May you live in interesting times

 Vahe H  Apelian

Things get eventually lost when posted on a Facebook page. But I want to jot down my thoughts to read them a year from now and see what transpired in Armenia and whether I had foreseen a glimpse of it. My blog is my avenue to archive my thoughts.

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan may be the Armenia's version of the late Archbishop Makarios, president of Cyprus.

 A new reality has entered in the Armenian apostolic church. Although the Armenian Apostolic church has played significant secular, not to say political role, in the life of the nation, such as by  Khrimian Hayrig. But the nature of the Armenian Apostolic social if not political stand or involvement this time around is different. A lot will be  written in the coming months and a lot will be written about the young Armenian King Bab and his relations with the church. 

Archbishop Bagrat used up his clerical credentials as an ecclesiastical father and is now the opposition's voice and its leader. He appears to have succeeded in galvanizing the public the opposition could not. No opposition leader can henceforth and for the fore seeable future have any say that may be effective to the public without securing his consent and his backing. In one swift move, Srpazan has wrestled leadership.  Whether the opposition will appreciate the new reality or not, that is another story. Sooner or later we will find out.  

Srpazan cannot have both ways, meddle in politics and lead a political movement and claim that he is not a politician and does not want to dabble in politics. He already has at a critical time and over a  critical issue, the implementing of the cross road for peace strategy the Armenian government has adopted to pursue. I doubt that his pictures of ardent praying in communion with God, will change people’s perception that this is a political matter and there will be no solution handed down from heaven. The bishop will have to have a say.

I have no vision how this will unfold.  But I know the following. There is no more Karabakh territorial issue.  There will be no claim of historical lands, from Turkey and Azerbaijan, by the opposition, that now includes the Armenian Apostolic Church.  Likewise, the opposition will not request Tukey to recognize the genocide, let alone request for restitution and reparation. The opposition will set no pre-condition for normalizing relations with Turkey, the post Nikol Pachinyan regime will pursue, sooner or later much like the first republic did and did it big time.

The stage is set. It is Armenia and its dealing with its neighbors and everything will transpire within the "real" Armenia and not historical Armenia.

Should NP resign, the new “nakhkin” blame game will make the current look like a child’s play . 

May you live in interesting times, goes a Chinese saying. 

We are and will be living in interesting time. So, especially for us in the Diaspora, a cup of coffee may come handy as we witness the short sighted, shoot yourself in your own foot, and sad  unfolding in Armenia.