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The right part of the mathematical equation is zero. It doesn’t matter what operation you do on the left side the result is zero. Rafael Grigoryan compares human life with equation and thinks “If I die and become a zero, there is no sense how I lived here”.

Thoughts upon the meaning of life made the student of the physical-mathematical school of Yerevan State University think why science exists and what the subject giving answers to issues related with life is. “I tried to drown my searches in pleasures, but after each pleasure I became more and more eager”. One day he met a graduate student of the same school by chance. The young evangelist listened to the song of young man from Vanadzor, became interested why he was so sad and told about God, and suggested him participating in the meetings of evangelists.
“It was what I needed, therefore I went there”-the pastor of the Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith remembers his first Christian steps. The son of Catholic parents becomes evangelist and he began to be pursued. The pedagogical council dismissed him from school for the reason that “in the physics and mathematics school spiritual academy was opened” and very often he read the Bible in the evenings. Then he was restored in school but anyway, they decided to assess his diploma work negative.
“I said – “Dou you give a mark for knowledge or belief?”. “We give it for belief”-they answered. “Where the logics does not work the cruel power works”-says Rafael Grigoryan. In the communist social system he has been chased for 25 years for his religious beliefs. He was an author of 14 scientific works, but he could not defend his candidate thesis. Communists wanted him to refuse from his faith by publishing it in press. “I said-“Even if it is Doctor’s degree, I won’t refuse from my faith. This is not an idea for me, this is my life”.
Rafael Grigoryan preached the evangelical faith for already 40 years. He is the head of the Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith which belongs to the world structure of this direction. It was registered in Russia in 1921. Then the Baptist Church was established in Armenia, and Church of the Evangelical Faith became independent from it. 600 people in Vanadzor follow this faith. If these people are called Pentecost or Fifties they qualify it enemy word or dislike.
This evangelical direction has more the stress of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Gift of Holy spirit” means to be baptized and get the gifts of the Holy spirit, i.e. to pray for the sick, to return to belief, to remit one’s sins. Rafael Grigoryan does not consider it as contradiction to the faith of Armenian Apostolic Church. The Evangelical and Apostolic Churches are both for the Holy Trinity. He does not think that it is right to say the evangelical direction has been brought to Armenia from abroad. “Even Armenian Evangelical Church came from the mother church”- confirms the evangelist and he points out prohibiting a usual believer to make his own comments on the Gospel as one of the reasons for going away from the mother church.
“There have been places where reading the Bible was prohibited by the traditional church. Some of them tell the believer that they do not have the right to interpret it, they are to do it”-he says. Whereas, when “the person starts reading the Bible, pays attention to himself, understands that he can pray to God, too and that he can remit his sins without mediator. The mediator is Jesus Christ”.
Rafael Grigoryan refers to the separations between the faith and religion with tolerance and brings as example the formula of theologian Augustine: unification in important things, freedom in what is secondary, and love in everything. He qualifies this formula as delightful and comments what is the important and secondary in this case. The most important is when you believe that there is God. In secondary things, a person has a right to think freely.
“Why you want society to be the same, and if it is not of your kind and if you are powerful, you will expose him to discrimination.”-insists the evangelist. He points out Jehovah’s Witnesses “the more they were oppressed the more they became”. Though he noticed that where evangelists are active, Jehovah’s Witnesses are fewer.
“We often throw away those whom God accepts, embraces, loves and blesses” –the pastor of this church condemns human intolerance, - not being greater than God we dare to be so.
In the result acts “the foolish principle, if someone is not with us, he is against us”. The evangelists do not show any discrimination towards denominations.
He considers that it is not permissible to use the word sect. It is not a juridical, but a religious category, which means deviation from the Bible. If you accept another book as you accept the Bible, if you do not give your blood to save someone’s life and finally if you do not accept Jesus as God then you are for the sect.
“Why Jehovah’s Witnesses lost their respect”-not wishing to humiliate them before the atheist world the supporter of the Evangelical direction says “A number of historical facts testify how Jehovah’s witnesses had been mistaken about the second advent of Jesus”.
“Or why this is a sect, it is because they accept the word of their leader as the word of God. One should not take from the person his greatest value-human right”.
The Bible commandments, which seem to limit human freedom, factually give a person the opportunity to live in freedom-away from the temptation of killing, robbing and acting immorally.
“That is the real freedom when the person lives by the word of God and here human right should be respected”. And when some religious directions interpret the word of God in their own way they fall in such a psychological state when the level of their freedom reduces. On the other hand, isolation from society starts, refusal to pay taxes or to go to elections.
“These are sect attributes.”-Rafael Grigoryan notes. He reminds the commandment of Jesus – Caesar’s to Caesar, God’s to God.
Rafael Grigoryan thinks that love is the only way to bring the guilty to truth. To help, for instance, homosexuals to remit their sins and to choose the natural way to life. Otherwise, they will be deprived of “entering heavenly kingdom”. Whereas the fact that Catholic Church marries homosexuals, is not considered by the head of Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith as a process which is allowed by Pope. It is a subjective wish of the churchman, which is a sin. Regardless of everything, they need to be cured and instead of punishing them, he suggests saving them by means of love.
“Any discrimination towards them, even religious, is inhuman”- the evangelist is sure.
He thinks that the method of violence, abuse of power is intolerable. He believes that in case of discrimination it is impossible to form civil society, where every citizen is entitled to equal treatment and should not be submitted to discrimination.
“In order to walk along the street and not to be pointed to as evangelist. I am as much citizen, as you. And only the Doomsday will show who each of us is”. Regardless of your religion, everyone’s participation in civil processes is important, which does not mean to oppose the Gospel. Moreover, he qualifies non-participation in the state problems as anti-evangelical, which is characteristic to sects. “And when the power of God rules, there is a perfect freedom and human rights are protected. When there is no God, the evil rules the person”. The representative of evangelical direction gives an example the person who wants position and money, and says that one can hardly write books on his evil deeds.
“We are far from being civil society, but we do not become hopeless.” – the evangelist is for the idea of creating healthy society for future generations. The church led by him is not limited to only religious activities. They supported many families to solve social, housing problems. They helped to get rid of ill habits and to believe in God. Rafael Grigoryan jokes that the ministry of internal affairs should award good preachers with medals as “a lot of robbers, immoral people and addicts were saved”.
The Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith tends to make its voice heard on different levels, to support and to develop. Their latest civil activity was connected with the film “The Da Vinci Code”, when evangelists organized a protest in front of the cinema house.
The Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith established good relations with Armenian Apostolic Church, other churches of the evangelical direction. Rafael Grigoryan is going to invite Sepuh bishop Chuljyan, the head of Gugarats diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church, to bless his house of worship. The representative of the evangelical direction is ready to communicate with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons if they wish. Finally, God likes diversity.
Naira Bulghadaryan