The diaspora is a vital part of our church

Last week, this column focused on the divisive thinking that pervades our communal life. We can deny it because it is uncomfortable, but it has been a major factor throughout our long journey. When one considers our attraction to other Armenians in random encounters, it is ironic that we manage to generate so much negativity among ourselves. 

This past week my wife and I traveled to Florida for her birthday. One evening, after a quiet dinner, we strolled through a commercial area filled with children laughing and families building memories. Just ahead of us were three individuals enjoying the mild evening. When we came within earshot, we heard the unmistakable beauty of the Armenian language. Our immediate instinct, of course, was to greet them with something like, “You’re Armenian!”— as if we were the only families of this ethnicity on Earth. Instead, we chose a more organic approach and greeted them in Armenian.

What followed was a beautiful encounter familiar to many of us. They were a husband and wife traveling with their adult daughter from Canada. Within minutes, we discovered overlapping interests and shared experiences in Armenia. After exchanging names, we parted ways, hoping to see one another again. No matter how often these chance meetings occur, they continue to amaze me. Who seeks out others of the same tribe with such fervor? While we are surely not alone, few communities pursue this instinct as passionately. It is both a defining attribute of the diaspora and a key to its sustainability.

This is why many diaspora Armenians are overwhelmed with joy on their first visit to Armenia, where nearly everyone speaks Armenian. We live in a diluted environment, with limited access to our collective identity.

The very nature of diaspora life generates questions that fuel new relationships and constant exploration. We are always searching to fill the gaps created by dispersion.

The diaspora is a convenient singular term used to describe a complex web of organizations and institutions held together in a loose confederation of communities. Even when narrowed to regions such as the American diaspora, the complexity urges caution against sweeping generalizations. However one defines their identity within this reality, the diaspora serves two essential purposes: sustaining Armenian identity through its own infrastructure and assisting the homeland and other Armenian communities worldwide.

Since the genocide, Armenians have mobilized to support one another in times of natural and political crisis. One of my earliest memories is of our Sunday school raising funds for Armenians in Lebanon to build schools. In such moments, humanitarian and educational needs overcome division and briefly restore hope — often enough to sustain us. The 1988 earthquake, Armenia’s independence in 1991 and the Artsakh struggle are examples in the homeland, while the Lebanese and Syrian civil wars represent diaspora crises.

Since the establishment of the Republic of Armenia, the diaspora has demonstrated an extraordinary outpouring of support through investments, volunteers and nonprofit initiatives. At the same time, we have struggled to define how advocacy should align with Armenia’s government. Prior to 1991, political advocacy rested almost entirely with the diaspora. That is no longer the case. Collaboration remains a work in progress, requiring respect for Armenia’s sovereignty while maintaining dialogue. It is important to maintain this global synergy, but it can be challenging. Much diaspora engagement has occurred outside visible political arenas — through education, technology, social development and job creation — where its impact continues to be significant.

The current conflict between the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Armenian government is heartbreaking for the diaspora, which watches largely as an observer. We often oversimplify the issue by reducing it to personalities. While names like Catholicos Karekin II and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan evoke strong reactions, it is more appropriate to understand this as a conflict between institutions: the Mother See and the Armenian government. Obviously, each individual is the leader of their respective institution, but part of our problem is that we lose civility when limiting discussion to individuals.

The issue is not with the Armenian Church as some have defined it. The Holy See of Cilicia and the Patriarchal Sees of Constantinople and Jerusalem have not been confronted. While these sees operate largely within the diaspora, they recognize the primacy of the Mother See, adding further complexity. Outside the Holy Apostolic Church, Armenian Protestant and Catholic churches are not parties to the conflict. This distinction matters, because the diaspora is not merely an observer. The majority of Armenian Apostolic faithful live outside the republic’s borders, making the diaspora a central component of the global church.

Although the Antelias See has a substantial presence in the Middle East and North America, their spiritual bonds with the Mother See make the diaspora a major component of the Holy Apostolic Church. Catholicos Aram I recently emphasized that Holy Etchmiadzin is not simply a collection of dioceses within Armenia but the seat of a global Armenian church affecting millions in the diaspora. Unlike matters of foreign policy, which fall under state sovereignty, church governance involves international ecclesiastical bodies such as the Supreme Spiritual Council, the Synod of Bishops and the Ecclesiastical Assembly. These institutions were designed to ensure geographic and lay-clergy inclusion and must be respected.

From a Western diaspora perspective, one must ask how faithful in North America would respond if succession canons were altered under government influence. Unlike some decentralized Christian denominations, the Apostolic Church is deeply hierarchical, with the Catholicos exercising significant authority across the global jurisdiction. Diaspora Armenians maintain a spiritual bond with the place where “the Only Begotten Descended” and have long supported Holy Etchmiadzin’s mission.

History has shown that altering church canons is fraught with risk. After all, the church exists to preach the Gospel and salvation, not to serve worldly power. The independence of the Mother See has survived centuries of invasion, displacement and oppression. Respect for Holy Etchmiadzin and the office of the Catholicos runs deep in Armenian consciousness. While Karekin II has faced criticism, the current crisis has also generated empathy from some of those same circles. Why? Armenians are students of their history and proudly embrace it. For centuries, the church has been a constant, both for spiritual fulfillment and maintaining a sense of identity.

This does not excuse the few clergy who cross the red line into politics, but the faithful carry a long memory of reverence. Regardless of what you think of individual clergy, there is something both mysterious and beautiful about how the laity greet clergy and maintain respect in relationships.

The church, especially in the United States, is the glue that binds diaspora communities. Armenia is our homeland, but the church sustains communal life in a diluted environment.

 Holy Etchmiadzin is not distant — it is the heartbeat of our faith and that connection, enhanced by the independence of Armenia, must be sustained. 

Our spiritual lineage, traced from St. Gregory the Illuminator through the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew to Jesus Christ, carries immense responsibility. The integrity of this spiritual identity sustains Armenians in both the diaspora and the homeland. This moment is about more than replacing a Catholicos; it concerns the future of a global church serving all Armenians. This is why the diaspora can never be an aloof observer. 

Thankfully, our church has evolved alongside demographic change, establishing new dioceses and parishes across the world. Its canons and structures ensure global participation through representative bodies. If conflict exists, it must be addressed through these mechanisms, with Christian love and mutual respect — not public petitions that deepen division. In closing, let us pray for wisdom, civility and faith to guide our beloved church and homeland. 

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