Armenian Church Priest Accused of Having Same Mindset as ISIL Terrorists

Center for Interethnic and Intercultural Cooperation NGO Head Sashik Sultanyan has issued a press statement in connection with a 168.am article entitled “Can an Armenian Woman Marry a Yazidi Man” which was originally published as part of the Frequently Asked Questions page on Qahana.am, the official website of the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Sultanyan, as stated in the letter, is calling upon Holy Trinity Church priest Father Yessayi Artenian (pictured) to issue a public apology to the Yazidi people for insulting their religious feelings by saying that “Yazidis worship the sun. In Yazidis' shrines one can see a statue of Satan. They do not believe in Satan, but rather asked him not to harm them.”

“If I'm not mistaken, priests receive higher education, and they also relate to other religions. What was this man occupied with when he doesn't know that Yazidis are not sun-worshipers. In their religion, the sun is a symbol of God. Following the same logic, one could say that Christians are cross-worshipers, and Muslims – moon-worshipers.

“The clergy member also stresses that 'there is a statue of Satan in Yazidi holy places.' He probably refers to Tawsi Melek, the Peacock Angel, which, I must say, is identified as Satan only by the terrorists of ISIL and is the exact reason they kill Yazidis.

“On top of that, the priest says 'Yazidis pray to Satan not to hurt them.' Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of theology knows that there is no Satan in Yazidi religion. Yazidis believe that both the good and the bad come from within, and it is the person who chooses which way to go.

“I advise such – putting it mildly – ignorant people not to deal with issues related to the Yazidi people, and urge the above-mentioned priest to stay true to the Bible, show tolerance and admit his mistake by apologizing to the Yazidi people for insulting their religious feelings.” Sultanyan writes.

Note, in a scandalous incident in May, 2011, Yessayi Artenian got into a dispute with two Jehovah’s Witnesses, Andranik Makvetsyan and Samvel Grigoryan, prohibiting the men from preaching on church property. The priest, as testified by Makvetsyan, threatened and yelled obscenities at them.

However, later in the year, a Yerevan district court sentenced Andranik Makvetsyan to 6 months in prison for insulting a member of the clergy and for violating the lawful activities of the priest in the vicinity of the church.