I’ve written many times about how appalled I am with the low quality of the journalism practiced by the State-supported media empire of American-Armenian Gerard Cafesjian and local Kocharian sycophant Bagrat Sarkisian, and not least about the role CS Media plays in rationalizing or covering up falsified elections. This isn’t hearsay and in actual fact is documented in numerous reports and analysis of the media in Armenia.

For all its glitz, Armenia TV in particular is a disgrace, and as I mentioned to a few people here recently, the one question that remains unanswered is why Cafesjian continues to allow it to operate as it does. The newly bought out The Armenian Reporter is little better and seems content to just pump out nationalistic rose-tinted stories from the “homeland” which bear little or no resemblance to the reality faced by most of the population.

What is most distressing, however, is the lack of tolerance and downright predujice that many of its journalists show. In January 2006, for example, Alex at Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia blog was particularly perturbed by the blatant homophobia displayed by presenters on Armenia TV.

As I was unwinding with an Armenian TV program just after coming home from the airport, an entertainment reporter on that enlightened TV channel called Armenia TV, owned partly by the Cafesjian Foundation, was reporting on the Elton John/David Furnish same-sex civil union, made possible by recent, progressive legislation in the UK. Then at the conclusion of the report, the female reporter non-chalantly went on to say, “Unfortunately, the numbers of homosexuals in society are growing,” but she concluded at least homosexuals offer good entertainment!

[…]

Sure, Armenia and Armenians (including those in the Diaspora) talk of joining Europe and the rest of the world, but at the very least, even if they are not going to fundamentally change some of their most regressive attitudes, the public discourse should be aimed at creating a tolerant environment for all ideas and kinds of people to coexist. That’s the least that the somewhat progressive elements of Armenian society (in Armenia and Diaspora) can push for.

Because really, modernization and progress should not only be measured with the number of western clothing stores and restaurants that become operational in a 2-mile radius of Yerevan.

And then there is the added layer of not understanding why a persecuted nation would so readily persecute any other minority, be it ethnic, racial, religious or sexual. As I’ve said before, it matters not that your name ended in ian in 1915, […] we of all people must understand that bigotry and oppression are the same wherever and whenever they take place, and we must be the first ones to put our dignity on the line to stop oppression.

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Garni, Kotayk Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

Whether you’re pagan or not, any event in Armenia is likely to end with those in attendance consuming the meat of an animal or two sacrificed especially for that purpose. As many churches have areas designated for sacrifice in Armenia even though such actions are not permitted in the Christian faith, you can understand why some consider that most of the Armenian population are pagan anyway. “Simply lighting a candle in a church isn’t enough to make you a Christian,” the head of Armenia’s pagans told me.

Indeed, sitting around the tables erected under the shade of nearby trees close to the Garni temple, the one common response to questions asking for clarification on who and what an Armenian pagan is was met with the same response. They were Armenians, they were Aryans, and their history went back long before Christianity was adopted as the State religion in 301 AD. Basically, nationalist concepts of ethnicity, and especially through glorifying their Aryan roots, was more important than religion.

Most of those in attendance did consider themselves Aryans and it might have been all of them. I can’t say for sure because I only spoke to about a dozen people. Nevertheless, it was certainly nationalism that appeared to be the defining factor in their activities and not religion. The fact that the controversial figure of Garegin Njdeh was particularly revered by those in attendance was perhaps testimony to that.

Garegin Njdeh (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ, real name: Garegin Ter-Harutiunian, 1 January 1886 - late 1955) was an Armenian statesman, military, and political thinker, native of Nakhchivan. A member of the Dashnak party, he was involved in revolutionary activities in Armenia, Bulgaria and Russia.

In 1912, together with General Andranik Ozanian he formed an Armenian battalion to fight against the Turks in the Balkan war. Later, moving back to Armenia, Njdeh commanded different military units. He played a key role in organizing the defense of Karakilis (today Vanadzor) in 1918. A convinced Anti-Bolshevik, he led the defense of Zangezur in 1921. The movement was marked with the expulsion of region’s local Azeri minority.[1]

Following the declaration of independence of Republic of the Mountainous Armenia from Soviet Armenia, he was proclaimed Prime-Minister and Minister of Defense. He fled Armenia after the triumph of Bolsheviks, and was involved in patriotic activities in Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria and United States.

