ARMENIAN REPORTER
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March 10, 2007 — From the community section
1. Gala banquet raises over $1.2 million for USC Institute of Armenian Studies
2. St. Vartan Cathedral hosts joint 40th-day memorial service honoring
slain journalist (by Florence Avakian)
3. Edward Peters, 85, benefactor of Armenian institutions, dies
4. Three dedicated women will receive the St. Thomas Award in Tenafly
on Palm Sunday (by Madlen E. Setian)
5. Letter to the Editor: At sea over the Prelacy and Diocese in the
U.S.A. (by Dr. Vrej Nersessian)
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1. Gala banquet raises over $1.2 million for USC Institute of Armenian Studies
Special to the Armenian Reporter
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The University of Southern California’s
Institute of Armenian Studies celebrated its second anniversary on
March 4 with a gala banquet at the Beverly Hilton. Some 1,000 people
attended the $250-a-plate event. Banquet committee co-chair Savey
Tufenkian said that donations to the institute for the occasion
surpassed $1.2 million.
The keynote speaker was John Marshall Evans, former U.S. ambassador
to Armenia. (See the story about Mr. Evans’ keynote address on page
A1.) Master of Ceremonies Charles M. Ghailian announced that Mr. Evans
had joined the institute’s National Honorary Council.
Mr. Ghailian noted that the institute had raised over $2.5 million
over the past two and half years. He thanked past donors for their
"unconditional support for the institute’s success in serving the
community and becoming the repository to help guide and preserve the
Armenian nation."
Professor R. Hrair Dekmejian, director of the institute, showed a
video about the institute’s accomplishments and then discussed plans
for its future. The first two years of the institute’s existence have
been a "time of labor, hard work, but also a time of dynamic growth,"
he said. To quantify the results, he reported that over 3,700 people
had attended the institute’s various events.
"Strengthening the academic foundations and the multidisciplinary
reach of the institute" is the leadership’s priority, Prof. Dekmejian
announced. "We can never forget the institute’s intellectual mission
and its roots in the ancient intellectual legacy of the Armenian
people. Let’s remember that this year, 2007, is the year 4500 in the
Armenian calendar. Armenians have been around this planet for over
four millennia."
Armenians’ "ancient tradition of faith, learning, and scholarship,"
Prof. Dekmejian said, "will help guide and define our path."
Embarking on that path involves a host of plans for the institute,
which include new scholarships for graduate and undergraduate
students; a monthly performance series; an expanded outreach program
to the community to provide academic advice to "a growing multitude of
students" preparing to enter the university, "especially among the
underprivileged"; a newsletter; a business forum; outreach to
universities and colleges in Armenia; and a major symposium in the
fall on international law and international tribunals, focusing on
questions of genocide.
In addition, Prof. Dekmejian announced that the university has
approved and funded an eight-credit "team research community course in
Armenian studies." The course is designed as a two-year
multidisciplinary effort.
The institute is also looking for new sources of funding for
research. It has applied for USC’s Provost’s Research Initiative on
Immigration and Integration to fund a study focusing on problems faced
by Armenian youth and new immigrant communities.
Peter Starr, dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences,
assured the guests assembled at the banquet that the college is
committed to bringing scholars from different disciplines together. He
said he is always looking for synergies, and he suggested that such a
synergy exists between the institute and the USC Shoah Foundation.
That foundation has taken over 52,000 video testimonies from survivors
of the Holocaust; it has preserved, indexed, and made these
testimonies available to scholars and students across the globe.
Dean Starr said that USC wants to be a world leader in the field of
visual testimony.
C.L. Max Nikias, provost and senior vice president of Academic
Affairs, said, "through the crucible of the diaspora, the Armenian
community has emerged with the capacity to provide significant
leadership in our society." He pointed to prominent Armenian-American
leaders within USC, as well as to U.S. Senior District Judge Dickran
Tervizian, a USC alumnus and one of the guests at the banquet.
Stanley Gold, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, described
his vision of building USC into a world-class university. He said the
goal of the banquet was to raise $1 million for the institute. Asking
everyone to be generous, he announced a $100,000 contribution from
himself and his wife.
