Year of human resources preparation: What will be its measure?

 Vahe H Apelian

On January 4, 2024 issue of the Eastern Prelacy’s newsletter “Crossroads” published His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia’s yearly pontifical message. This year the message was titled “2024, Year of human resources preparation”. The pontifical message was issued on January 1, from Antelias, Lebanon, the seat of the ancient catholicosate of Cilicia. It was addressed “To the prelates, the clergy, the community authorities of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and to the daughters and sons of our people.” After analyzing the state of the Diaspora, His Holiness Aram I, a prolific writer and an impressive intellect, lists nine recommendations and ends his message stating that “we assure you that the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia is always ready to support and participate in the sacred mission of human resources preparation.”

As I write, a conference is taking place in Antelias. The ongoing conference has a broad agenda and pertains to the "Analysis and Awareness Platform" (AAP). The agenda includes addressing Azerbaijan's historical falsifications, exploring legal avenues for the collective return of the indigenous people of Artsakh to their homeland, anticipating developments in the regional political landscape, outlining strategies for the release of prisoners of war and abducted political leaders of Artsakh, and seeking commitments from international leaders to preserve Artsakh's spiritual and cultural heritage.”

I am not sure whether a similar conference will take place having its agenda the Catholicos’ 2024 pontifical message, making 2024 the year of human resources. Naturally it is not expected that the Catholicos necessarily preside over such a conference. His charge is to bring the issues to the attention of the secular and religious leaders across the nation. Catholicos Aram, I has been charging the Armenian nation with yearly charges or missions. What has been lacking in these charges in my view is the measure against which, at the end of year, progress or lack of progress is measured, simply because there is no measure. 

Almost all equations in science have an author. We know that Einstein is the author, maybe the most recognizable scientific equation that energy equals the mass of the object multiplied by speed of light squared. There is another equation that may not be as readily recognized as Einstein’s but nonetheless is fairly well known.  It has to do with WORK. I do not know if there is a single scientist to whom the work equation is attributed. But scientists have accepted that, work is equal to the force applied multiplied by distance covered due to the application of the force.

That equation makes brutally clear that whatever force is applied, or efforts made, if there is no distance that has been covered, or progress made, work is not done. We have a beautiful Armenian word for it, deghkayl – տեղքայլ. It is a discipline boy scouts do during parades. They stay put at a spot but have their legs and arms moving. There may be an English word for it, but it is alluding me, as I type. I remember once Sarkis Zeitlian alluding to deghkayl during a lecture he gave to the ARF Zavarian Student Association members. On the contrary, if distance is achieved, with hardly the force that was applied in a parallel situation, work has been done.

I cannot say that Diaspora organizations have been negligent or not negligent to the year's charge, or whether they have considered the year's charge or simply ignored it,  simply because there is no accounting towards the year's stated mission.

What has been lacking with Catholicos Aram’s mission statements for the year is the measure against which an accounting is given at the end of the year. Surely it is much wider scale, across the Diaspora. It may be that it is the sum total of what organizations have done. Was church attendance increased? Did organizations experience a spike in their membership or a decline? Was donations for charity increased or not increased?. Whatever the object or the mission was,   there has to be a measure The year ends and there is no accounting of the progress made or not made, simply because there was no charge to each organization to have set a measure for the year, and account for progress made or not made at the end of the year. 

The year ends, so does the year's mission.  It ends just like that,  and the new year comes with  a new mission.

Should there be a conference whose agenda is the Catholicos Aram’s charge for the year, the conference should set measure against the issues or the specific goals, so that an accounting is done at the end of year whether progress was made or not made.