Armenian authorities really serious about religious conversion -  political scientist

ArmInfo.  Armenian authorities are really serious about religious conversion, that is,  the conversion to another faith.

Earlier today, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed playing the  national anthem and flying the national flag in churches before  liturgies.

In this regard, political scientist Stepan Danielyan has raised the  question of the consequences of such a development on his Facebook  page. "Traditional churches don't have such a practice: neither the  Catholic nor the Orthodox Churches play the national anthem during  liturgy nor display the national flag. Why?  Because Catholic  Churches operate in many countries, and by displaying flags and  performing the anthem, they effectively divide the Church along  national lines, undermining its unity. Orthodox Churches also operate  in different countries. For instance, the Russian, Georgian, and  Serbian Churches have dioceses in different countries, and in these  countries, they will not allow their Orthodox communities, the  majority of whose members are citizens of those countries, to display  the flag of another country or perform the anthem. In other words,  churches, being a unifying factor of national identity, do not  undermine it based on national affiliation. The Church is a  supranational national Church, uniting peoples with the diaspora,  becoming the most important cornerstone of national identity," the  political scientist noted.

He wondered whether similar practices exist in other churches. It  turns out that they do. For instance, in Protestant churches in the  United States-Baptist, Methodist, or Presbyterian-the national anthem  is sometimes played and the national flag is displayed during  liturgies. This is a common feature of Protestant churches, and it  prompts serious reflection. "If Armenian churches display the flag  and sing the national anthem, then other Armenian churches in other  countries should follow suit. In the United States, for example, they  should sing the American anthem and display the American flag; in  France, the French flag; in Turkey, the Turkish flag; and so forth.  In other words, this would mean  that the Armenian Apostolic Church  will no longer to be the cornerstone of national identity, and this  will be a cruel blow to the diaspora, which will eventually collapse.  Essentially, the maniac is trying to convert Armenians to his faith,  uniting around himself some bishops of the Armenian Church who are  also engaged in religious conversion. The maniac's theses that the  Catholicos of All Armenians should be elected by the people, and  until then, the viceroy of the Catholicos should be a married priest,  are also not accidental. These theses confirm the assumption that the  maniac is seriously pursuing religious conversion," the political  scientist noted.