On July 9, Petros Ghazaryan’s guest on Public TV was the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan. The topic was the standards of education, in particular, the removal of the history of the Armenian Church as a separate subject from the school curriculum which raised heated discussions.
It is important to note that on July 8, Petros Ghazaryan hosted the Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiatsin, Bishop Arshak Khachatryan. During the conversation with the minister, Petros Ghazaryan voiced the concerns raised during the discussion, the point of view of the church, some of the critical theses: “The church has been the main creator of our history, it has a unique role, it summarizes our identity, our morality, our faith, this subject cannot be removed.”
In response to Petros Ghazaryan’s question, the minister insisted that the rumors that the history of the Armenian Church will not be taught in schools do not correspond to reality, noting that the history of the Armenian Church will be taught within the framework of the subject of Armenian history. They do not consider it expedient to teach it within the framework of a separate subject, as it does not follow from the logic by which the sovereign modern state develops.
Petros Ghazaryan quoted the remark of his previous day guest that the word “morality” is not included in those criteria․ “Why don’t you write, is it hard to write?” The Minister answered with irony: “Within the same church, there are people who have a large property, who drive Bentleys, who, being a celibate, are not celibate at all, it means, we should be guided by slogans, of course not ․․․ The perceptions that the church has in relation to moral perceptions, it will have that perception and will understand that this criterion has achieved its goal in its outcome. On your air, the bishop noted that the subject of Armenian history will also be removed – false, again false, by the way, within the subject of Armenian history, we will teach the ten commandments well, we will pay special attention to the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Lie”. Petros Ghazaryan added: “The commandment “Thou shalt not steal”, as well, please.”
