Visit of Catholicos of All Armenians to Damascus
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
By Editor on Nov 28, 2009 in Armenia

By Hagop Vartivarian

>From November 13-18, for the first time in history, the Catholicos of
All Armenians went on a pastoral visit from Holy Echmiadzin to
Damascus, the historic city of the erstwhile Umayyads, the first
Muslim dynasty (661-750), and the capital of the present-day Syrian
Arab Republic. As expected, the Damascus Armenian community, as a
whole, welcomed its pontiff with open arms.
During the past half century, Damascus witnessed the saddest pages of
our contemporary history, especially the days of our church split,
beginning in 1956, and the fratricidal fighting resulting from
that. Furthermore, ever since the day that the intervention of Vazken
I, Catholicos of All Armenians, to put an end to the crisis within the
Catholicosate of Cilicia and restore amity and legality failed due to
the revolt against the authority of the Mother See and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’s forcible establishment of its dominance
over the Cilician Catholicosate, the Damascus Armenian community
remained loyal to the supremacy of Holy Echmiadzin and, till this day,
continues to extend its unmitigated love and respect to the Mother
See.

In 1928, by the decision of the Administrative Council of the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the approval of the then patriarch,
Archbishop Yeghishe Tourian and by unanimous decision of the St. James
Brotherhood’s General Assembly, the jurisdiction of the diocese of
Damascus, as well as that of the dioceses of Beirut and Latakia,
Syria, was freely turned over to Catholicos Sahag Khabayian, the
elderly occupant of the throne of the See of Cilicia in exile, in
order for the latter to have authority over a few dioceses. However,
the Damascus Armenian community, led by its patriotic national and
political organizations ‘ ADL, SD Hunchak Party and AGBU ‘ generally
speaking, remained firm in its faith, and the general populace
directed its love and faith solely to Holy Echmiadzin, while holding
the See of Cilicia in respect.

The leaders of these organizations of ours didn’t have an easy time of
it, especially in the wake of the Cold War, when a heated political
atmosphere prevailed throughout the Middle East and from which the
Armenians of Damascus could not, of course, remain exempt.

Unfortunately, instead of striking Turks, some Armenians struck other
honorable, law-abiding fellow nationals who displayed solicitude
toward the traditions of the Armenian Church.

Thus, in 1956, when the then-Prelate of the Diocese of Damascus,
Bishop Shavarsh Kouyoumdjian was in the diocesan office next to the
church, working on his book about the history of the Armenians of
Damascus, a 17-year-old youth, at the bidding of those in charge of
the ARF at that time and with a pistol given by them to him, fired
twice upon the bishop. Fortunately, His Grace Shavarsh was rushed to
the hospital where he was saved from certain death. He had cultivated
the best of relations at the highest level with the governmental
authorities at that time. The country’s president was Shukri
al-Quwatli, while the foreign minister was Sarraj.

Prior to the visit of His Holiness Vazken I, another despicable event
had already occurred; namely, a group of Dashnaks rushed into the
courtyard of St. Sarkis Church and then, once inside the church,
attacked Mihran Der Stepanian, the chairman of the diocesan executive
council and prominent ADL leader, leaving him so bloodied that it
could have cost him his life.

They resorted to these vile measures in order to make it clear to the
Armenians of Damascus that if they didn’t cooperate with the ARF, they
would be subjected to the same acts that were committed against the
Prelate and the chairman. Unfortunately, terror remained the sole
means of enforcing the ARF’s exclusive control and authority. They had
carried out such acts in Beirut, where patriotic youths whose
allegiance was to Echmiadzin became the victims of fratricidal
fighting; during that same period, law-abiding members of the
Brotherhood of the See of Cilicia were thrown out of the monastery in
Bikfaya in broad daylight; and well-known figures in the Armenian
community and political party leaders like Prof. Parounag Tovmasian
and Nubar Nazarian became targets of terrorist attacks.

The Cold War had already begun to have an impact on Armenian life, as
well. In 1958, Syria united with Egypt to form the United Arab
Republic, and Al-Wehda (unity) developed between the two
countries. George Mardigian, the head of ANCHA, went to Syria where he
tried to buy officers of the Syrian army with large donations. During
those same days, a Dashnak from Damascus, Sarkis Bekiarian, was
arrested as an agent working for the United States and the location of
his body would permanently remain unknown. Furthermore, a large number
of Dashnaks were arrested because large quantities of ammunition were
found in the ARF club and churches in Aleppo, while others left Syria
for good.

Thus, a severe struggle began in Damascus, during which many of our
ADL members, like Krikor Asilian, were also subjected to interrogation
as Communists. Here we are obliged to acknowledge, for the historical
record, the great effort carried out by our Hunchak friends to
maintain the diocese’s loyalty to the Mother See. Mrs. Gulizar
Gartatsoghian, Khashmanian, Laleyian and other Hunchaks fought
wholeheartedly for the sake of the supremacy of the Catholicosate of
All Armenians. AGBU leaders, as well, like Levon Yacoubian and others,
remained on the front lines of this struggle with the same patriotism;
that patriotic spirit still exists within the Armenian community of
Damascus.

Having appealed to the Syrian government to intervene, as necessary,
our friends prevented those in control of Antelias from entering
Damascus. During the initial days, even Catholicos Zareh I was sent
back to Antelias from the Syrian border, because his entry into the
country was prohibited. The same happened later on to Catholicos
Khoren I. Until now, the entrance of the catholicoi of the See of
Cilicia to St. Sarkis Church is forbidden. After the passing of Bishop
Shavarsh, various patriotic clergymen were called into service within
the diocese for a short time, such as Archbishop Serovpe Manoogian,
the former Primate of Paris; however, Archbishop Knel Djeredjian, one
of the most courageous clergymen of the Armenian Church, remained,
until his last breath, the vanguard in the movement to keep the
Damascus Armenian community on Echmiadzin’s side.

Until now, as well, St. Sarkis Church remains on the register of
properties belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The
same was the case with Sourp Nishan Church ofBeirut but this property
was turned over to the Catholicosate of Cilicia during Archbishop
Yeghishe Derderian’s term as Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.

And thus, for the first time, a Catholicos of All Armenians ‘ our
beloved universal Catholicos Karekin II ‘ has gone to Damascus, having
already completed his first decade as pontiff of the Mother See of
Holy Echmiadzin. His pastoral visit to Damascus came at a time, when
that city’s Armenian community was marking over fifty years of loyalty
to the Mother See. It had honored the supremacy of Echmiadzin even
dating back to the time when Bishop Dohmouni was the prelate. As it
turned out, Catholicos Karekin’s visit has been a blessing,
particularly at this time when the masses of Diasporan Armenians
should warm up even more to Holy Echmiadzin and the motherland, the
Republic of Armenia