Window Quarterly Vol. I, No. 2, 1990 Copyright 1990 [Permission is granted to use, print, reproduce this article provided the following acknowledgment is given: From Window Quarterly 1, 2 (1990); ACRAG c. 1990. *** "RISE! Take up your pallet and walk!" by Fr. Vazken Movsesian A mass grave was opened on December 7, 1988, not only to bury the victims of the Armenian earthquake, but also the disunited diaspora. The suffering and death of the innocent quickly united Armenians in an effort to aid, console and rebuild the homeland. The reality of disunity became apparent in the immediate dysfunctionality of the diaspora. (Small town newspapers printed lists where readers could send donations. The lists sometimes ran ten, sometimes twenty, organizations long.) But soon, that dis-functionality ceased and efforts became one. Calls for a united church and people came from our siblings in the shattered fatherland and from our Catholicoi. Armenian religious and secular organizations joined forces in assistance. Once "banned" from serving together, clergymen began praying in unison. Today, the diaspora is seemingly united, at least in its commitment to rebuild Armenia. The reconstruction effort is only one part of Armenia's woes. Since February 1988, Armenians have been in a life or death struggle over the Artzakh (Nagorno Kharabakh) dispute. With atrocities unparalleled since the 1915 Genocide, over 300 lives in the region have been lost. Once again, we see the diaspora heeding the call from the homeland, united in a voice of solidarity. It is evident that the events in Armenia are directly influencing and defining the diaspora. In turn, the Armenian Church also subscribes to a definition in relation to the turmoil in Armenia. For the Armenian Church, a new generation has arrived at Her doorsteps, seeking the direction that allowed for the survival, endurance and liberation of their forefathers. For the most part, however, that direction has come by way of caring for the physical needs of the people in Armenia. In the post-earthquake period, the Church has been involved in fund raising and collecting supplies, essential to the recovery effort. But so have all Armenian organizations. The Church has not stood apart, but joins the united rush to aid, as another Armenian organization. The earthquake rocked much more than Armenia, it had measurable casualties throughout the world. The psyche and soul of Armenia, which transcends geographical boundaries, which exist in the hearts of Armenian children throughout the world, has been shaken from its foundations. As the lamentation over our 1915 casualties was coming to an end and we were beginning to enjoy a renewed vigor, proclaiming to be a resurrected people, we were thrown back into mourning. The impact of the earthquake shook the Armenian psyche back 75 years. No more are we heralding the "good news" of resurrection, rather we are once again singing the songs of lamentation. One day, when the building finishes and all the mouths are fed, we may come to a rude awakening that we have survived but are far from living. Armenia, the country, will be reconstructed, but Armenia the spirit, Armenia the people, will need to be resurrected. Only the Body of Christ has the power to heal and ultimately resurrect from the ruins of death. Unfortunately, in favor of being "another Armenian organization," the Church has placed her conquering and liberating message of hope and resurrection on a back burner. This action is seemingly justifiable. The tense political atmosphere and immediate physical needs of the homeland, coupled with talk of unity among Armenians has excited the Church in this direction, while the spiritual welfare of the people is dismissed as a secondary concern. As the living Church, we must be alarmed that our brothers and sisters in Armenia, as well as in the diaspora, find their hope of salvation from the political realm. Political parties, with a renewed sense of nationalism have become the new messengers of hope while the Church has been "granted" a small jurisdiction within the cast of the nation. In a morbid way, the Church finds a comfortable niche in burying the dead. The offering of the Holy Communion, the "life and hope of resurrection" has been overshadowed by the requiem service in our parishes. The anthem of the Church, Krisdos haryav ee merelotz (Christ is risen from the dead!), has been replaced by Ee verin Yeroosaghem (from the requiem service). This "practice" by the people, consciously but mostly unconsciously, reflects upon the Armenian clergyman, who is recognized as the shepherd of a dead flock, of sheep who have been sacrificed. As such, he has lost his sense of usefulness. And the sheep who remain are fair game to secular trappings and unorthodox schools of thought (sometimes under religious guise) that capitalize on the shortcomings of the Church. With this issue of Window we begin our search for an "Armenian theology of liberation." We are not interested in re-inventing the wheel. The message of the Armenian Church has always been liberating in all its manifestations. This terminology addresses the relevant message that has spoken to the people throughout the centuries, that can, and must speak to the people today in times of persecution and bondage (both physical and spiritual). We must acknowledge that the physical security of a people cannot be guaranteed without first waking the spirit. Only thus, can the Church be considered relevant and therefore alive for today's generation. By liberating the Armenian people spiritually, they gather the strength to be liberated physically and in so doing the Church finds Her liberation from the non-relevant to the relevant. We begin our quest for an Armenian theology of liberation with He who liberates: Jesus Christ. Our Lord began His earthly ministry with a simple, yet poignant proclamation, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Lk. 4:18f). With this quote