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Catholicosate of Cilicia
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Armenian version: nian.htm
At the Ethiopian Millennium Conference
"THE CRISES THE WORLD IS FACING ARE FUNDAMENTALLY RELATED TO
HUMANITY-CREATION-GOD RELATIONSHIP"
Said His Holiness Aram I
I his keynote lecture at the Millennium Conference in Addis Ababa, 26
September 2007, His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia said: "The issues
and challenges that appear on the agenda of this conference, such as
violence, pandemic disease, ecological crisis, development and economic
justice, are not mere socio-economic issues; they pertain to the essence of
Christian faith. Therefore, a theological-ethical perspective is imperative
in addressing these questions and challenges". Then he said: "The world is
sick; it is sick morally, spiritually, ecologically, economically,
politically. The crises the world is facing are fundamentally related to
humanity-creation-God relationship, and more specifically to human
responsibility. Created in the image of God, the human being has been given
a unique vocation as God’s co-worker to govern the creation. Stewardship
implies accountability, and accountability presupposes responsible freedom.
Here is the source of the greatness as well as the downfall, the joy and
suffering of humanity".
The Armenian Catholicos Aram I developd his reflections in four points.
Hereunder excerpts from the address of His Holiness.-
1) Humanity must use the God-given power responsibly
In a world dominated by the forces of militarism and terrorism, secularism
and materialism, injustice and oppression, the question of use of power has
become more than ever a matter of critical importance. In Christian
understanding, power is liberating, healing and transforming. Power must not
be used to overpower, but, rather, to empower the other; it must be used to
restore human dignity and quality of life; and justice must determine any
use of power. Power must not be based on force; it must be based on values.
It must not be used for personal interests, but for the well being of all.
It must not be an expression of authority, but one of love and service. The
misuse and abuse of power produces corruption, oppression and
dehumanization, trends which have become salient marks of many societies,
including Africa.
Indeed, the ‘might makes right’ claim prevails in all areas and on all
levels of public life. Religion is not an exception. Global governance is in
decay, due to the lack of moral criteria. Power requires moral direction;
otherwise it will become an instrument of evil.
Therefore, we need to challenge the arrogance of power and transform its
ambiguity. We need to question the sufficiency of power and affirm its
vulnerability. We need to oppose to the absoluteness of power and remind its
accountability. We need to transform the centralized power to shared and
participatory power. The Christian way is power of love and not love of
power. For Christianity powerlessness is a source of power, since it is
love-generating and life-sustaining.
2) Humanity must restore its right vocation within the creation
The unprecedented economic growth and industrial progress, accompanied by
unlimited exploitation of earth’s limited resources, has greatly jeopardized
the eco-life support system. According to scientists, the world is on the
edge of self-destruction. The Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro in 1992 called
nations to search for a "sustainable future". And the meeting of ecologists
in Paris this year warned the world of enormous ecological disaster.
The ecological crisis is not of socio-economic or environmental nature. It
is essentially a theological-ethical one related to humanity’s role in the
creation. Therefore, political, ecological, economic and social analyses and
prescription will fall short unless they are solidly supported by a
theological-ethical perspective and vision. To deal efficiently with
ecological crises we must work for an ethically sustainable and responsible
society. And to achieve this goal we must develop an eco-ethics, based on
biblical teachings, that challenges the prevailing paradigms of
humanity-creation relations and protects the creation in its original
goodness and integrity, and restores the right place and true vocation of
humanity within it. What are the requirements of such eco-ethics?
a) Humanity must move from anthropocentric to theocentric perception of
creation. Creation is God’s gift to humanity; it belongs to God. The
ecological crises started when the first human being considered himself to
be the master of the creation, thereby misusing his free will and divine
command to "subdue the earth". Humanity and creation are interdependent
realities. Humanity’s survival is closely bound up with the future of
creation which is the household of humanity, and probably the only one.
b) Humanity must move from domination to stewardship. According to the
God-given mandate, the human being is the manager and steward of the
creation, not the lord of it. God gave human beings the right to use the
earth’s natural resources for their survival, not to exploit them for their
own pleasure and glory. The Christian ethics makes a clear distinction
between need and greed, use and exploitation. Human stewardship is not a
passive one; as God’s co-worker, the human being has the God-given mandate
to preserve, renew and enrich the creation with the profound sense of
responsibility and accountability.
Social injustice remains one of the evils of this world. The gap between
haves and have-nots is widening. Malnutrition, lack of minimum conditions of
living, spread of deadly diseases are threatening the lives of many people
particularly in Africa. According to the estimates, 20 million children are
said to die every year as a consequence of starvation and malnutrition.
Social justice must not be politicized. In the name of development Africa
must not be exploited by rich nations. Consumerism not only decreases the
earth’s natural resources, but it is at the root of economic injustice,
ecological disorder and human survival; it is fundamentally the denial of
sacredness and wholeness of life. Consumerism is a moral sin because it
generates poverty, alienation, violence and threatens life.
3) We must combat socio-economic injustice in all its forms.
The church must encourage sharing the resources of the earth in ways that
eliminate racial, class and gender discrimination, and build all-inclusive
communities of participation and equal opportunities. The church must
promote a life-centered culture that preserves the integrity of creation and
creates harmony between humanity and creation. It must take a firm position
against all attempts of impoverishing people, and support all initiatives
aimed at empowering, developing and democratizing societies. The Christian
ethics stands strongly for a participatory economy that protects human
dignity and value and the rights of people.
4) We must work together for a world of coherent and reconciled diversities
We are living at a period of human history in which intolerance and
fundamentalism in different forms and expressions have dominated our lives.
The emergence of new norms and paradigms, and collision of values have
created a volatile situation in many regions. The convergence on basic core
values that govern the life of societies should become the driving force of
all actions and processes aimed at community building.
Religion has an instrumental role to play. Religion must primarily overcome
its inner conflict. It must not be exploited for political and ideological
purposes. Religion is called to assume its prophetic vocation of serving,
challenging and reminding. It must become a moral voice reminding the
nations that neither military might nor economic progress can restore real
security, ensure real confidence and generate real hope unless our lives are
undergirded by moral values and our communities are built on mutual respect
and confidence.
We live in one world, have a common humanity, and share fundamental values.
We must strengthen our commonalities and reconcile our particularities
within one broader community.
Living together reshapes the image of the "other", who becomes not a
stranger, but a neighbor, not a rival, but a partner, not a person to be
either converted or rejected, but one who must be accepted and respected.
We are bound to live together in this world, which is getting smaller,
dangerous and confusing, day by day, as it wavers between two extremes:
reconstruction and destruction, integration and disintegration, unity and
division, reconciliation and polarization, drive for spirituality and
deepening of moral decay, quest for identity and alienation.
In this polarized world we need each other as partners to face common
problems and combat common evils.
Religions of the world are called to develop a vision of community, where
hate is transformed into respect, intolerance into acceptance, and isolation
into integration.
Living together as a community is God’s gift; it is also God’s command.
Irrespective of our differences, we are all integral part of God’s
household. We must keep God’s household morally, spiritually and
ecologically clean.
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.