Mr. Gold later announced that Albert and Tove Boyajian had pledged
$100,000 through a foundation they would set up to support the work of
the institute.
Following these speeches, an elegant dinner was served, after which
Mr. Evans delivered his remarks.
Commenting on Mr. Evans’ presence at the event, Armen Markarian, of
the Armenian Graduate Students’ Association, said: "It’s important to
recognize someone’s bravery. He made a great sacrifice. I’m sure we’ll
support him from now on."
A biology major at USC, Ara Janoyan said that Mr. Evans’ example had
inspired him to redouble his "fight for social justice and human
rights."
"I’ll take it to heart and continue doing the work we do – on his
behalf too," Janoyan said.
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2. St. Vartan Cathedral hosts joint 40th-day memorial service honoring
slain journalist
by Florence Avakian
NEW YORK – Even with death threats and official harassment, fleeing
Istanbul was never an option for journalist Hrant Dink. He was a
committed and dedicated journalist. This was the resounding theme
echoed by his fellow journalists and friends during a memorial at St.
Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, following a 40th-day
requiem service for the repose of his soul.
In his last article for Agos, the weekly newspaper he founded and
served as editor-in-chief, Dink wrote: "To stay and live in Turkey was
necessary because we truly desired it, and had to do so out of respect
to the thousands of friends in Turkey who struggled for democracy and
who supported us. We were going to stay, and we were going to resist."
Shortly after the article appeared, Hrant Dink was shot dead on the
steps of the editorial offices of Agos, on January 19, 2007. To his
thousands of friends in Turkey, and those around the world who
welcomed Dink’s courageous support of the truth, his murder was a
devastating blow.
But the spirit of support that erupted in Istanbul – among Armenians
and Turks alike – has become a sign that, even in death, Dink’s
message of hopeful, peaceful reconciliation remains profoundly
compelling.
An overflowing crowd of more than 800 mourners filled St. Vartan
Armenian Cathedral in New York City on Sunday, March 4. In a rare
moment of ecumenical unity, a joint memorial and requiem service
marking the 40th day following Dink’s assassination was celebrated by
the Armenian Church, Armenian Catholics, and Armenian protestant
organizations.
Heading this solemn event were Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate
of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern); Archbishop
Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America; Bishop Manuel Batakian, Exarch of the
Armenian Catholic Exarchate of America; and the Armenian Missionary
Association of America. The Reverend Canon Francis V. Tiso of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) delivered the
requiem homily.
* Focus on forgiveness
In his eloquent sermon during the morning’s Divine Liturgy, Archbishop
Barsamian, speaking in Armenian, stressed the slain journalist’s
exemplary qualities: his extraordinary courage, devotion to the
Armenian cause, loyalty to his country, and his unwavering fight for
democracy and understanding.
"Hrant Dink believed in everyone’s right to speak the truth, and in
this spirit, he wanted Turkey to own up to its past," he said.
"Through Agos, he aimed to change the thinking in Turkey and open a
new chapter in Turkish history."
The Primate, who represented His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, at Dink’s funeral in
Istanbul, recalled the mass outpouring of grief by tens of thousands
of people, including thousands of Turks, who walked past the Agos
offices carrying flowers and signs declaring "We are all Hrant Dink."
"Silently, they expressed their faith in Hrant and his work. Our
Armenian people have seen much of this kind of anguish, but sorrow
must not deaden our spirit, or blind us for our future work. We must
continue the work and dreams of Hrant Dink, so that guns will turn
into flowers, and violence to blossoming gardens," the Primate said in
conclusion.
During the requiem service, the guest preacher, the Reverend Canon
Francis V. Tiso, focused on the need to seek and offer forgiveness.
Fr. Tiso, associate director for the Secretariat for Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), recited a litany of past atrocities man has committed
against man before asking: "What can be done if the offender does not
ask for forgiveness? When a crime is centuries long and global in
concept, it becomes the unanswered question."
Comparing Hrant Dink to the widely admired Catholic monk Thomas
Merton, Tiso said that the Armenian journalist was an isolated soul,
but was also deeply aware of his role in the larger community.
