Within the framework of “The Church and the Law” series of interviews, Iravaban.net  talked with the Priest Ter Aram Asatryan, the spiritual pastor of St. Ohanavan Church of Aragatsotn Diocese about superstitions.

– The Armenian people accepted Christianity in 301, but the superstitious faith is still rooted in the people. Why, please comment.

– It is not connected or determined with Christianity. Even before that, the pagan Armenian had manifestations of superstition, but also after the adoption of Christianity, we see that there were such manifestations that people did not imagine Christianity well and began to believe or worship other things.

-Superstition is manifested in different ways among people. Let’s talk about the most popular ones. Especially near the churches, there are trees on which handkerchiefs, hair and other various things are tied. What is the reason for this? What is the attitude of the Armenian Apostolic Church towards this phenomenon?

– The worship of trees has always existed in the life of the Armenian people, and if we read the history of Armenians by Moveses Khorenatsi, we will see that Armenians had great faith in trees and attributed certain power to poplar and pine trees and tried to see the divine in all of that. There is an interesting idea in theology; it says that if God had not created man, then man would have created God out of his fear. And even an atheist, who is a non-believer, himself believes that there is no God, unlike a Christian. A superstitious person tries to see power in everything. Similar handkerchiefs, tying things in the premises of churches are the result of similar beliefs, that people still do not understand Christianity well, they do not read the Holy Book, because all this has its own reason: being away from the Holy Book, being away from the church, staying away from church councils. When people talk about Christianity, there is a very common lie: I have my God, when you ask the question, ‘what is your God like’, how do you imagine him, you understand that the person has not read the Gospel. And he created his own God, which often has nothing to do with the Bible. Those powers exist, there is the power of evil, there is the power of good, regardless of which power the hero relies on.

– People say that flowing or dripping water in churches heals, is this considered superstition?

– In general, when we perform baptism, we bless that water, then we anoint it with holy light myrrh, we also believe that, just like at the baptism of Christ, the voice of God the Father was heard, who said: this is my beloved son, who has all my favor, and also says, The Holy Ghost descended in the form of a dove upon him, or upon those waters. It is different when those waters will be blessed. I also believe that if there is God in something and the presence of God, it is already blessed, purified and sanctified. If a person approaches the water in the church with faith, the church in which God dwells, he will be cleansed and healed by that faith.

-Perhaps the most common manifestation of superstition is hanging an “eye bead”; mostly they attach it to the clothes of young children. Is there a concept of “evil eye” and how much do these “eye beads” “fight” against it?

– I remembered the “Master and Margarita” case. It is said that when Satan entered the city, he heard that three people were talking to each other and the topic of their conversation was that there is no God. It seems that Satan should have been happy to hear that, but he had never been so angry in his life and approaching people he says: if there is no God, then I don’t exist either. Therefore, he confirms or connects his existence with the existence of God. If we believe that God exists, we must also believe that there is an opposing force, an adversary. But it is interesting that it has no effect on the human mind or brain. Man is in the image and likeness of God and that also means that man is free in his choice. We choose whether we will follow God or follow evil.

– People generally avoid marriage in the month of May; they say “May-wail”. What does the church have to say about this?

– The origin of many, many beliefs is Christian. Not only it has nothing to do with Christianity, but also its origin is Christian. But the Christian of the 21st century, not having a good idea of ​​Christianity himself, can associate it even with evil, saying that if you get married in that month, it will not be a successful marriage. The ancient period, those 50 days following the resurrection of Jesus, are very beautiful and joyful days and there was no greater joy for our people than to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Basically, the month of May falls into those 50 days and it has nothing to do with the “May-wail” thought by today’s Armenians.

– How can people get rid of superstition, are there any steps?

– We had the manifestations of this superstition mainly during the 70 years of unbelief of the Soviet Union, when an attempt was made at the state level to remove God from people, and naturally all this should have its consequences. Let’s not forget that after 1915, the Armenian, being an exile, did not have its spiritual life and people were cut off from the church. All this is proof again that the man continued to believe and wanted something to be in his life, a power, something to which he would bind himself.

– It is noticeable that superstition is more among the adults. For example, a young mother is ready to go out with her child, to receive guests, but the elder of the house does not allow it. How do you explain this?

– I am coming to confirm what you said, because whenever young daughters-in-law come here with their children, they always say: oh, my mother-in-law said something like that, what should I do? Or they say that my grandmother used to put a knife under my child’s pillow. All this comes from the very fears that we did not have God with us. “Karasunk” (Forty Days) is only for the purification of the mother, to offer the child to the temple. In other words, the fathers of the church think about the Christian life of the child already from the 40th day.

– What is justice?

– Justice is the presence of God in society.

– What is morality?

– I cannot answer this question very quickly, because I have to bring a whole Bible. I can say that morality is a chain of laws considered acceptable by the society established by moral norms, in which again God must be. For me there is no morality without God.

– Where does faith come from, is it given by God or does a person achieve it on his own?

– I believe it is placed in man by God, like love.

Details in the video