By Anonymous* 

(The following is a response to the December 4 Hetq article Kolkota Armenian Clergyman Rebuts Charges of Mismanagement and Election Fraud)

First of all I would like congratulate Very Rev. Father Zaven Yazichyan on being appointed the new Pastor and Manager of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA)

I will try and keep this to a minimum for the sake of our readers and because we can’t solve this issue by constantly writing. It will be tiresome to write a brief on each point. I leave this to the discretion of the readers and hope that Hetq is invited to India to prepare an unbiased report.

 Fr. Yazichyan, in his opening statement, writes:

‘Today it is unusual for miscreants to create a scandal…. assume title Anonymous’

 Fr. Yazichyan, as you are new to India, I am sure you are unaware how a receipt of charity can be treated with dire consequences if anyone voices an opinion against the wardens of the Church or the School Management.

I don’t know if you have read published articles in the past or present describing how people were punished for daring to voice a critical opinion by having their financial aid halted.  And what about students who, for the same reason, were sent packing back home and other shameful charges?

I advise you to please go around the community in India, and in Armenia and Iran, and verify this.  Anyone would understand that speaking out against corruption nowadays is a mammoth task, ripe with potential challenges and threats. Before one can publicly criticize, he/she needs a great deal of back-up support in order to be spared the repercussions to come

I have chosen the path to be anonymous not because I want to lie and misled anyone, but because I know for a fact that no one will come forward to help if I disclose my identity and I most likely will be punished for saying what needs to be heard.

All I am trying to do is to inform the Diaspora about what is happening in India and let justice take its course (that is if corruption does not interfere). I know I am not 100% accurate as nobody is in their findings including you! 

We also know how the Diaspora regards the clergy today. It’s all in the media and in the voices of the millions who are still trying to achieve justice. I am sure you are reading all that is being written in the media. Please don't say that it’s all rubbish! Maybe some points, but not all. One truth can't conceal a hundred lies. I am sure the truth shall prevail one day and set us free.

Readers should thank you for giving them an overview of the Indian Armenians and their contribution to the world. I am sure our readers can use Google or Mesrop Seth's glorious accounts penned in his book or a library to find out information on Indian Armenians. I am not saying Armenians of Armenia are lacking, but please give due respect to the Indians Armenians for keeping the Armenian culture alive in a foreign land which they now call home.

 I disagree with you when you write about the scheme:

‘ …the scheme, whosoever, lay or clergyman, receive charity from church…’

 First, the clergy has not been in India from day one when the community was established.

 It was the patriotic Indian Armenians who settled in India centuries ago who also drafted the Constitution of a free Armenia and published many periodicals and had printing presses, etc.,  and gave their blood and sweat for a better future for their Mother land and for Indian Armenians to continue their legacy. 

Armenia would not have survived the ravages of the times if the Diaspora Armenians were not active and patriotic. Even today, after centuries, the school and the Church is looking after so many young boys and girls -  all because our forbearers, mainly Indian Armenian and Iranian Armenians, thought of the future generation of Armenians to come.

Correct me if I am wrong, but there were no clergymen who left endowments for   future generations of Indian Armenians. The community looked out after itself pretty good in the past and hopes to do so now.   In the past, the clergy protected the Church, but so did millions of common everyday Armenians. It is obvious that it is first the duty of the clergy to protect the Church; that is why they are called keepers of the faith.

 In fact, some years ago Indian Armenians had to wait a very long time to have a pastor visit them and preach. It was not because of the terrain, which was dangerous, or lack of flights to India, that no pastor was sent to India from Armenia.

It was because Indian Armenians had control over all their trusts and assets and were not ready to give in to pressure from Armenia. So, Armenia made lame excuses because there was nothing to gain in India.

The scheme says no recipient of charity should be eligible to vote in the 4 yearly term that includes clergy, lay,  and anyone who’s been given/appointed residence in any charitable institution that would include the Armenian College, Davidian Girls School and the Church. These are all charitable institutions, and all the income is “O” (zero)! As no student, pastor, or teacher pays anything to live or study there, as it a charitable school,   the Armenian Church   donates millions of dollars annually, a very large sum of money which I am sure with your modest views and seminary secrecy would prefer to disclose until revelations as to how the funds are mismanaged and statement of accounts are   revealed to the community; which in the past was table at general meetings of the Indian Armenian community. Since the Church of Nazareth is the main source of financial support for the school, hence managers, assistant managers and clergy who reside in the vicinity should not be eligible to cast a vote, as they are automatically recipients of charity. That is, unless they have a residence elsewhere in city which is their own or rented.

Could you please disclose who pays the salary of the foreign teachers and clergymen (sometimes 4 clergy)? Who pays for the many flights and visits of the clergy and the teachers and their guests? The Church, in the past, would invite a pastor to the community. The pastor would reside in one of the churches, mainly the Holy Church of Nazareth, and if teaching qualifications permitted, he could stay in the boys’ school provided he had a family.