"He did not want to provoke violence. For Hrant Dink, journalism was
the pursuit of truth. Reconciliation comes from a solitary person’s
ability to see the truth," Fr. Tiso said. "That we have gathered here
today, 40 days after his death, is proof that Hrant Dink’s assassin
failed. The truth can never be vanquished."
* Dedication to the truth
Following the Divine Liturgy and requiem services, more than 750
people filled the Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium for a memorial
reception honoring Dink. Before a large, imposing picture of Hrant
Dink flanked by candles and flowers, Bishop Batakian delivered the
opening prayer in the presence of Dink’s fellow journalists.
Dr. Michael O’Hurley-Pitts of the Eastern Diocese introduced several
speakers from the New York Times, the Overseas Press Club, and PEN
American Center, who addressed the crowd, highlighting Dink’s
journalistic career and his continuous dedication to discussing the
truth and asking the hard questions.
Dr. Peter Steinfels, the "Beliefs" columnist for the New York Times
and co-director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and
Culture, spoke of "a man who published in two languages that I cannot
read, in a land I visited only once, and facing dangers that I have
never had to confront… has been added to the short list of influential
and heroic journalists whom I embrace as models for my own
journalism."
Pointing out that numerous journalists have been killed trying "to
bring the truth of world and local events to people," he stressed the
importance of freedom of the press and "the courage and sacrifice it
takes to uphold it." He also noted that truth – a word so often
associated with Dink’s career – can serve as the basis for
understanding others.
"Truth cannot be evaded or soft-pedaled or sugarcoated, no matter
that it threatens to anger authorities, embarrass our friends or our
faith, challenge our ideology, or upset accommodations based on the
treacherous sands of falsehood," Steinfels said. "If truth is to
become a basis for dialogue and reconciliation, it requires the
fullest telling possible, which is no easy task."
To become a basis for dialogue, truth must "communicate in ways that
penetrate defenses and shatter stereotypes, as well as proclaim with a
humility open to correction and revision, which may be the most
difficult thing of all," Dr. Steinfels said.
Jeremy Main, a member of the Freedom of the Press Committee of the
Overseas Press Club, passionately spoke about the great courage it
takes for someone in Dink’s situation to practice active journalism.
Convicted under Turkey’s Article 301 for "denigrating Turkishness,"
Dink was still facing prosecution at the time of his death, but
heroically continued his work.
"It takes exceptional courage for journalists to practice their
profession. Hrant Dink had the courage and paid the price," Main said.
The Overseas Press Club had strongly protested the prosecution of
Dink several times, following the legal developments, most recently
lodging official protests last December and fully condemned his
killing this January.
It was important to note, Main said, that Dink didn’t write merely
to "stir the pot"; rather he hoped to inspire discussion. "He didn’t
raise these issues to divide people or inflame passions. But, on the
contrary, to cool matters and bring discussion," he said.
* Inspiring writer
Anna Kushner, coordinator of the Freedom to Write Program of the PEN
American Center, offered her heartfelt recollections of meeting Dink,
a long-time PEN member, in Istanbul last March during a conference on
freedom of expression. She told the mourners she was holding a
Christmas card Dink had sent her just weeks earlier, when she received
a telephone call informing her of his death.
Remembering her friend and colleague, she noted that he was not
willing to self-censor his work, even when threatened. He was
steadfast because he knew truthful writing could inspire an open
dialogue, which might lead to reconciliation between the Armenian and
Turkish communities.
"Hrant Dink spoke candidly of the challenges he faced," she said.
"His defiance was not an act of courage, but something he had to do.
He gave voice to issues people are afraid of, and don’t talk about. He
was one of the few writers that could inspire. In his death, Hrant
brought people together in ways he knew they were capable of –
Armenians, Turks, Americans, coming together as human beings."
* A moving tribute
Dressed in black highlighted by red carnations, the 8th-grade students
from New Jersey’s Hovnanian School presented a beautiful program of
poetry and dramatic readings, quoting some of the slain journalist’s
symbolic words.
Their performance was accompanied by a professionally-prepared film
by Hovnanian School Principal Anahid Garmiryan, detailing Dink’s life
and work, from his childhood to his death. It included a moving
portrait of the massive outpouring of grief that flooded Istanbul –
and the globe – after Dink’s murder.
