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, began a pastoral visit to the United States this week. He stopped in California to perform some important functions - consecrating a church, blessing the ground for the new cathedral, meeting with schoolchildren - before proceeding to the eastern U.S., where he will spend an entire month.

Visits by the Catholicos of All Armenians are relatively rare occasions, but they have been a part of Armenian-American community life for nearly 50 years. In that time we have welcomed three catholicoi to our shores. While each individual and each visit is distinctive in its way, there is an overarching importance to the phenomenon itself: the Catholicos of All Armenians - this unique national figure - making contact with the people of our communities.

First, and most obviously, the Catholicos carries with him a great weight of tradition that spans an enormous stretch of Armenian history - some 85 generations. That is really an astonishing amount of time. The present catholicos is the 132nd person to hold that title; by way of comparison, there have been 56 monarchs of England, from Alfred the Great to Queen Elizabeth II. This expanse of history is something that inspires us as Armenians, lights pride in our hearts, and places our struggles, and the struggles of previous generations, in a greater context. The fact that each of those generations knew a Catholicos of All Armenians is something that we tangibly share with our predecessors, and can expect to share with our descendants. Our generation has the privilege to actually hear the voice of the Catholicos and seek guidance or consolation from him directly.

Second, the Catholicos holds a truly unique position in our national life. He is an elected official, elected by a popular mechanism that gives a voice to Armenians from communities dispersed throughout the world. The election of the Catholicos is not exactly on the order of a plebiscite, but it is also far more democratic, more representative, than the manner of office-taking among his peers in other similar institutions. We who have been ardent supporters of democracy find this a source of strength for the occupant of the pontifical office. It gives him a plausible claim to be a representative of all Armenians - to speak for Armenians around the world on certain matters of importance.

It also gives the Catholicos an unusual perspective on Armenian matters. No other leader draws his constituents from such a broad spectrum within the worldwide Armenian community. And surely no one else actually makes contact with as great a base of individuals, from so many walks of life, and so many places around the world. The present Catholicos has made it a critical part of his pontificate to travel to the remotest climes - India, the Far East - as well as throughout Armenia, the Middle East, and the West. The upshot of this is that he alone meets Armenians in their home communities, as it were, and he has a unique opportunity to observe at first hand what unites Armenians, and to speak on the question of a "greater good" for all Armenians.

With that perspective comes a profound responsibility. As our symposium of two weeks ago showed, even amid disagreement on what the Catholicos should talk about, there was general agreement that the Catholicos is and should be active, that he has the real and symbolic power to influence outcomes, and shape life for the better in Armenia and among our people elsewhere. Even those Armenians who are not part of the Apostolic Church regard the Catholicos as an important and influential agent in the ongoing life of the Armenian nation.

Finally, having the Catholicos among us is a reminder of the enduring values that have allowed the Armenian people to survive, and will be the best hope for their perpetuation in the future. This paper has argued forcefully for the promotion of a modern, democratic, materially productive and economically successful Armenia. At the same time, material progress must be accompanied by deeper, more enduring values. Without the blessings of family, the possibility for a just and wholesome patriotism, the dedication of one's best efforts to a higher cause than mere material comfort - without these things, the greatest attainments for our homeland and people would be worthless - a pyrrhic victory at the end of an astonishing history. The Catholicos reminds us of these things, too.

In the course of 47 years, meeting the catholicos has become a feature of community life. The modern world has made such contact more feasible, and that has made the Catholicos a less remote, more accessible leader than ever before. Each occupant who has visited America has brought his special qualities to the role, and over the past seven years Catholicos Karekin II has shown his deep seriousness, his love of the people, his willingness to lead. We are proud to offer a warm welcome to the Catholicos.