Now you have a choice of five Churches plus the old age home where the elderly are eager to see a pastor in their last days. The pastor did not live in the school for long. As you mentioned there are 5 Churches so I am sure we could send one in each Church to live and look after the sanctity of the Church and protect it from encroachers and vandals. It is the duty of the clergy to protect the Church.

Anyhow, I could go on and on...how very nice of the pastors to come to India six months prior to elections and then head back the following month. I also believe the wife of a pastor is going away so the present self-elected committee will function with one less, or again amend the scheme and have maybe just 3 or 5 in the committee which would be a big farce! Or they could fill the spot with a person of their choice without a need for vote. 

And that shall seal the tragic death of the Armenian Scheme of 200 years. If this comes to pass, then I am sure no one will ever have faith in the clergy or any Armenian from Armenia.

 How convenient that the school pays the pastors and wives and other pastors to do the job of just one pastor. I am sure no Indian government has ever-paid a foreign national a salary to do a caretaker’s job looking after hostel kids and caring for foreign nationals in Indian soil. So the Church sends money to the School for pastors and the pastors come and cast their vote for the committee members who are paying the school donation after donation and in return for what? Better governing or well one should use their imagination for what agenda. Oh, come on, this is not rocket science! Why is money being given in surplus without accountability?

I am sure the Indian-Armenian community would be just as happy to have one pastor - one who mingles and talks to the community, and not just for some superficial person   who puts on the holy robe and is just doing his job without compassion.

I am confident we could send pastors to Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Burma and numerous places of the world where there is a need for them. Or maybe, those communities do not have what the Indian Armenian Community has?

 …who advised the community to have a scheme, a written document, so Indian Armenians could… 

Please allow me here to set the record straight. It was mainly an Indian-Armenian who formulated the scheme to protect the trust and assets of the Indian Armenian trust by keeping it safe from insiders and outsiders with vested interests, so that the assets and funds could not be moved out of India.  Hence, the role of the official trustee of Bengal comes into play.

Sir Gregory Charles Paul K.C.S.I., (1831–1900), an Armenian born in Calcutta and educated at Cambridge University, was the Advocate General of Bengal during British rule. He served as Advocate General for more than 30 years, and his achievements were honored when he was knighted and given the title of Sir Gregory Charles Paul.

His distinction can be measured by the fact that for more than 30 years the British Government allowed itself to be represented by an Indian born barrister. It was Sir Gregory and other eminent Armenians barristers of the day who brought the Calcutta Armenian Trusts under the Administration of the Calcutta High Court in 1888.

This very calculated   work of prominent Indian Armenians is now in danger because of the many amendments being made for people who have vested interests.  If two clergymen were allowed today, then in the next meeting who is to say that there won’t be more? As I mentioned before, and you already seem to indicate in your comments to Mr. Carapet, that most likely   Indian-Armenians may see seven clergymen casting their vote, as they are holding posts in Armenia.  

So tell us truthfully Fr. Yazichyan … is this a possibility, yes or no? Why didn’t you vote for the Indian-Armenians who are eligible and instead voted for people who you know for a fact are not even Armenians? Some can’t speak a word of Armenian and are unfit to carry on their duty.   Some have no clue of the affairs of the trust and Indian Armenian Culture. I am not saying you need to know Armenian - I am talking about fairness, equity, and who is most qualified   for the job.

‘…able to show on the map where Syria, Ethiopia is or tell me how many Armenian’

I was surprised that Fr. Yazichyan, with all his diplomas from the US and Armenia, did not know there were Armenians in Syria and Ethiopia.  I will attach the links below. Furthermore, clergymen can always be sent to places to spread the good news and help people who are traumatized, etc., or just do plain missionary work. You don't need funds to support you. People will give wholeheartedly if they see it’s genuine.

Since, as Fr. Yazichyan asks, what will he do with such big paycheck?  Maybe give it to the needy in Armenia and elsewhere, or do you donate 5% of your earning back to the Church as it states in the Bible.

By the way, there are also Armenians community in Africa, Japan, Thailand and others places.

‘As pastor…refrain from disclosing the modest salary we receive …‘

Of course, how could you disclose your salary or your predecessor’s salary?  There would be chaos in the Diaspora when it learns how handsomely the clergy are paid in India and the living arrangements they have in a country where the average pastor’s salary is less than $100, excluding food lodging and car? I always believed that the salary of the clergy should be public. After all, it is charity - the people give from their own hard-earned earnings just to have some repose in their faith and spiritual needs. To know how much is collected and given is a noble statement that should not be secret. It is strange to avoid such a query or disclosure.

‘The DGS is currently under constructions and the delays are due …’ 

What delays? This is a five year delay. There are many ways to get things done legally and the Armenians are famous and respected all over India and abroad. One could easily ask a favor of the embassy to intervene and fix this delay if necessary.

This is a lame excuse, and management should have first thought of this before transferring the girls into the boys’ campus. I believe there already are many encroachers, mosques and temples, since they believe that no one is doing anything. I suggest that Fr. Yazichyan should ask some of his staff to take photos of the work and of the current situation of the DGS building and its surroundings.

