"Every Armenian has a mixture of white and black" - Interview with Bishop Mikael ADJAPAHYAN

The article, published without indicating a specific author in issue No. 2 (23), is devoted to an interview with Bishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in which both the hierarch's biography and his theological and ecclesiastical-political views are revealed.

Biography and Origins

The material begins with a detailed account of the life path of Bishop Mikael (in the world, Gevorg Ajapahyan), born in 1963 in Gyumri into a family of repatriates. Special attention is given to his spiritual education — from the Gevorgyan Seminary to a master's degree in Rome — as well as to his career path from ordination in 1988 to his election as bishop of the Shirak Diocese in 2001. Particular note is made of the interview subject's belonging to the famous Ajapahyan family, whose members occupied the Cilician Catholicosal See in Sis for 135 years, including several martyrs and Catholicoi.

Main Thematic Blocks of the Interview

The article is further structured around the key issues raised in the conversation:

• Monasticism and monastic life — the bishop asserts that the revival of the monastic tradition cannot be achieved artificially and must occur as a natural response to a spiritual upsurge among the people;
• Ecumenism — interpreted as fraternal cooperation between Churches without merging or subordination, while preserving the distinctiveness of each confession;
• Relations with the Oriental Orthodox Churches — characterized as a model of unity while preserving ecclesiastical independence;
• The relationship between the Etchmiadzin and Cilician Catholicosates — the bishop predicts the natural cessation of the Cilician Catholicosate's existence due to the demographic depletion of the Armenian diaspora in Lebanon, but emphasizes that there is no need for the artificial abolition of this structure;
• Theological education of clergy abroad — assessed as an enriching factor for the doctrine of the AAC rather than a threatening one;
• The question of the liturgical language — the bishop opposes translating the Patarag (Divine Liturgy) from Grabar into Ashkharabar, citing the negative experience of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, and insists on preserving Grabar as an element of cultural heritage, in contrast to the texts of sermons and rites, which should be performed in the modern language;
• The state of the contemporary Armenian Church — the bishop points to the catastrophic consequences of the Genocide and Soviet repressions for the clergy and church property, asserting that the actual age of the restored Church does not exceed twenty years.

Key Conclusion

The final position of Bishop Mikael Ajapahyan is that the Armenian Church must remain faithful to tradition while simultaneously remaining open to theological dialogue, and that its main task remains spiritual service to the people, rather than mechanical adaptation to external circumstances or demands for simplification.