Armenian Society

On the third day of his visit to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV gave a sermon and celebrated Mass at the Maslak (İstanbul) Volkswagen Arena in front of thousands of people. Attendance at the sermon and Mass was high. Clergy from other Christian communities also joined the Pope on stage. Reservations for the sermon, which was a first, were filled days in advance.

Twenty patriarchs and clergy gathered in Iznik after 1700 years and prayed together with Pope Leo XIV in the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos. The spirit of "unity" signed in Iznik came to the fore once again after 1700 years.

Pope Leo XIV's "prayer meeting" at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit - Saint Esprit became a shared expression of enthusiasm that overflowed the cathedral and centuries-old faith. Hundreds of people witnessed the historic ceremony that transformed the Pope's "First Apostolic Journey" into a divine moment, as the spirit of "unity" from the First Council of Nicaea prevailed.

Pope Leo XIV, President of the Vatican City State and spiritual leader of Catholics, conveyed the message to journalists on the special plane flying to Ankara, "We hope to emphasize how important peace is for the whole world." The Pope, who was welcomed by clerics and ministers at Esenboğa Airport, visited Anıtkabir. The Pope, also welcomed with an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex, held a private meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

As the Armenian community, has Patriarch Maşalyan whom we have chosen to be our 'leader' delivered on his duties? Even the people who would've responded "Yes" to this question are questioning the Patriarchate's attitude during Paşinyan's visit of Turkey. Especially when the Armeno-Turkish relations are fragile as they are, subjecting the Prime Minister of said country to the inner disagreements within Armenia is nothing short of being politically scandalous. The Patriarchate have committed themselves to this scandal last week and has ignored the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Paşinyan's visit to Turkey, if expressed more contemporarily, they've "ghosted" the prime minister.

The Patriarchate may believe its stance is justified from its own perspective. However, two issues arise here. First, during a visit of such historical significance for Turkey-Armenia relations, the Patriarchate’s stance is hard to comprehend. Beyond that, there are basic rules of courtesy that should be shown to a guest. Second, we must ask this: Is the Catholicos truly a figure entirely outside of politics? Disagreeing with some of Pashinyan’s statements, is one thing, but the Catholicos has also been deeply involved in Armenian politics. We surely remember the support he gave to the opposition movement against Pashinyan in recent years. And earlier years are a completely separate matter.

Last week, while wars continued in our region, geopolitical developments changed at an untraceable speed, and diplomacy in the world was completely devastated, President Erdoğan took a historical and hopeful step by inviting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Istanbul for a working visit. While this historically significant visit for Turkey and Armenia was taking place, we witnessed another disgrace that would cause a source of shame for the history of Istanbul Armenians – which we hope will not be repeated – and will be written as a black stain on the history of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey. In the absence of the Patriarch, and probably with instructions from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Patriarchate officials locked the doors of the Patriarchate and played the "we're not home" game with a guest who came to their house, even though they were inside.

After years of legal battles, efforts to find funding for the renovation of the dilapidated The Pringipos Greek Orphanage (İstanbul-Turkey) , which was returned to the Greek community, have been unsuccessful. The Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to “take the necessary steps to develop tourism activities.” Laki Vingas, who has been working for years to find resources, said in a statement to Agos, “It is impossible for such a large building to survive without a source of income. The Patriarchate had to make a rational decision,” and emphasized that there was no political intervention.