By the way, there are funds to build another, much better, hostel for girls, and this could be done within months. There is no need for 200 students for now 20 girls should be good enough if they are safe and secure. Some renovations can always be done in the present DGS and girls can go back to where they belong and be free and happy and safe!

When one plays with fire, one must expect to be burned sometime. Having a few teachers look after girls does not make it safe. How many female staffers are employed in the Armenian seminary or Church quarters in Armenia?  We are taking away the fundamental rights of these poor adolescent girls. This has never been the case since 1821; nearly two centuries. 2017 is too far away for girls to wait for their rights. What you need to do now is to take them out of there before something happens before it is too late - for the sake of your own safety and for theirs. These are young teenagers experiencing hormonal changes every day. It’s a risky proposition. You may delay their hormones reactions, but you can’t stop the probable from happening. By the way, I am sure this is the first of its kind where the girls and boys hostels are in the same building.

‘I am not upset that you lied; I am just upset…logically can’t believe you…’

 I am not upset that you are defending your own brotherhood - that is what brothers are all about. I am upset that you refuse to accept the truth and refuse to do anything, knowing that things are wrong. It is not for me or you to decide or judge what people think of when they read this. People know what sounds right and what sounds wrong. Let readers make up their own mind!

I do apologize to my readers for the in-correct name of a committee member that was published earlier.  But what difference does a name make? It is the same story.   Committee member Mrs. Lilith is from Armenia, but she is not the right choice. With all due respect to the wife of a priest, she is not capable or suited to handle Indian-Armenian affairs. The committee should be comprised of Indian-Armenians who were actually born there, or are the children of parents born in India and now residing there. Since the Trust is Indian-Armenian, the trust to manage it should give priority to Indian-Armenians.

As for the Armenian College and Davidian Girls School, until a few years ago it was under Indian-Armenian management. This trusteeship right has been regrettably given away by the former manager Mrs. John, who I am sure did not know of the ulterior motives of the clergy till it was too late. I am confident Mrs. John will vouch for her grave miscalculation.

No managers, assistant managers or administrators were previously paid such huge salaries in the past - it was always an honorary post. Only during Mrs. John’s tenure was a salary scheme introduced, a move which I am also sure she now regrets.

So why don’t we give the administration back to the Indian-Armenians? In this way, the managers won’t have to be paid a huge salary, we would not require four clergy coming over, and no aspersions cast on the integrity of the clergymen. No blame will come upon them.

But will the clergy give back what is not theirs and what they got by duping and using clever   tactics?  Please Rev. Yazichyan what is your view? Well, you could always argue that you weren’t involved then. But what about now and getting the records straight?

You consider yourself a man of God. Then do something Godly. I am sure there are Indian-Armenians who could manage the school as in the past. Fr. Yazichyan would remain as pastor and do what he is destined to do.

‘After this article…I invite everyone to visit my office where there are diplomas’

Fr. Yazichyan may I take the liberty of advising you a bit? I write my apology in advance if this offends you.

From your response and your comments one can see that you still lack maturity in controlling your authority, your thoughts and views. You above all, a keeper of faith, patience and man of God, have let yourself down in the eyes of the readers and the Indian-Armenian Community.

 I  believe you are a young learned gentleman of the Clergy clan, but, in my view you still need to learn how to control your thoughts and actions and try and be and act like a clergyman for your own good and not tarnish your imagine in front of God and its people.  

Diplomas are manmade. Getting a diploma does not teach you life skills, honesty and integrity; you are born with these virtues. It is not a big deal, for people without diplomas are also ‘wise men’. Some school drop-outs without diplomas are the richest men in the world, who are innovators, creators, preachers, and just good men. Do what God wants you to do - listen and follow your inside voice of the good man that is being suffocated by egoism and self denial.

I am sure the children of the senior Armenian may have had reason to be away. The hospital bills taken care of is a mandatory as the trust deeds states; that the funds are to be used for the Indian Armenians for health and education and welfare of the community and it is nothing that the Church Committee has done out of its way or in-fact given from their own pockets, it is every Indian Armenians birth right to receive what is a right. So please by siding with the corrupt committee you are just showing your bias and legions towards them and for what?

And please, Fr Yazichyan lets keep God out of this discussion! Some clergymen have a tendency to use God’s name in vain!

I believe you must try to do good deeds; even if you have to go down fighting against your own kind. 

I would like to end here, first by apologizing to my readers and then to Fr Yazichyan if I offended them and others in any way. All I am trying to do is give a balanced view and write what I know is true to the best of my knowledge. Let the Indian Armenian have what duly belongs to them.

As the saying goes - ‘with great power comes great responsibility and with great responsibility comes great trust’

May the truth set you free!

May God’s blessing and the blessings of the Indian Armenian community shower upon you. I wish you the blessings of wisdom, hope and courage, of good health, so that you can speak and do things for the good of the mankind and the Indian-Armenian community.

 Yours truly,

A well-wisher 

* - The author’s name has been changed.  The author writes: “I am recipient of charity and speaking out against the current committee could jeopardize my financial assistance and put my well being in danger.”