The Times (London)
July 17, 2004, Saturday

Celebrating the first Christian nation

by Greg Watts

Greg Watts speaks to the spiritual leader of the world-wide Armenian
Church.

IF YOU happen to walk along Iverna Gardens, a quiet street in
Kensington, London, you will come across a very unusual small,
square, church built of white stone.

This is the Church of St Sarkis, home to members of the oldest
Christian nation in the world, Armenia.

Situated between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, Armenia declared
Christianity the state religion in 301 after St Gregory the
Illuminator converted King Trdat III.

The Armenian Church split with mainstream Christendom in 451 when it
disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon’s declaration that Christ had
two natures, human and divine.

Most Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, known as one
of the ancient churches of the East, which are distinct from the
Orthodox churches. Three of the quarters in the old city of Jerusalem
represent the great monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. The fourth quarter is home to the Armenians.

The first Armenians to arrive in Britain settled in Manchester in the
19th century. A mixture of textile traders, small manufacturers and
retailers, in 1870 they built the first Armenian church in Britain.
Today, there are an estimated 12,000 Armenians in Britain,
concentrated mainly in London. Apart from St Sarkis, the capital’s
Armenians also worship in nearby St Yeghiche, a former Anglican
church.

Last month, Catholicos Karekin II, the spiritual head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, visited Britain. His itinerary included meetings
with the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

The ties between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Church of
England are very close and go back more than a century, Catholicos
Karekin said. “The Archbishop of Canterbury and I spoke about the
role of the Church in the world, especially in a world of conflict
and on behalf of all people everywhere. We prayed together for better
understanding in the world.

“Also, we agreed that the Church of England and the holy see of
Etchmiadzin would set up an exchange programme whereby the Church of
England would send student clergy to Etchmiadzin. Armenian student
priests come to Britain with the help of the Church of England.”

Armenia achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. After 70
years of Communist rule, he continued, the Church has to meet a
number of major challenges.

“We need Christian re-education and we must build more churches and
rehabilitate existing churches. And we need more priests. We need
about 2,000 worldwide, but we are graduating only about 50 each year.
We hope soon to double that, and towards that end we are expanding
the seminary in Sevan and we are building a new seminary in Gyumri,
north of the capital Yerevan.”

Young people, said Catholicos Karekin, are flocking to the Church. “I
am very pleased with the interest that our young people are showing
in the Church. We have set up seven youth organisations, which
attract about 5,000 young people each week. These included sports and
traditional Armenian music and folk dancing classes. Also, the
history of the Armenian Church is now being taught in all schools.”

However, he accused what he calls “born-again sects” of destroying
the traditional Armenian family. “These are mostly
American-orientated, and include the charismatics, the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Mormons. Because Armenia is a poor country, due to
the combination of the effects of the 1988 earthquake, the war with
Azerbaijan, and the damaging blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, these
wealthier sects have created a situation whereby faith is a buyable
and sellable commodity. They are offering food and materials in
exchange for abandoning the Armenian Church and becoming one of their
followers. It hurts me to say that some Armenian families realise
that their faith is saleable.”

Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in Great Britain, admitted that the Armenian Church in Britain faces
the same problems as other churches in attracting young people. Thus
the K Tahta Armenian Community Sunday School in Acton, West London,
plays an important part in trying to encourage young Armenians to
value and understand both their faith and their culture.

“The school is the only place where young people can learn about
their national identity. There are classes in the catechism, Armenian
language, history and music. We are not nationalists but we love our
nation and our culture,” said Bishop Hovhannisian.

Armenians claim that 1.5 million of their people were killed and
600,000 deported in 1915 by the Ottoman Turks. They condemn the
deaths as organised genocide. But the issue remains controversial
because the Turkish Government has always denied that what happened
qualifies as genocide. It maintains that the deaths were precipitated
by the outbreak of war and were justifiable as a military reaction to
Armenian insurrection.

“The issue of the genocide is very important for Armenians. It’s a
moral issue first of all rather than a political issue. Any genocide
that is not recognised can lead to further genocides. The Armenian
genocide is important for all mankind, not just the Armenians. On
April 24 each year we commemorate all the victims. I hope that one
day all nations will recognise the genocide,” Bishop Hovhannisian
concluded.