Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan…Born in Sumgait…Moved to Yerevan with his family…Studied at Yerevan state Polytechnic Institute…Got accepted to the Institute of Russian and Foreign Languages after Bryusov…Studied at the Gevorgyan Spiritual Lyceum of Etchmiadzin…Received theological education in the PhD program adjunct to the Spiritual Academy of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg)…Taught at Gevorgyan Spiritual Lyceum…Ordained a bishop…Appointed leader of the reestablished Diocese of Artsakh by the condac of Catholicos Vazgen I…Received the title of archbishop…Played active role in the nation-building and army construction of the Artsakh Republic…Hero of Artsakh.

Aparaj.am: Your Holiness, being well educated, why did you choose to fulfill the divine mission of a clergyman?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: Since I graduated from a math school, my friends and I decided to get accepted to either a university, or the Polytechnic Institute. Most of my friends got accepted to the Polytechnic Institute, and we all decided to be together. A year later, I decided to get accepted to the Linguistic Institute after Bryusov. In general, I had a dream to continue my studies at the Faculty of Philology at Yerevan State University, which was a little hard for me since I had learned a Russian-language school, and philosophy was only being taught in Armenian. I was in search of something for a long time.

I rejected atheism and materialism. I accepted idealism, and later, I started reading about mystical phenomena and, most importantly, my grandmother was a religious person. She instilled faith in me. After studying about mysticism, I came to the conclusion that Christianity is the most correct religion in the world. However, there was one question that I didn’t know the answer to. Who is Christ, the Son of God? I understood who God was, but I didn’t understand who the Son of God was. As I always do, I sought and found the answers to my questions and decided to find the answer to that question as well. The search led me to the spiritual lyceum of Etchmiadzin.

Aparaj.am: Not many clergymen have received the ranking of a bishop in a matter of three years. What’s more, you were appointed leader of a diocese three months later. How did that happen?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: When Catholicos Vazgen ordained me and six others bishops, each of us had a certain kind of position. I was an abbot at Saint Hripsime Church. The words of the Catholicos were symbolic. He said something to each of us while ordaining. He said the following to me: “His Holiness Pargev became a bishop today because he is from Chardakhlu, he is from Artsakh and was born in Sumgait.” It seemed as though the Supreme Patriarch had some kind of anger against the massacres of Sumgait. He supported the Artsakh movement. I remember his words to this day.

I was ordained a bishop in November and became leader of the diocese of Artsakh in March.

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Aparaj.am: The diocese of Artsakh was going to open its doors after a 70-year interval. Didn’t the difficulties depress you, or does one need not to feel depressed or afraid when carrying out divine acts?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: The diocese of Artsakh had to be open since there was a desire, and Moscow let us open two churches and two monasteries in Artsakh in November-December, contrary to Baku’s refusal. We had submitted several appeals to Moscow, and after receiving permission, Vazgen I decided to take the opportunity and reopen the historic diocese of Artsakh. Four clergymen and I had the mission. When a Catholicos gives you his blessing, God’s blessing also becomes powerful. If you have God’s blessing, there will be God’s will. It doesn’t matter if you will stay alive, or it will be hard or easy. You have to go. You already have the awareness of a Christian. You have to act as instructed. The best thing is that when you act with a blessing. That’s an important rule of Christianity.

Aparaj.am: The times were difficult, but you managed to reopen the diocese of Artsakh. Your contemporaries often say His Holiness Pargev was not only a clergyman, but also a military, political and state figure…

Archbishop Pargev Martrosyan: Frankly, I had no experience in being a leader, and I hadn’t been a vicar or assistant. This made it hard for me. Of course, we had a general understanding and knew that we had to open churches and monasteries and form parishes, but it was a necessity, and we also had to be involved as state, national, military and political figures. It was normal. There is something special. If you are a spiritual leader, you are the spiritual father of the particular diocese and have to live and care for it. You have to be where the people need you and support them, be it in politics, government, the military or in society.

Aparaj.am: Right from the beginning, you believed that if you made it through the spiritual blockade in Artsakh, in three years you would be also be able to make it through the physical blockade. Then, there was the blessed month of May 1992…

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: I had said that prior to the reconsecration of Gandzasar Monastery. When we reconsecrated Gandzasar Monastery on 1 October 1989, exactly two years and seven months later we became united with Mother Armenia.

Aparaj.am: There are some estimates that there is no territory on the planet that has so many saints and so many churches like Artsakh. Your goal was to have as many churches in Artsakh as there used to be. What has been done over the past 25 years?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: There truly is no region in the world that has as many Christian churches as Artsakh does. Our ancestors built chapels, churches and monasteries and placed cross-stones at a distance of 300-400 square meters. It’s amazing. Our ancestors in Artsakh were very religious people. Since 1989, we have tried to renovate the old and build the new. Now, there are 70 churches.

Some churches are under construction. We have created the “Gandzasar” Theological Center, the “Vem” radio station, Armenian Sunday schools and youth centers. We also have a Young Church Lovers Union. We have introduced religion as a subject in the curricula of public schools, as well as History of the Armenian Church. It seems as though we have done a lot throughout the past 25 years, if we take into consideration the blockade, the war and the devastated economy. But it’s not a lot, if we take into account the fact that there was a time when the Catholicosate of Gandzasar had 4,500-5,000 churches and monasteries, which is a tremendous heritage. The important thing is to continue what we have started.

Aparaj.am: As a clergyman, do you have time to preach?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: The first duty of any clergyman is to preach the Bible, and the second and third duties are to organize parishes and keep our holy places viable. I think clergymen have to contribute to church life, engage benefactors in the important process of nation-building, and that’s exactly what I’m doing now. If we can contribute to society or nation-building, we definitely need to help. If we can support the development of education, we need to do it. If you are a religious parent, you have to try to make your contribution in any sphere.

Aparaj.am: The Armenian Apostolic Church and, in general, all nations and individuals are facing various geopolitical challenges. What is the position of the Armenian Apostolic Church on the undesired phenomena that await us?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: The Armenian Apostolic Church has three main duties. The first is to instill faith in the souls of every Armenian so that he takes the right path in life. The second is to advocate peace, which the Armenian Apostolic Church has always done, and the third is to always try to preserve the Armenian identity, according to God’s order. In an age of globalization, the danger is that globalization recognizes no nationality or identity. That’s a danger for the Armenian identity. The Armenian Church must do everything it can to keep national values and the national identity strong. We face other challenges as well. The first is our unity. People can always have social, economic and political issues, but that shouldn’t become a reason for us to get into disputes with each other. We don’t have that right. We have to unite as one and do everything we can to keep our army strong. We don’t have time to dispute and split apart. Every Armenian has to be aware of this.

Aparaj.am: Your Holiness, you are a clergyman and a person who also has flaws and makes mistakes. How do you avoid all that?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: Each person knows his sins and flaws. He tries to overcome them in his own way. Some overcome them, some don’t.

Aparaj.am: Everyone has dreams, regardless of age, gender, social status, or whether the person is religious or secular. What dreams do you have?

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: Since I was a child, I have always dreamed of having a strong nation. I thank the Lord for being in Artsakh and being a part of the victory of the Armenians. It’s safe to say that I saw part of my dream come true, that is, the liberation of Armenian land. Another dream is to see the 15 Armenian states liberated and united as one, to have a Christian Armenian king who will reign on all of our historic lands. When I became a Christian and a clergyman, I prayed and continue to pray, I dreamed and still dream that we will repent as a nation and will glorify Christ and all his saints so that we don’t lose any Armenian when judgment day comes. Amen.

Ani Azatyan

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