The emotional performance ended with all the children donning masks
of Hrant Dink’s face, symbolizing the fact that "We are all Hrant
Dink."
* A lingering issue
Before offering his closing prayer, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan spoke
passionately of Dink who, he said, was born in 1954, but died in 1915.
"They wanted to silence us then, but they didn’t succeed. They
wanted to silence us when they destroyed the khatchkars in
Nakhichevan, but they also didn’t succeed. And they wanted to silence
the voice of Hrant Dink, but they again have not succeeded," he said.
"We are the ones who must carry on their voices and their work. We
believe in forgiveness, but it must come from the people who died in
1915."
The sponsors of the Hrant Dink Memorial and reception included the
Diocesan Gomidas Choir, the Constantinople Armenian Relief Society
(CARS), the Tbrevank Alumni, Inc., the Armenian-American Sports
Educational Center-Hye Doon, and the Esayan-Getronagan Alumni, Inc.
During the memorial service and reception, the Knights of Vartan
served as ushers and handed out small photographs of Hrant Dink to all
attendees, who wore them over their hearts throughout the day.
During the requiem service, sung by the St. Vartan Cathedral choir
under the direction of choirmaster Khoren Mekanejian and accompanied
by organist Florence Avakian, the soul-stirring Kuta Der ("Have Mercy,
Lord") by Armenian composer Alexander Haroutunian, was performed.
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3. Edward Peters, 85, benefactor of Armenian institutions, dies
BAYSIDE, N.Y. – Edward Peters of Great Neck, N.Y., died on January 31,
2007, at the age of 85. Mr. Peters was born in New York City to
immigrant parents, Mihran and Marie (nee Egavian) Der Bedrossian, on
January 19, 1922 (his father had anglicized the family surname on his
arrival in the United States). Edward was raised in the Bronx with his
younger sister, Margaret, who sadly died of rheumatic fever at the age
of 12.
In 1942, a 20-year-old Edward Peters was drafted into the army to
fight in World War II. Receiving the sad news of his father’s death
while overseas, Edward took a short leave to attend the funeral and
quickly returned to the war front.
Peters achieved the rank of Sergeant-Major in the U.S. Army’s 4th
Infantry Division, 22nd Regiment. He led his troops in the Normandy
Invasion, landing on Utah Beach on D-Day plus 16. He won two purple
hearts for injuries sustained during the war, among other medals. To
his final day, Peters was proud to be an American and proud to have
served his country in World War II.
Peters married Barbara Karibian in 1949; the couple initially lived
in Kearny, NJ, but then moved to Jackson Heights, Queens, where their
children were born. Eventually the family moved to Great Neck, Long
Island, where they resided from 1969.
Edward worked for almost 20 years as an engineer for Western
Electric while attending college at night. He graduated from NYU with
a bachelor’s degree in business (magna cum laude) and was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa. He later did post-graduate studies in engineering at
MIT and Cal Tech.
During his employment at Western Electric he observed that every
piece of equipment was identified with a label or nameplate. This
prompted Peters to start his own business in 1963 with his
brother-in-law, Leon Karibian. He named the company Apex; for its
initial, small factory in Maspeth, N.Y., the firm bought used
machinery at auctions. Apex went on to manufacture labels and
nameplates for the aeronautic, aerospace, communications, consumer
electronics, and medical industries.
Edward Peters was a generous man, and always humble about his
accomplishments. He was-proud of his Armenian heritage and became a
benefactor of many Armenian causes, especially religious, cultural,
and academic organizations. Peters received the St. Nerses Shnorhali
and the St. Gregory medals from Holy Etchmiadzin.
Edward and Barbara Peters were married for 57 years. He was a loving
and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. They were blessed with
three children, Marie, Larry, and Lorraine; with two sons-in-law,
Vache Bahadurian and George Marootian; and three grandsons, Vache,
Mark and Shant.
Funeral services for Mr. Peters were held at Bayside’s Holy Martyrs
Armenian Church on February 2. Peters was interred at Cedar Grove
Cemetery with full military honors.