from the Prophet Isaiah, not only did Christ set the stage for His mission throughout Judea, but he aligned His Holy Body, the Church, in the direction of social action, with justice as a goal. The Mission of the Church is and always will be Christ's mission. We are hindered in actively joining Christ's crusade because all too often we find ourselves viewing Christianity as a religion disengaged from the ordinary. Our heros, the saints, are removed from our lives by time and by relevancy. We have placed our saints on such a high pedestal that they have lost their humanity. Furthermore, our perception of Christ is distorted by "Hollywood" images of a fair-skinned, blonde- haired, blue-eyed Jesus, who aside from turning the tables in the Temple, refrained from displays of anger, advocated turning the other cheek and promised eternal bliss as reward for suffering through social inequity. We live in a real world with real problems. We are overwhelmed with worry, debt and disease, yet in reality, we are flesh and bones. We live in a world that is cosmetic and stress-filled. We expect our wants to be immediately gratified. And so, we are reluctant to turn our problems over to the Christ for any real rectification. After all, afflictions such as poverty and disease do not warrant a "pie in the sky" response, but are in need of real solutions. People have true afflictions for which the Church must provide answers. Poverty, hunger, disease, captivity are all issues demanding an answer from above and therefore from the Church, the mouth of God on Earth. Indeed, we start our daily liturgy with "Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise" (Ps. 51:15). Criticism about the efficacy of religion to bring about change is usually based on this false impression of Christ. Karl Marx argued that religion is mere illusion and therefore cannot solve man's problems. Christianity in particular, says Marx, preaches "cowardice, self-contempt, abasement, submission, humility -- in brief, all the characteristics of the canaille [the rabble; mob]." If we were to take Christ as defined by a "Hollywood Jesus," then Marx's assessment has validity. But the Church has recognized a Jesus that is part and parcel of our living reality, a Jesus who suffers and conquers with us. Our Faith, as transmitted through our Holy Church is something quite different from fiction. In fact, it is a faith that not only instructs us but provides examples and demands us to follow and do likewise. Announcements by our Lord such as, "I have not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword" (Mt. 10:34) --albeit out- of-context, nevertheless stirring-- paints a different picture of this "Eternal Pacifist" and His message. Over the past few decades alone, we have witnessed the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ceaser Chavez grab that "sword" of Christ, by adopting His principles to seek the liberation of their particular communities. More recently we have seen church leadership actively involved in the struggle for freedom, by offering support and hope, by turning concepts into action. Bishop Desmond Tutu has been outspoken against apartheid in South Africa. The Polish Roman Catholic Church in supporting Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement, provided intellectual leadership, spiritual succor and sanctuary while the movement went underground. For more than a decade, the East German dissident movement was sheltered in the Lutheran Church in East Germany. Only last December, in Czechoslovakia, a dissident Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Vaclav Maly rallied the opposition and crystallized the demand for a new government. And finally the Roman Pontiff, John Paul II held a meeting with communist leader Mikael Gorbachev. And the list continues, in Eastern Europe, in South America, in Central America, etc. Why not in Armenia? Why not for Armenians throughout the world? Black liberation theologian James Cone prefaces his work, A Theology of Black Liberation, "... Christianity is essentially a religion of liberation. The function of theology is that of analyzing the meaning of that liberation for the oppressed community so they can know that their struggle for political, social and economic justice is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Any message that is not related to the liberation of the poor in the society is not Christ's message. Any theology that is indifferent to the theme of liberation is not Christian theology... Christian theology is a theology of liberation." Cone's definitive avowal may leave much of Christendom searching for new nomenclature, but assuredly dismisses Marx's "opiate of the people" argument. Christ and Christianity provide movement toward liberation. We the Church cannot proclaim to be the arms, legs, hands, feet of Christ if we are stagnant or if we are merely another secular organization. Christ is unique, awake and moving and so must be His Body. Our discussion need not be limited to large scale concerns either. If the "Spirit of the Lord is upon [us]" and if we, as the Church, have been "anointed ...to preach good news to the poor" then we must expand our perception of the captives, the blind and the oppressed. The object of our action cannot be confined by ethnic nor geographic boundaries. We must include ourselves in the list of these "handicapped" people of whom Christ speaks. We are the captives of materialism. We are the blind. We have eyes yet do not see the love of God. We are the oppressed. We are free by liberties guaranteed by our government, yet we are oppressed by the self-imposed shackles of pettiness and self-glory. We remedy global problems by first healing the self. The resurrection of the Armenian nation is contingent on the liberation of the Armenian soul from its ailments. Christ's message is a message of liberation. It provides for the self, for the people, for the nation and for the world.