ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITY IN LEBANON
Vahram Hovyan
"Noravank" Foundation
03 May 2010
The Protestant Armenians of Lebanon are, alongside with the Apostolic
and Catholic Armenians, one of the three confessional stratums of the
Armenian community in that country. The Armenian Protestant community,
established back in the 19th century, expanded after the Armenian
Genocide when the Protestant Armenians, together with other Armenians,
immigrated to that country from other places of the Ottoman Empire.
Protestant Armenians today constitute 5% (4-5 thousand) of the Armenian
community in Lebanon. They are mainly centred in Beirut and its suburbs
– Burj Hamad, Eshrefie, as well as in the city of Aintchar. Beirut, in
some extent, can be considered the centre of the Protestant Armenians
in the Near East, because here the Union of the Armenian Evangelical
Churches in the Near East is situated.
Due to the fact that the Protestant Armenians constitute a great part
of the Lebanese Protestants in general, one place or mandate for the
Protestant community in the Lebanese parliament from time to time is
occupied by the an Armenian deputy. Thus the number of mandates for
the Armenians reaches 7 because the Apostolic Armenians and Catholic
Armenians are also separate communities to which, correspondingly 5
and 1 (generally 6) places in parliament are allotted.
To present general condition of the Protestant Armenian community in
Lebanon the following characteristics can be distinguished:
The Protestant Armenian community in Lebanon is rather organized,
viable and active. Its viability is, first of all, expressed in the
eager activity of its organizations.
The Protestant Armenians are not alienated from the Apostolic and
Catholic Armenians but they constitute integral whole with them. The
manifestations of this are: the Protestant organizations’ activity
of both community and nationwide importance, the inter-confessional
collaboration with the Apostolic and Catholic Armenians within the
framework of many of nationwide programmes and for the solution of
different issues.
Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon For the Protestant
Armenians, just like for the Lebanese Armenians in general, besides
religious organizations, the availability of many educational,
benevolent and other organizations is characteristic. The Protestant
Armenian organizations in Lebanon are divided into 4 main groups,
according to the character of their activity:
spiritual-clerical, social, educational, informational.
Spiritual-clerical organizations. The Protestant churches were
established in the Armenian community in Lebanon in the 1920s,
alongside with the growth of the population of the local Armenian
community. The first Protestant church – the First Evangelical
Armenian Church of Beirut – was established in 1922. Today there are 6
Protestant Armenian churches in Lebanon1. The leader of the Protestant
Armenians in Lebanon is Rev. Paul Haidostian who is the chairman
of the central committee of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical
Churches in the Near East.
Social organizations. The social organizations were established by
the Protestant Armenians of Lebanon on necessity, in order to help
Armenians who sheltered in Lebanon after the Armenian Genocide. Today
they practice benevolent, medical, educational and other activities.
The well-known Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon are
Armenian Evangelical Social Service Centre, Armenian National
Sanatorium, Christian Endeavour Union of the Armenian Evangelical
Churches of Syria and Lebanon and etc.
Educational institutions. Among the biggest educational institutions
of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon is the Haigazian University
in Beirut which is the only higher educational institution in the
entire Diaspora. Haigazian University was established in 1955 as
a classical school and in 1966 it turned into a university. On
four faculties of the Haigazian University, besides the theology,
various disciplines of art and science are taught2. The president of
the university is the leader of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon,
the chairman of the central committee of the Union of the Armenian
Evangelical Churches of the Near East Rev. Paul Haidostian.
The schools of the Protestant Armenians (7 schools) are very popular
not only among the Protestant Armenians but also among the rest of
the Armenians in Lebanon. They are situated both in Beirut and in
other cities of Lebanon3.
Information institutions. The printings are the main informational
structure of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon. They are "Badanegan
Artsakank", "Chanasser" magazines and "Luys" magazine published
quarterly. By its significance among the printings the annual Haigazian
Armenian Studies journal published by Haigazian University since 1970
is distinguished.
The nationwide significance activity of the Protestant Armenian
organization.
The activity of the Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon is
not restricted to the Protestant Armenian community; it also includes
the entire Armenian community in Lebanon. That very activity of
the nationwide significance proves that the Protestant Armenians in
Lebanon are an integral part of the Armenian community in general. The
activity of the nationwide significance includes the following spheres:
educational, social, informational.
In the sphere of education the nationwide character of the Protestant
organization’s activity is conditioned by two circumstances:
The confessional composition of the students. In the Protestant
Armenian educational institutions in Lebanon not only Protestant
Armenians study, but also the Catholic and Apostolic Armenians. The
special place among those educational institutions is allotted to the
Haigazian University which activity is not restricted to the Armenian
community in Lebanon. Every year the university admits students from
20 countries regardless of their confession4.
As for the schools it does not make any difference for the Armenians
in Lebanon. That is why, in Armenian schools in Lebanon, including the
Protestant schools as well, "… children of the Apostolic Armenians,
as well as of the Catholic and Evangelical Armenians study" 5.
Educational programmes. Armenian educational institutions besides
theology, teach Armenian studies in general. At the Haikazian
University at the Chair of Armenian Studies Armenian literature,
history, politics and culture are studied. Thereby, the graduates
of the university become the figures of not only narrowly Protestant
community but of the whole Armenian community in Lebanon scale.
The aforementioned two conditions are interconnected and they prove
the nationwide character of the activity of the Protestant Armenian
educational institutions in Lebanon. The fact that Armenians of
different confessions come to study to the Protestant institutions is
conditioned by the availability of educational programmes in the sphere
of the Armenian studies. Thus, those educational institutions are
Protestant as far as they belong to the Armenian Evangelical Church.