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4. Three dedicated women will receive the St. Thomas Award in Tenafly
on Palm Sunday
by Madlen E. Setian
TENAFLY, N.J. – During St. Thomas Armenian Church’s 42nd anniversary
dinner scheduled for Palm Sunday, April 1, Lusi Ezgilioglu, Osanna
Soukiassian, and Shake Torigian will be honored with the "St. Thomas
Award" for their devoted service and many contributions to the Tenafly
parish. Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian will preside over
the banquet, and the awards will be presented to each recipient by
parish pastor Fr. Papken Anoushian.
What follows are brief profiles on the three recipients.
Lusi Ezgilioglu’s association with St. Thomas began soon after her
arrival in the U.S. in 1979, with her family. Lusi and her husband
Vicken were married at St. Thomas, and baptized their children there.
The latter were enrolled in the parish’s Kirikian Armenian School,
where Lusi became very involved on the Mother’s Committee, volunteered
at all school functions. She supervised the Armenian School bazaar
booth for many years, and was honored with the Kirikian Armenian
School Award for 10 years of dedicated service. Lusi continues to
serve the school, and is currently a member of its Executive
Committee.
As part of her deep involvement in many facets of church life, Lusi
devotes herself to maintaining and caring for the church’s altar,
every week and without fail. This has been a sacred task for her,
which she has carried out quietly and devoutly for many years.
Lusi, the daughter of Shahan and Meline Aridag, is a native of
Istanbul, where she attended the St. Loosavoritch School and the
Essayan Girls’ School. She recalls attending church faithfully on
Sundays, and remembers with particular pride that she would travel a
great distance each Sunday to sing at the St. Krikor Loosavoritch
church in Ortakoy.
A warm and enthusiastic person, Lusi readily devotes her time and
efforts to the church and its Armenian School, but she prefers to
accomplish her volunteer work quietly, and often anonymously. She and
her husband have set an example of love and devotion to the Armenian
heritage for their son and daughter, who are carrying on in their
parents’ footsteps.
In 1969 Osanna Soukiassian and her family moved to Tenafly, and
started attending services at St. Thomas, where Osanna joined the
church choir. Over many decades and to this day, Osanna has devotedly
sung every week, during feast days and over sacraments, and at the
Armenian Home for the Aged.
Osanna also became involved in the Women’s Guild, and has earnestly
run the While Elephant booth at the church bazaar for many years. She
eagerly helped to collect food and clothing to send to the Armenian
earthquake victims in the late 1980s. Significantly, Osanna lovingly
grows and donates the basil herbs to decorate the cross during the
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross every September. One of her
most beloved pursuits is attending the bible study classes of Fr.
Anoushian, where she learns the significance of the scriptures and
enjoys the fellowship of the other participants.
Osanna Soukiassian was born in Costantsa, Romania, to Dikran and
Satenig Ekhsigian. The family moved to Jerusalem when she was a
toddler, and she warmly recalls father reading her stories about
Jesus, as well as about General Antranik and other Armenian heroes.
She says that learning that history awakened her faith, and instilled
in her a spirit of pride in her Armenian heritage.
In Jerusalem, Osanna enrolled at the Soorp Tarkmantchats School. She
fondly recollects all the clergyman teachers, including the present
Patriarch Torkom Manoogian, a vartabed at the time, who introduced her
to Armenian liturgical and ethnic songs, and the music of Komitas.
Osanna maintained her involvement in Armenian activities, and
continued her education at the Silesian Italian Sisters School where
she learned typing and office skills – skills she used working for the
Social Welfare Department run by the British in Jerusalem.
Osanna married her husband Vahan while still in Jerusalem, and they
were blessed with a son and two daughters. In 1956, they moved to the
United States and settled in the Union City, NJ, area, where Osanna
sang at the Holy Cross Church choir, while working for various
corporations. She also joined Hovhanness Berberian’s Armenian Choral
Group and traveled the U.S. in joint performances with the Antranik
Dance Ensemble. Osanna is also a hardworking member of the Daughters
of Vartan.
Sadly, Osanna lost her husband Vahan, and more recently their son
Ohannes. Nevertheless she carries on in her dedication to St. Thomas.
