Vazgen I — 5 Portraits from the History of the Armenian People

Vazgen I holds a special place among the most beneficent figures in the history of 20th-century Armenia and the Armenian Church. Many are familiar with various episodes of his spiritual, social, and civil activities, but one of the little-known pages of his life is that he carried out very serious diplomatic activities.

It can be said that being in the center of global diplomatic and political developments, Vazgen I managed to solve the most serious problem. He, in fact, pursued church diplomacy, and on this way, he did not even hesitate to make such a sacrifice as visiting the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish Republic, President Kemal Ataturk, and laying a wreath.

Kemal Ataturk was one of those who played a very bad role in the fate of the Armenians. But the mission of His Holiness Vazgen I was so great and important that the visit to Ataturk’s mausoleum did not mar his activities or his mission in any way and is considered a reasonable concession in the name of a great idea—a concession that in no way casts a shadow on the dignity of the Church or the Armenian nation.

The activities of His Holiness Vazgen I—and in this case, his diplomatic activities—testify to the fact that the Armenian Apostolic Church is a great defender of the deep interests of our statehood and nation. And depending on the situation, the Church and its leaders are also capable of conducting diplomacy, which is directed only to the interests of the nation, the state, and the Church. It would be right if His Holiness Vazgen I is perceived in Armenian society as one of the best diplomats of the 20th century, perhaps one of the most experienced players in church diplomacy.

In the ‘5 Portraits from the History of the Armenian People’ series of Alpha News’ fall season, renowned scholar Professor Ruben Melkonyan reveals the image of Vazgen I as one of the most prominent representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the most experienced diplomats of his time.