Christianity in Armenia - Other Denominations and Sects - Neopaganism

Neopaganism

There is a strong and growing ethnic (Reconstructionistic) Neopagan movement in Armenia. Adherents call themselves Hetans or Hetanos (հեթանոս). The movement traces its origins in the work of the early 20th century political philosopher and revolutionary Garegin Nzhdeh and his doctrine of Tseghakron.

In 1991 it was institutionalised by the armenologist Slak Kakosyan under the umbrella organisation called Armenian Hetan Alliance. The doctrine and mythology of the new Pagan movement is codified into a book, the Ukhtagirk, written by Kakosyan himself. The association claims roughly 3,000 members, even though a 2005 survey puts the number of unaffiliated Armenian Hetans at 32% of the population (the remaining being constituted by a 37% of Christians and a 24% of non-religious).

Armenian Neopagans worship the gods of the traditional Armenian pantheon: Haik, Aray, Barsamin, Aralez, Anahit, Mihr, Astghik, Nuneh, Tir, Nar, Amanor, Spandaramet, Gissaneh, with a particular emphasis on the cult of the solar god Vahagn. They have re-consecrated the Temple of Garni (a Hellenistic-style temple rebuilt in 1975), originally a temple to Mihr, to Vahagn, and they use it for regular worship and as a center of activity.

The movement is strongly associated to Armenian nationalism, since it finds its foundations in the desire of Armenians to recover their pure ancestral cultural identity. It finds some support from nationalist political parties of Armenia, particularly the Armenian Republican Party and the Union of Armenian Aryans. Ashot Navasardyan, the founder of the Republican Party of Armenia, which is also the currently leading party of the country, was a Pagan himself, as many other members of the party are.