A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, Osanna has passed down her
love for the Armenian Church and heritage to her family. She deeply
cherishes the badarak, feast days, sacraments, and liturgical music,
and she loves listening to Fr. Anoushian’s homilies, and studying the
Bible. She draws inspiration from Armenian poets, writers, composers,
and heroes. She says that Christ’s cross is her salvation and
strength, and cites Tekeyan’s poem, "The Armenian Church is the
birthplace of my soul" as the foundation of her beliefs from her
youth.
Shake Torigian, began attending St. Thomas with her family in 1966.
After enrolling her eldest son in the Armenian School, Shake became a
teacher in the fledgling school, and was actively involved in its
expansion and growth. She received the St. Thomas Armenian School
Award for her 10 years of devoted service.
Shake uses her culinary talents for every church picnic and bazaar,
where everyone recognizes her smile presence at the gourmet booth. She
also uses her expertise in preparing garments for the "Sew and Show"
luncheons hosted by the parish Women’s Guild.
Shake volunteered as chairman of the Women’s Guild Cotillion, as
chairman of the Bazaar Raffle, as a Women’s Guild executive member,
among many functions. Employed as church secretary for six years,
Shake still takes on the responsibility of making telephone calls to
gather volunteers for cooking preparations.
The daughter of Krikor and Anna Megerdichian, Shake Torigian is a
native of Istanbul, where she attended the Essayan School. Shake
proudly recalls going to church with her parents and grandparents each
Sunday, wearing the shabig and singing in the choir. Her family’s
example set the foundation for her strong faith and pride in the
Armenian heritage.
Shake came to the U.S. in 1957, where she met and married George
Torigian in 1958, and settled in West Nyack, NY. They were blessed
with three sons. Aside from being a loving wife and mother, Shake,
along with her sister, Mary Barikyan, owned a fashionable clothing
boutique in Englewood, NJ. Shake is also active in other Armenian
community organizations such as the Essayan Alumni Association and the
Daughters of Vartan.
Sadly, Shake lost her husband George and sister Mary, but she
continues to persevere and continue her work at St. Thomas and proudly
enjoys her sons, her daughters-in-law, and especially her seven
grandchildren, who follow in her footsteps.
Shake says she feels lucky to belong to such a beautiful church as
St. Thomas and is proud of its pastor. She says that her Armenian
faith was instilled in her from childhood, and it is something that is
constantly with her, and will be with her always.
All three recipients of this year’s St. Thomas Award have
wholeheartedly and benevolently given themselves to a multitude of
projects and activities. Their contributions to the church have been
outstanding, and they are truly worthy of this award.
The full-course dinner will be held immediately after church
services on Palm Sunday, April 1, under the chairmanship of Mr. and
Mrs. Nerses and Sirvart Demirjian. The donation for the dinner is $30
per person for adults, and $12 for children. To make reservations for
the dinner, call Sirvart Demirjian at (201) 265-5230, Sylva Torosian
at (201) 894-0143, Tanya Vartanyan at (201) 941-6764, or the church
office at (201) 567-5446.
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5. Letter to the Editor: At sea over the Prelacy and Diocese in the U.S.A.
Sir:
A long article by Dr. Ara K. Yeretsian appeared recently in the
Armenian Reporter titled, "Yes, celebrate the Prelacy… with
enthusiasm" (Feb. 24, 2007). The article contains flawed assumptions
that distort the author’s marshalling of the facts. The dysfunctional
relationship between the Prelacy and the Diocese in the United States
is not unique; the same dysfunction is present in Europe and the
Middle East. The state of the Armenian Church in America is a
reflection of the church worldwide. But if there is to be a will to
resolve it, then it is imperative to set the record straight.
First, the Armenian Church during the Soviet period may have had its
activities curtailed, but its leadership of the diaspora was
maintained through the actions taken, at the instigation of the
Catholicos of All Armenians, by the patriarchs of Jerusalem and
Constantinople. An example of this is the handing over of dioceses in
the Middle East that were under the jurisdiction of the above
patriarchates to the Catholicate of Cilicia, for the sole purpose of
supporting the re-establishment of that catholicate.
