Churchgoers have no idea why the price of candles has gone up; neither do those who sell candles. “They haven’t told us anything,” says a candle seller at the Gregory the Illuminator Church in Yerevan. A new candle price list has been affixed to the tables where the candles are sold.

According to the official reports from the Holy See of Etchmiadzin the price of candles has risen due to the increase in the price of the ingredients involved.

Gayaneh Hambardzumyan, whom we spoke to in the church courtyard, surmised that, “Perhaps the price of everything is going up, candles as well. All my life I’ve always bought 10 candles. Now, after the price rise, I only get 5. There’s a woman selling them for 20 drams a piece a bit down the way but I want to support the church and always buy from inside. Why doesn’t the church do anything to ease the burden?” Other women in the church also said that they’re now buying less candles as a result of the price hike.

At the foot of the steps leading to Saint Gregory’s two women were selling candles for 20 drams apiece. These candles were practically identical to the ones being sold by the church for 60 drams, maybe a tad smaller).

These women stated that their candles had only gone up by 10 drams and that they used to sell them for 5 drams apiece. Turning her head towards the church, one of the candle sellers stated that, “They’re doing business while we’re trying to make a living.”

Those competing with the church also have to undercut their prices because many people believe that church-bought candles, manufactured by Etchmiadzin, are officially blessed.

These “illegal candle sellers” avoided a lengthy conversation with us given that we were total strangers poking our nose around. They only said that they didn’t make the candles themselves but purchased them from a small time candle maker, but didn’t say where. It was clear that the candles were produced on the sly.

“Haykop” is a warehouse for Iranian goods where one can buy paraffin imported from Iran as well as ready made church candles. These candles are made here with the imported paraffin. The Iranian warehouse manager didn’t say who produced these candles or where they were made. He merely stated that the cost of paraffin had indeed gone up to 420 drams per kilo from 350 drams.

The small candles available at the warehouse only differed in color from the same sized ones produced by the Etchmiadzin foundry and there were no visible differences in the largest ones. There were great differences in the prices though. A small warehouse candle costs 1.4 drams or 150 drams for a bunch of 100 and the largest ones go for 7 drams apiece. These too are sold in packs of 100.

In any case, even with the increase in the cost of ingredients, the price of these candles hasn’t gone up so high to make the final consumer as flustered, as is the case with Etchmiadzin candles.

“Hetq” got in touch, in writing, with Father Vahram Melikyan, Director of the Department of Information at Etchmiadzin, to find out the reason for the price hike in their candles. Etchmiadzin’s response to our query sounded more like a sermon lecture than an official answer. The letter stated that the reason was price increase in the imported raw materials needed to manufacture candles. The letter failed to state what the actual percentage of the increase was since 2005.

We also requested permission to visit the candle foundry at Etchmiadzin for ourselves and ascertain what actually is involved in the final pricing of a candle. We also wanted to find out if other firms had the right to make candles for the church or if the Holy See of Etchmiadzin possessed a monopoly on candle making.

The answer to all these questions was the same. “The lighting of candles in the church is a custom representing piety. It is a gift that every faithful member of the flock makes to the church. Aside from its mystical symbolism, it’s the only source of income for the Holy See and the various Dioceses in Armenia. Thus, the price hike in candles doesn’t solely arise based on economic calculations. From the monies derived from the practice of candle lighting the Church covers its administrative costs and is able to implement social programs and other church maintenance duties. The candle foundry at Holy Etchmiadzin that has been operating since long ago produces all candles sold throughout the various dioceses in Armenia. The foundry imports the raw materials and manufactures candles to satisfy the demand, while maintaining a high degree of quality control.”

At the end of the letter Father Melikyan noted that the custom of candle lighting mustn’t be approached or scrutinized as a business-making process. From this statement we can perhaps assume that the reason for the price hike in church candles isn’t based on economic factors.