PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM ACQUIRES ASSISTANCE FROM ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES
Arthur Hagopian
AZG Armenian Daily
20/09/2008
National Interests, Diaspora
For decades, the triumphant triumvirate of the Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox and Latin Catholic churches, have stood firm
guard over the panoply of Christian sacred places in the Holy Land,
protecting, refurbishing and maintaining them. Often at enormous cost,
the burden shared equally by all.
It has been a practical and productive arrangement that has seen,
among others, the roof of the Holy Sepulcher, one of Christendom’s
holiest structures, restored to a brilliant display of inspiring color,
after lingering as a painful eyesore buttressed by rickety scaffolding
that soared upwards in an ungainly tangle of tubing.
The three guardians co-operate under the aegis of a special Status Quo
committee that oversees all preservation efforts and attempts to smooth
out any differences of opinion that may arise. And there have been more
than one. But although harmony has not always been a prevalent feature
of their deliberations, the custodians are united in their aims.
The committee derives its authority from a historic pledge made by
the Turkish Sultan, Abdul Majid, whose 1852 "firman" (declaration)
officially established the principle of "Status Quo" (i.e., existing
"as is" condition) in the Holy Places.
"The edict defines, regulates and maintains, without change, the
proprietary rights in the Holy Places granted exclusively to the
three major Christian rites – Greek, Armenian and Latin Catholic –
thus making the Armenian Church equal in stature to the Catholic and
Greek Orthodox Churches despite its relatively small size," according
to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. However, on more than one
occasion, the disagreements, particularly between the two Orthodox
churches, have festered for too long, with restoration work unduly
protracted. It took a lifetime for the Status Quo committee to ink
an agreement for renovation work at the Holy Sepulcher church, while
for decades the roof of the Nativity church in Bethlehem, remained
in a serious state of disrepair.
According to Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, director of Ecumenical and
Foreign Relations at the Armenian Patriarchate, the delay was due to
the "divergent positions among the three custodian churches."
With the Greeks insisting that they alone had the right to undertake
the restoration, nothing could be accomplished, he noted.
But a solution to the impasse has now been found, he said, thanks to
the Palestinian Authority to which the matter was referred and which
has agreed to supervise the work that needs to be done.
Shirvanian revealed the three guardians have also achieved another
milestone, with an agreement to finally revamp and restore the
lavatories in the Holy Sepulcher church, at a cost of US$136,000.
"This issue had been a contentious one for decades until intensive
negotiations yielded a breakthrough," he said. Although he did not
spell it out, the unsavory smells and unhygienic conditions emanating
from the dilapidated utility have always repelled visitors, tourists
and pilgrims.
The restoration work is unending, and the demands on the resources
of the churches, daunting.
"The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem needs the financial support
of each Armenian community worldwide to preserve and maintain the
priceless legacy of heritage and presence left by past generations
of faithful pilgrims in the Holy Land," Shirvanian stresses.
"Time, attention, prayers and donations are all essential to the
success of Armenian Jerusalem," he adds.
The Armenian Patriarchate oversees sacred sites all over the Holy
Land, but possesses only limited resources, human and material, to
help carry out its mandate. Because of this, its ability to protect
its possessions becomes strained. Vandalism has become a particularly
acute problem for the church.
This summer alone, vandals struck at two of the church’s properties,
one in Ramleh, an hour’s distance from Jerusalem, and one at Baron
Der, a 33-1/2 acre olive grove between the towns of Bethlehem-Beit
Jala and Jerusalem.
In Ramleh, the criminals took advantage of the temporarily uninhabited
St George’s Armenian monastery to ransack the interior as well
as to destroy doors and windows. (Shocked, the Armenian Patriarch,
Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, despite the ill health that has troubled
him recently, traveled all the way to the site to inspect the damage.)
Shirvanian notes that the monastery "dates back to the 1600’s and
its ancient history is linked to Armenian pilgrims, who, before the
invention of modern transportation, regularly disembarked from boats
in the nearby port of Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem. After resting
at St. Nicholas Armenian Monastery in Jaffa, overlooking the harbor of
Tel Aviv, they would proceed to Ramleh and St George’s Monastery. After
another rest period, they would resume their journey to Jerusalem."
Barely a month after the Ramleh attack, a "fire of suspicious origin"
broke out at Baron Der, damaging up to 20 trees.
Despite all the turmoil and travails, the Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem continues to live up to its legacy, its standing and
authority as the second most important Armenian spiritual center (after
Etchmiadzin, in the Motherland), permanently inscribed on the throne
of St James now occupied by an incumbent whose unbridled enthusiasm,
devotion and determination, open-mindedness and pragmatic approach,
have evoked widespread appreciation and support.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
