Return of the Mkhitarist Fathers
Father Hovsep, Mkhitarist Seminary, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / CNEWA One Magazine 2006-7
It was meant to have been published in the January issue of the CNEWA One magazine, but unforeseen circumstances pushed publication back until March. However, I didn’t check my email while on assignment in Georgia’s second largest city, Kutaisi, so couldn’t respond to some last minute questions from the One’s editor.
However, my story on the return of the Mkhitarist Fathers to Armenia has now been published in the May edition. I briefly blogged about them, quoting a number of academic sources and posting some photos, here.
The Mechitarists (Armenian: Մխիթարեան), also spelled Mekhitarists, are a congregation, founded in 1712 by Mechitar, of Armenian Benedictine monks in communion with the Catholic Church.
Their eponymous founder, Mekhitar, was born at Sebaste in Armenia in 1676. He entered a monastery, but under the influence of Western missionaries he became possessed with the idea of propagating Western ideas and culture in Armenia, and of converting the Armenian Church from its alleged monophysitism (a christological heresy in Roman Catholic viewpoint) and reuniting it with the Latin Church.
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Much like his contemporary merchants Mkhitar was a bridge between the East (his people and his homeland) and the West (his religion and final home). His followers continued this tradition and became key agents in the disemination of many European ideas and approaches (particularly in cultural, historical, linguistic and of course religious related matters) into Armenian thinking, especially in Ottoman Armenia. Mkhitarists, however, were not only trading in intellectual products, but also creating them. They were instrumental in retrieving Armenia’s ‘golden age’ and putting it in the service of nationalism.
Anyway, the article and photographs are available in the physical edition of the magazine, but are not yet available online. When they are, I’ll post a link, although they’ll eventually materialize online here.
The Catholicos is actually pleased the Mkhitarist Fathers are back in Armenia and the two work closely with each other. Indeed, Etchmiadzin particularly want them to re-introduce Monks into Armenian spiritual life and will be presenting them with a Monastery here in order to do so.
Comment by Onnik — May 20, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
You should not disrespect the Mkhitarist Order. They were responsible for providing educational materials and printing countless thousands of books, not to mention legitimizing “ashkharapar” or rather commonly spoken vernacular as a literal language, thus providing information to the masses that they could actually understand. Their books were an alternative to classical Armenian texts which was for the most part inaccessible to the masses due to the complexity of the language. The Mkhitarist Order also opened schools and junior colleges throughout the Middle East in places like Aleppo, for instance, in order to provide quality education to Armenian youth–in three languages.
I don’t understand this concept of one Armenian church, when it is clearly divided–you have two holy apostolic seas for one thing each presided by a Catholicos. There are also Armenian Protestant churches in communities worldwide in addition to Armenian Catholic churches. Now the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness fieldworkers are spreading their own gospels throughout Armenia (which is partly atheist) and they have already attracted followers. So who is anyone to say how an Armenian should and should not worship?
Religion belongs to an individual. No one has any right to dictate how a person should worship.
Comment by cgarbis — May 21, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
The Long Road Home
Father Hovsep teaches a new generation of Mekhitarists © Onnik Krikorian
As mentioned in a previous post, the article I wrote and photographed on the return of the Mkhitarist Fathers to Armenia has now been published in the physical edition of th…
Trackback by Oneworld Multimedia — May 23, 2007 @ 11:00 am