Second, contrary to Dr. Yeretsian, the Armenian Church does have a
"pyramidal system" of hierarchy, not dissimilar to the Catholic and
Anglican churches. The name of the Armenian catholicate was never
derived from a locality. The catholicos in Etchmiadzin called himself
kahanayapet, episkoposapet, endhanrakan hayrapetut’yun. On the
strength of this title he had the authority of establishing the See
wherever the political center of the nation happened to be. Whenever
the center of political influence shifted, the catholicate moved:
founded in Vagharshapat, it was transferred to Dvin in 481, to
Aghtamar in 927, Argina in 947, Ani in 992, and Cilicia in 1067. After
the fall of the Cilician kingdom in 1375, the Catholicate of All
Armenians returned to Etchmiadzin in 1441. The Armenian patriarchates
of Jerusalem (established in 638) and Constantinople (1461) and the
Catholicate of Cilicia (after 1441 and up to 1956) have all
acknowledged the primacy of the See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
In the Roman Catholic Church the pope is the Bishop of Rome, the
first minister of the Vatican state, and supreme head of the worldwide
Catholic Church. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the pope as the
successor to St. Peter was declared the "first among the equals"
alongside the existing patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria,
Constantinople, and Jerusalem. The papacy has also been forced, like
the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, to leave Rome on occasion: from 1309 to
1377, it settled in Avignon, France, with political considerations
dictating both the departure and return (this 70-year period in the
papacy is sometimes called the "Babylonian captivity").
Among the Eastern Orthodox, there are 15 patriarchs of national
churches (Greek, Georgian, Russian, etc.) but for all of these the
Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople is acknowledged as supreme
head. The Anglican Church has two ecclesiastical provinces with
archbishops at Canterbury (originally London) and York; the Archbishop
of Canterbury is primate of all England and head of the world’s 70
million Anglicans.
Likewise, the use of the term "All Armenians" is not an issue of
"one-upmanship," as Dr. Yeretsian says; nor was the term created
recently.
The rivalry between the Prelacy and the Diocese was caused by the
break up of the relationship between the Holy See and the Catholicate
of Cilicia in 1956. Since then, all major observances, deliberations,
and technical projects have been duplicated, in the U.S. and every
other diocese that has the presence of the two factions.
The core of the problem lies with the Catholicate of Cilicia. The
schism took place during the Cold War when, under the pretext that the
Armenian Church would not survive the Communist oppression of
religious faith in its native land, Cilicia broke away in the belief
that it could better preserve the faith and heritage. But this could
have been done without questioning the primacy of the Holy See of
Etchmiadzin. The other rival sees created in the course of history
never challenged the supremacy of the Holy See, and each dissolved
naturally once its role reached completion. The patriarchates of
Constantinople and Jerusalem were likewise conscious of the threat
during the Cold War, but neither of them abandoned Etchmiadzin; on the
contrary they stood shoulder to shoulder with the Mother See. Indeed,
the See of Cilicia itself, under Catholicos Karekin I Hovsepiants
(1945-1952), initiated a period of spiritual and intellectual
cooperation with Etchmiadzin.
The Soviet threat to the Armenian Church began to diminish with the
election of Catholicos Vasken I, whose greatest achievement was to
forge close links with the diaspora. With the independence of Armenia,
one would have expected that all doubts towards Etchmiadzin would have
vanished. But that failed to happen – in spite of the fact that for
the first time in history a Catholicos of Cilicia became the
Catholicos of All Armenians.
The amount of time and vigor which the present Catholicos of Cilicia
and his predecessor have devoted to church unity efforts within the
World Council of Churches overshadows their effort to seek unity
within their own church. It is ironic that the Catholic and
Evangelical denominations in the Armenian Church have never questioned
the primacy of the See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and this is also true of
the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches. The Catholicate of
Cilicia is the exception.
I think it is time for the Catholicate of Cilicia to come out of its
own "Babylonian captivity," and in place of title-seeking to
contribute to the revival of the Armenian Church.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Vrej Nersessian
The Reverend Dr. Nersess Vrej Nersessian is a scholar at the British
Library, in London, the United Kingdom.
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