The Protestant Armenian institutions of the social sphere have been
established to take care of the Armenians in Lebanon. So it is obvious
that their activity cannot be restricted mainly to the Protestants and
it should include all the Armenians in Lebanon irrespective of their
confessional affiliations. Those social organizations established
by the Armenian Evangelical Church and belonging to it serve to the
whole Armenian community in Lebanon.
Informational sphere. In the periodicals published by the Protestant
Armenians the publications covering not only the issues of the
Protestant community but also the issues of all the Armenians in
Lebanon can be found. The "Haigazian" journal devoted to the issues
of the Armenian studies is of special national significance.
Interconfessional collaboration Despite the differences in confessional
affiliation there is a sense of the common ethnic identity, based on
the high national self-consciousness in all the three confessional
stratums of the Armenians in Lebanon. The manifestation and symbol
of that is the collaboration of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic
and Evangelical churches in the sphere of implementation of various
nationwide programmes.
The collaboration of the Armenian Evangelical Church with other
confessional groups also includes different spheres of public live.
social, scientific and educational, political.
Social sphere is prior in the interconfessional collaboration of the
Armenians in Lebanon. The vivid example of such collaboration was the
establishment of the national sanatorium in Maamlte by the Apostolic
and Evangelical churches in 1923, which later, in 1937, moved to
Azounieh. The establishment of the national hospital was conditioned
by the necessity to treat the diseases (particularly tuberculoses)
which were spread among the Armenians who had immigrated to Lebanon
after the Genocide. The considerable contribution to the establishment
of the hospital was made by the Cathalicos of the Great House of
Cilicia Sahak Khapian and Rev. Enovk Khatitian. Today the hospital is
a property of the Armenian Apostolic and Evangelical Churches. Being
one of the leading medical facilities in Lebanon it continues its
mission directed for a good of the nation. The hospital is managed by
the board of trustees which consists of eight members – four Apostolic
and four Evangelical. According to the charter the position of the
head of the board of trustees is taken by the representative of the
Apostolic Church and the position of his deputy – by the representative
of the Evangelical Church. At the same time the secretary is always an
Apostolic while treasurer is Evangelical6. In fact, this is the case
when the interconfessional collaboration is of institutional character.
In the scientific and educational spheres interconfessional
collaboration is manifested in the following:
the eager activity of the Apostolic Armenians and Catholics in the
Protestant educational institutions, active participation of other
communities in the events arranged by one of them.
>From the point of view of the eager activity of the Apostolic and
Catholic Armenians in the Protestant educational institutions the
experience of Haigazian University is also remarkable. Despite the
fact the university belongs to the Armenian Evangelical Church and
its president is the spiritual leader of the Protestant Armenians in
Lebanon, there are many adherents of the Armenian Apostlic church
and Catholic Church in the administrative and teaching stuff. The
Cathalocos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I often reads lectures
on the Armenian Studies, theology and ecumenism. The well-known
representative of the Armenian Catholic Church A.Karanian – the
editor-in-chief of the "Haigazian" journal devoted to the Armenian
Studies – also teaches at that university7.
An interesting example of the active involvement of communities in the
events arranged by one of them is "The Culture of the Cilician Armenia"
conference arranged by the Cathalicosate of the Great House of Cilicia
and Matenadaran (Yerevan) in Antilia, in which the Armenian Catholic
and Evangelical Churches actively participated8. This is another fact
proving the existence of the common Armenian civilizational field
for Catholic and Protestant Armenians.
The participation of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches,
represented by the Prelate of Lebanon Bishop Gegham Khacherian and
the General Vicar of the Armenian Catholic Church Bishop Vartan
Ashkarian, at the 50th anniversary of the Haigazian University in
2005 was also remarkable9.
The interconfessional collaboration in the political sphere is
expressed by common efforts taken in the direction of solving
nationwide problems and facing challenges. The Armenian community in
Lebanon, despite its inner stratification on partisan or confessional
grounds, is united as for such issues of nationwide significance
as the Genocide, Hay Dat, confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the
resistance to the Turkish bids and etc.
The symbol of that unity is the monument built in Bikfaya honouring
the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the writing on it reads that
the monument was erected with the cooperation of the whole Armenian
community10. It results from this that all the Armenians in Lebanon,
despite their partisan or confessional affiliations, are united as
for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.
In issues regarding politics the unity of the Armenian religious
communities was expressed by the common statement of the Armenian
Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Churches in August 2006 against
the deployment of the Turkish peacemakers in Lebanon11.
Thus, the nationwide significance of activity of the
Protestant Armenian organizations, as well as the eager
interconfessional collaboration, proves that "… there is
neither former acute "dashnak-hnchak-ramgavar" struggle" nor
"Apostolic-Catholic-Evangelical" struggle in Lebanon"12. Consequently,
the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon, being rather active and viable
community, are integrated with the rest of the Armenians living in
Lebanon and together they form a single organic unity which is called
the Armenian community in Lebanon.
1See AMAA Directory 2009: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions,
Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide, p. 13.
2See
ages/UndergraduatePrograms.aspx
3See AMAA Directory 2009: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions,
Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide, pp. 13-14.
ite.pdf
4The fact that almost a half of the students at Haigazian University
are foreigners proves the international significance of the university,
as well as its good reputation on the international level.
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issues of author THE PROTESTANT ARMENIANS [16.03.2010]