Some Priests are not so priestly after all…!
Author: (Ret.) Rear Admiral Türker Ertürk
Armenians are the most ancient community of the Christian world. However,they have been organized and grown as a different sect of Christianity and separated their ways in 451 A.D. from the Byzantium Church headquartered in Istanbul due to political infighting and doctrinal differences. They are named Armenian Apostolic Church but called by the western sources, with some belittlement, Gregorian ( Orthodox ) which is not used or recognized by the Church.
Having lived in the past dispersed in the Caucausian plains and in Eastern Anatolia and not constituting a majority of the population anywhere they have lived, they came to Istanbul to live upon the order and invitation of Sultan Mehmet II ( the Conquerer ) after he seized the City. And over along period of time, they have spread all over Anatolia.
The first split and separation from the Gregorian (Orthodox) Sect has started around 1700’s with the help and encouragement of the French Catholics. The first official organization and registration of this sect as Catholic Armenian Nation under the auspices of the Pope in Vatican was announced in 1831 by Sultan Mahmud II. Over the time, with the arrival of the American Protestant Missionaries in Anatolia in 1820’s, the split and separation movement has again started, this time, as Protestants. Now,Sultan Abdulmecid announced and declared the Armenian Protestant Nation in 1847.
Why don’t you takeover Istanbul ?
The loyal service of the Erivan Gregorian ( Orthodox) Patriarchate to the Russians and the British has actually started in 1820’s. The close and friendly relationship of the Istanbul Armenian Gregorian (Orthodox)Patriarchate and the Erivan Church can not be denied although the same thing may not be said today between these two Churches. When the Russians, under the command of Grand Duchess Romanov was knocking the doors of the Ottoman Empire at Yeşilköy ( then called Ayastefanos ), Patriarch Nerses Vardabetian of Istanbul went to visit him and asked him, infamously, “ Why don’t you come and take over the City of Istanbul ? “.
There used to be a lot of infighting, competition and enmity among the various sects of Christianity and the Armenian Churches ( Catholics,Orthodox - Gregorian, Protestants ). But today, while the various Muslim sects divided and involved in fighting among themselves with the manipulation of the imperialism, the Christian sects are in peace with each other, all settling on the least common denominator and common interests.
Pope Francesco, the religious leader of all the World’s Catholics, mixed himself in politics and started cultivating the seeds of hatred when he infamously and shamelessly announced on April 12, 2015 in Vatican, during a religious ceremony that “ The first genocide of the 20th century was performed against the Armenian Nation “… without even looking back to his own religious past history full of tears, blood and hatred, at the presence of the religious leaders of the Armenian Gregorian, Catholics and the Protestants, under the inconspicuous order and the guidance of the Imperialists dominating the World Finance and Capital System.
Another politically oriented church leader from Germany has now joined with the above mentioned religious leaders. The president of the German Federal Government, Joachim Gauck, who actually is a Protestant Priest, said, in brief, in a press conference that “ The Armenian past, with its mass killings, ethnic cleansing, deportations and genocide, is a stark example in history..”
The Nazi Armenian Legion
It is obvious after all, that Mr. Gauck who is a observant and obedient Protestant, has been reciting, as if it was his own, the text given to him by the Armenian clergy and the leaders of the Armenian Diaspora for his announcement. There has not been a single piece of truth in the text he has read. However, if President Gauck had read and studied his own history, he would have learned about the Nazi Armenian Legion, 22,000 soldier strong,during the World War II. He would have learned how this Legion sent Jews to the killing camps and how obediently they served Hitler until his last days. Additionally, he would have learned that the Ottoman Army Commander General Liman von Sanders and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces General Staff General Bronsart von Schellendorf were the names behind the orders of the Armenian Deportations which were simply a military necessity.
Mr. Şükrü Server Aya, whom I have referred to before quite often in my articles and who was justifiably named “ The One Men Army “, has recently sent a package of books and articles weighing 4.5 kg. to President Gauck of Germany, proving, line by line with documents, the facts that there were German officers behind the Deportation orders and that Gauck’s announcement was full of historical errors. Regrettably, the president of a country which we thought was our ally, our friend and a country ruled and governed democratically where 4 million of our brethren currently work and live, did not want to receive and review this package and returned it back.
As you can see, some priests are not so priestly after all ..!
Best Regards,
Rear Admiral Türker Ertürk
Translated by Şadi Dinlenç of New York.
