Addressing the Catholicos by Baptismal Name Is Not an Insult: Ruben Rubinyan

During a session in the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan presented his understanding of what constitutes an objective insult. An insult is not a subjective, but rather an objective phenomenon; for example, calling someone a scoundrel is objectively an insult. This is how Rubinyan explained the essence of insult from the position of the Speaker of the National Assembly after the member of the 'Strong Armenia' faction, Davit Ghazinyan, declared that referring to the Catholicos of All Armenians by his baptismal name is perceived as an insult or provocation.

'However, addressing a person by their baptismal name or their clerical name is not a matter of insult or etiquette; it is a question of political, or perhaps even ecclesiastical, stance. Now a situation may arise where, for example, every time the mentioned person is addressed by their clerical name, the 'Civil Contract' faction, which believes that the mentioned person has violated the political covenant, would consider it a provocation as well. I suggest that we do not go down that path, and yes, all of you can and should rightly expect that no insults will be heard from this podium. I will do everything to ensure that this is the case. But let's agree—an insult is what is objective. What is a matter of political stance is no longer an insult. One cannot inherently consider addressing someone by their baptismal name as an insult. Can you disagree with that? Yes, it is your right, but please do not disrupt the sessions,' he noted.