Armenism is an ethnocentric ideology with religious and political aspirations. Armenism otherwise could be described as a religious nationalism. Armenism is based upon its nine main principles deeply rooted in the creative and spiritual nature of Armenian psyche and its fascination with knowledge and wisdom. Just like many other ethnocentric religions, Armenism is peculiar and unique in its relevance to its carrier – the Armenians and Armenia. Despite being fundamentally Armenian by its origin, Armenism under special circumstances can be extended to incorporate other cultures of similar traditions and of common ancestry.
Armenism believes that the humanity had first originated on the slops of Mt. Ararat and surrounding land, and it is there, in the Armenian Highland humans had first began to acknowledged the existence of God, His role in the lives of humanity and the purpose of their own being. Armenism believes that this knowledge of divine and the human sense for its purpose had inspired Armenians to create the first world civilization, the kingdom of Aratta also known as Ararat or Arartun around 6000-5000 B.C., thus setting forth the precedent for the emergence of other civilizations around the world. Arartun in Armenian means the Home of the Creator, and as such Armenism considers the entire territory of historic Armenia as the Holy Land.
Armenism is different from other religions by the following rituals and practices:
-Armenists pray every day at the sunrise and every day before the dawn facing toward the Mt. Ararat.
-Armenists follow the pre-Christian Armenian calendar that was used before the advent of Christianity to celebrate their Armenian holy days and New Year, known in Armenian as Navasard.
-Armenists do not believe in the existence of hell, but do believe that those who don’t follow the divine Law set forth by God as they were given to Armenian forefather Hyek Nahapet will vanish into a non-existence and insignificance after their physical death, while who do follow the Law of God will become one with God and overcome their physical death.
-Armenists believes that all good and all evil is the work of men and is not related to anything or anyone beyond the world of our daily experiences. Armenists believe that the purpose of the mankind is immortality and transcendence to become one with God, as such, Armenists believe that the purpose of nations is to lead the rest of the humanity toward immortality, toward becoming one with God.
The Armenist understanding of God is very different from that of other religions. More specifically, their understanding differs in the following aspects:
- In Middle Eastern (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and many other religions god is seen physically as similar to humans. It is said that the humans were created in the shape of god. Accordingly, god is often portrayed as an old man with white beard flying over the clouds.
Unlike that stereotype, Armenism sees God in the plentitude and diversity of physical forms. Physically God is everywhere: in the sky, on earth, in a tree, in an ant. The world consist of God’s physical energy, also called “ar”. God may take any shape and form, including human. But the human is not the main shape of God.
- The Middle Eastern religions also see god as the ultimate ruler, the dictator, whose will is a rule that everybody should obey. No one has a right to disobey god’s will because this will lead to punishment by god, because god is also the judge of everything and everyone. Men are considered inferior and sinful and should fear god.
For Armenism, God is neither a dictator, not the judge. He is our friend and we do not need to fear Him. God is not imposing His will upon men, but only advises us on how to live our lives better and easier. God does not punish either. He has set rules for everybody and everything. These rules are embodied in the Law of God. And, unlike in other religions, humans have a choice. We may choose to follow God’s advice, i.e., God’s Law, and the better off and victorious, or we may choose to disregard the Law and play blind and be at our own risk. In this case, God will not punish us, but we will punish ourselves by making mistakes and getting into traps and hardships. But in any case the freedom of choice is always with us.
- In other religions men are made of clay, ashes or dirt. Most religions are humiliating man by considering him a slave or animal full of primitive instincts and sins. The Middle Eastern religions in particular went too far in humiliating man’s dignity and self esteem.
Armenism considers men divine beings. This comes from the fact that all man bear a little piece of God’s holy soul inside, the one that is given by God to every conscious being at birth. Given the fact that physically men consist of God’s ar and spiritually – of God’s arev (soul), men are considered as children of God. In this regard, Armenism is the only religion on the planet earth that praises and admires the human nature and preaches a belief that is encouraging humans to be better sons and daughters of God.
C G. Ariyatci
C Ayg Argayl
C World Armenist Community