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Garni, Kotayk Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

As mentioned in the last post, today was Vardavar — a pagan festival now absorbed into the Christian calendar. Nevertheless, Armenia’s small community of pagans observed the holiday as it probably was always meant to. Although Vardavar has become synonymous with throwing water on each other, there is much more to the tradition than that as Armenia Now explained in 2005.

Painter Lusik Aguletsi decorates the festive table with quick movements. On one edge there is a traditional Armenian Nuri doll made of dried vegetables smartened up with small pomegranates, while next to it is a khachbur and a kskrank (types of dolls resembling small trees) woven of wheat.

[…]

Vardavar has been celebrated in many parts of Armenia on the first Sunday after July 22, and in other regions 98 days after Easter. This year it is celebrated on July 3. It is considered a pagan occasion that Gregory the Illuminator transformed into the festival of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.

Pagan Armenians marked the festival in honor of the Goddess Astghik, offering her flowers especially roses. The festival mainly took place in the mountains, near springs and lakes, which were regarded as particularly holy places. Offerings honored water spirits and entreated them to provide rains for the harvest and spare them from drought.

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Garni, Kotayk Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

The Armenian Apostolic Church might like to think of it as a Christian festival, but its origin is very definitely pagan. For almost every child in Armenia, however, today’s celebration of Vardavar meant only one thing — throwing water over complete strangers and getting away with it. As for myself, it also meant an opportunity to again attend the traditional celebration of the festival by pagan Armenians at the Garni temple. I’ve been in the past, but a good few years have passed since then.

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Mastara, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

Villagers in Mastara say that the khachkar (stone cross) sitting atop a small mound in one part of the village is the largest in the country. However, I can’t find anything on the Internet to back this up and I’m not familiar with every stone cross in Armenia to offer an opinion on the matter. There’s no mention that it might be in Rediscovering Armenia or Virtual Armenia, and an albeit quick search on Google yielded no further imformation either.

Nevertheless, it’s pretty impressive and worth a look if you’re planning on traveling up to Gyumri and stop in Mastara, one of the most pleasant villages I’ve come across in Armenia in the nearly nine years that I’ve been here.

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Etchmiadzin, Vagharshapat, Armavir Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2003

Joshua Kucera has posted another entry as he continues on his travels through most of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. This time, the EurasiaNet freelancer has some interesting observations on Christianity in Armenia and Georgia, especially as the latter seems to be more religious than here. This has certainly been my take on things when comparing the two countries and its churches, and Josh seems to have reached the same conclusion.

So, earlier I reported that Georgia is undergoing a big religious resurgence. I can report that the same is not happening in Armenia. One person here told me that “there is not a single practicing Christian in Armenia,” which is obviously an exaggeration, but it is striking how little religious activity there is. Armenians hate it when I compare them to Georgians (more on that later) but anyway, there are several analogues, especially when it comes to Christianity.

For one, Yerevan also has a huge new cathedral, like the Sameba church in Tbilisi. But unlike Sameba, which was packed with people kissing icons and so on, the cathedral here was only sparsely attended when I went one Saturday. Armenians believe that getting married in May is bad luck, so I have not seen any weddings, but even taking that into account, the church was pretty dead. It seemed to be mainly kids chatting quietly in the pews or texting on their cell phones.

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Father Hovsep teaches a new generation of Mekhitarists © Onnik Krikorian

As mentioned in a previous post, the article I wrote and photographed for CNEWA on the return of the Mkhitarist Fathers to Armenia has now been published in the physical edition of their One magazine. I’ve also just noticed that it is now available to read online.

“Five years ago, when I was 75, I thought it was time to rest and pray in preparation for the last joyous journey to be with our Father in heaven, but it was not to be,” said Father Hovsep Behesniryan, a priest of the Armenian Catholic Mekhitarist Congregation. After serving more than 64 years in ministries in Venice, Paris, Los Angeles and New York, “I was called into service once more, this time in Armenia.”

