THE MAGARAVANK PILGRIMAGE: THE PRESERVATION OF THE PAST AND THE DETERMINATION OF THE FUTURE
Hrayr Jebedjian

Gibrahayer e-magazine
11 May, 2009

The notice on a small paper at the entrance of the Turkish occupied
Magara Vank caught my attention. It was written in English, and
it described the history of the Monastery which was built in 1000AD
by the Coptic Church. In 1425AD, it was handed over to the Armenian
Church. It has been an important center for research and study for
Armenian and non Armenian pilgrims who made a stopover at the Monastery
on their way to the Holy Lands. The writing on the paper did not end
here. It continued by saying something about today: The picturesque
and idyllic view of both the sea and the mountains makes this place a
"touristic" spot where one can enjoy the splendid nature in a relaxed
atmosphere and drink a cup of coffee…!

I moved around the "remaining" parts of the Monastery, trying to
catch up with every cornerstone and ruin and absorb history in its
fullness. I lived the history of the many clergy, pilgrims, students,
historians and intellectuals who spent a lifetime building the lives
of mankind in the spirit of the Christian ethics of love, peace and
reconciliation. Many intellectuals had devoted years to preserve
the Armenian culture. I started looking through an empty space in
one of the ruined buildings which was=2 0once a window. I started
tracing the historical path of the Monastery by looking through this
window. I could see the Light that Magara Vank had spread: the path
of civilisation throughout the ages within the Armenian community
and others.

The church service inside the small madour was overwhelming. The
sharagans touched the heart of each and every one of the 200 pilgrims
present on this pilgrimage. The singing seemed to echo that of the
past, bringing the ruins and the remaining of the Monastery back to
life and changing the "touristic" spot back to its original Mission.

The pilgrimage on Sunday, May 10, 2009, was organised by the Office of
the Armenian Representative in the Cyprus parliament in cooperation
with the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus. I joined the group together
with many of my Armenian-Cypriot friends who told me many things
about life at the Monastery before 1974. How can a centre of light
and civilisation be turned into a ruin in only thirty-five years?

The answer to my question came through Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian’s
message during the service that day. It was a call for determination,
"The determination to rebuild that which was destroyed," he said. This
is the challenge of our survival in today’s world: The preservation
of our legacy and the determination to rebuild and carry it forward to
the future; the l egacy of the past with its Identity, Faith, Culture
and the Struggle for a Just Cause. This legacy, in its fullness,
needs to be rebuilt but, most of all, carried forward to the future.

I went back to the front gate and re-read the notice on the small
piece of paper. Magara Vank can never be a touristic spot. It is the
spot to preserve the past and rebuild the future.

There are many challenges to rebuilding the future, though: The future
with the many unknowns and uncertainties that impact our lives in the
present circumstances. Nevertheless, there is one "road map" through
which we can navigate on our journey of the many unknowns. There is
one road map that will help us tackle the many Pan-Armenian concerns
that we face today: The road map that creates the Pan-Armenian mind
and effort in spite of all our differences. This is the road map
that can lead us to the safe shore even when "we walk in the valley
of the shadow of death".

The Magara Vank pilgrimage was a confirmation of the preservation of
the past and the determination to rebuild the future.