Bishops and primates of Armenia have issued a statement over council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul convention).
26.07.2019
In recent weeks, the public has been widely discussed the goals, provisions and resolutions, of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence signed by the Republic of Armenia in January 2018, as well as, the expediency of its further ratification.
Armenian Church welcomes each initiative including a legal document called for ruling out violence in the family and in other social environments. Any manifestation of violence is condemnable. Regardless of God's creator biological differences, all humans are under God's constant care as it is testified in the first universal letter of John the Apostle: “ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him”.1 John 3:1.
The prevention of any violence and evil, as well as, the fight against them must be carried out in such ways that do not become a reason for committing a new sin or a new evil act. In this case, certain concepts and ideas in the Convention are strictly troubling and unacceptable.
The resolutions and their interpretations that define other options of gender other than two biological genders are incompatible with moral education of the Church. (part 3, article 4, Convention, interpretative report of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, article 4, point 53, article 60, point 313, Istanbul, 11.05.2011). In fact, the abovementioned definitions, recognize even the right of a person to ''gender identity''. The Christian Orthodox conception of human rights and freedoms rules out the distortion or change of the God-created identity of a human.
Considering the subtext of Convention of “gender identity”, the demand of Convention from the member states also raises many serious doubts and interpretations, which is “to eradicate the traditions, which are based on the idea of stereotyped roles of men and women in the aim of making changes in the cultural and social behaviour of men and women”(part 1, Article 12, Convention).
Convention also has private instruction to take the necessary steps to include teaching materials on the issues such as “non-stereotyped gender roles” in all official training programs and all educational levels without spesifying the content of the terminology fortraining.
The approaches of the Convention to gender also contradict the unchanged doctrine of the Church regarding the family on which our national perception of family is anchored.According to the Church doctrine, the man and the woman can make a family, who become a whole body via marriage of Holy crown, as the Bible says. (Genesis 2.24, Mark. 10. 7-8, Ephesians 5.31). Our nation has always venerated the woman with the example of St. Mary, appreciated her role and mission in the family and in public and national life. The family with the unity of a man and a woman established on the foundation of love, mutual respect and understanding, is one of the main guarantees of the eternity of nation, the upbringing and spiritual uplift of an individual and the formation of a responsible citizen of the State. Consequently, the actions for preventing and combating domestic violence need to be based on the nature and value of the sacredness of the family.
Thus, taking into consideration the fact that there are strictly troubling provisions and concepts in the Convention from the perspective of our national-spiritual identity and security interests, we exhort to our native authorities to refrain from the document ratification.
In favor of the empowerment of our nation and building bright future for our people around the world, we gave a great importance to the upbringing and education of a new generation with spiritual, moral and national values in the family and in our native educational system, as well as, the efficiency of responsible activity of mass media.
Church, with its pontifical mission, will continue to provide spiritual care and support to Armenian families to overcome the obstacles in family life and strengthen via the God-given gift of family holiness.
We pray that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ keep our nation under His permanent care, warm our families with strong and everlasting love and make prosper to our native state, effectuate all the efforts invested for progressive life for the sake of our native country.