He was sitting in a parlor of the Mekhitarist minor seminary, located in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, where the Ethiopian-born priest supervises the education of those who hope to follow his path. The seminary opened in October 2004 and is now home to 22 boys, age 13 and older.

“Every boy who comes here believes God called him,” said 16-year-old Narek Tchilingirian, who spent a month at the seminary before deciding to enter. His mother, Tsovinar, was not surprised. “He always went to church regularly, and he always took part in religious ceremonies and youth organizations.”

Father Hovsep’s return to the land of his ancestors has more than personal significance for the octogenarian. The seminary also marks a significant step in the homecoming of an Armenian religious community after centuries in exile.

[…]

Though separated from their homeland, Mekhitar’s spiritual sons, commonly called Mekhitarists, played a vital role in enlivening Armenian cultural life. From their houses in Venice and Vienna, they translated into Armenian works from the Classical era, early church writings, Renaissance literature and contemporary science and geography texts. Their endeavors, which also included the establishment of publishing houses, ensured that Armenians would not be cut off from the advancing world.

[…]

“If a culture is isolated from the world it risks dying,” Father Hovsep said.

The full article is here.

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.

[…]

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.

Hrant Dink Memorial, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

PanArmenian.net reports that Ogün Samast has been imprisoned while the prosecution prepares it case. Samast has already confessed to the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul last Friday. If found guilty by the court, Samast will face a sentence of 18-24 years in prison as he is legally considered a minor and therefore can not be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Interestingly, citing a PanArmenian.net reports as well as other sources, Gateway Pundit reports that those considered responsible for Dink’s murder were also possibly connected to the murder of an Italian Catholic Priest in Turkey last year. As with Dink, Father Santaro was killed by a minor with links to radical Islamic groups.

Indeed, this possible connection has given rise to an alarming but thought-provoking opinion piece in the Turkish Daily News. As mentioned already on this blog, the concern is that ultra-nationalism is on the rise in Turkey, and actually in response to the country’s move westwards.

About a year ago, in this column I wrote: “…This is where I see danger, ultra-nationalists becoming Islamists and Islamists becoming ultra-nationalists. … These usually split groups may in the future get mixed together and comprise a huge anti-Western bloc…” Ogün Samast who pulled the trigger is no different than his mentor who had bombed a McDonald’s restaurant because the eatery was “a symbol of American imperialism;” or Alpaslan Arslan who less than a year ago shot up a chamber of supreme judges because they had banned the Islamic headscarf; or the teenager who killed a Catholic priest because the man was “an enemy of Islam;” or even anyone who belonged to the crowd of a few thousand people who wanted to lynch a handful of youths because they protested prison conditions. Samast is only an example of a dare-devil/loser among a bunch of nearly four million similar young Turkish men ages 15-19 whose cultural tradition is no richer than the book “Those Crazy Turks” and the film “Valley of the Wolves.”

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Mkhitarist Seminary, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / CNEWA One Magazine 2006

I’ve been a little quiet of late because of work and in particular an article and photos that I had to produce for One Magazine, a publication of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). After viewing my Lightstalkers portfolio, the magazine’s photo editor approached me for a story on the return of the Mkhitarist Fathers to Armenia.

As I like stories on subjects that are seldom covered here, I jumped at the chance. The Mkhitarist Fathers are particularly interesting as Wikipedia explains.

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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Lola Koundakjian of the Armenian Poetry Project and Life in Travel forwarded me a link to a new blog on Armenia this morning. Not so unexpected perhaps, but always interesting to take a look, this time the blog is from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — otherwise more commonly known as the Mormons.

The main page, however, indicates that it is not an official blog. Still, it’s an interesting precedent for organized religion with a focus on Armenia.

I want this site to be a resource for newly called missionaries and their families. When I was called during the summer of ‘99, there was no one to give us any information about this new mission. I wanted to build a website that could be informative and inspiring to those missionaries who will go and continue the work my companions and I started.

This site is in no way affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not speak for it. Also, it is not an official mission website. It is just information about the mission, the country, the people and a reflection of our experiences there as missionaries.

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