How Many Churches Are One Too Many?
By: RAFFI BEDROSYAN
When someone visits Armenia for the first time, the tour itinerary invariably includes a
multitude of churches and monasteries. Modern Armenia is a land of churches. Historic
Armenia in Anatolia was also a land of churches, with nearly 4,000 churches and
monasteries. The Van Lake region alone had over 300 churches. Ancient Ani, dubbed the
"City of 1001 Churches", had 40 churches. We are proud of our churches, awed by their
architectural beauty and intricate construction techniques, amazed at their settings perched
on inaccessible mountaintops.
Saint Gregory Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan
On the other hand, this obsession with churches, when combined with our tragic history,
makes me wonder: "I wish we had fewer churches to visit and instead many more victory
monuments such as Sardarabad. I wish our Armenian kings, political leaders and wealthy
notables in the past had spent less time, talent, resources and money on these churches and
instead, more on fortifications and defence of our lands and territories. When one delves
more into the historic reasons why these churches were built, it becomes apparent that they
were not necessarily built to meet the religious needs of the population, but to bring glory to
the benefactor and perhaps to help him "ease into heaven". Throughout history, our religious
leaders have conditioned the benefactors that there is no better way to serve God, Jesus
Christ and their Armenian folk than to build another church. Therefore, regardless of political,
economic or social realities and upheavals, Armenians have continued building churches in
historic and modern Armenia, as well as in all corners of the world, often disregarding other
needs and priorities. This was the case in medieval Armenian kingdoms in historic Armenia,
continuing in Cilicia and Eastern Anatolia until 1915, then in Diaspora and now in modern
Armenia.
The tradition continues today. When future generations look back into the present 22 year-old
Armenia and Diaspora Armenians, they will see the challenges of establishing a new country
from the ruins of the Soviet Empire, at the same time fighting the deadly Karabagh war, the
closed borders and economic blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, simultaneously dealing
with the disastrous 1989 earthquake, and most critically, the continuing depopulation of
Armenia due to lack of employment and investment opportunities. And yet, despite these
monumental tasks, they will also see examples of vast church-building activities in Armenia
and in the Diaspora. In 1997, in the midst of urgent needs to reconstruct Armenia ravaged by
the earthquake and Karabagh destroyed by war, Armenians did find the money to build the
Saint Gregory Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan. In 2001 Armenians in Los Angeles started the
construction of a huge cathedral, while there was and is scarce money to keep Armenian
schools open. In 2011, an oligarch donated all the funds to build the St Hovhannes Cathedral
in Abovyan, while the starving local population had almost emptied the town. Just last month,
wealthy Russian-Armenians opened a vast new cathedral in Moscow. The Echmiadzin
Catholicosate has become a state within a state, a Vatican-like complex expanding
continuously with new buildings. The combined total expenditure on these large churches, as
well as several other smaller church projects, easily exceeds $200 million. These projects are
not funded from revenue-generating sources or regular budgets, but instead, from one-time
significant donations of benefactors, mostly from the Diaspora. They will not generate any
revenues but will create a continuing need for additional donations for upkeep and
maintenance.
St. Hovhannes Cathedral in Abovyan
One wonders if these donations could be used for more worthwhile projects, such as helping
Armenians remain in Armenia, or helping Armenians remain Armenian in the Diaspora. There
seems to be a widely accepted belief that neither the government nor the church is in touch
with the concerns and needs of the common people. During a recent private audience with
the Catholicos, he was asked what the Church can do to keep our youth more interested in
the Armenian Church and attached closer to their Armenian roots. His curt response was that
this "should be done at home and at school". The much-anticipated Bishops' Synod,
assembled last month for the first time in 600 years, did not produce any tangible resolutions
to address concerns of the ordinary Armenian, be it in Armenia or the Diaspora. Most
benefactors do not want or trust to invest in Armenia due to the fear that government
corruption and bribes will make their investment useless and therefore, will not generate
economic benefits for themselves nor help the Armenian population. Unless the government
takes concrete steps to change the valid perception that investments only end up in the hands
of the governing oligarchs, there will not be much participation in the desperately needed
economic growth of Armenia, which is essential to keep the Armenians from leaving Armenia.
In the meantime, the church leaders continue preaching the tried and true argument that the
most beneficial donation a benefactor can make for himself and his family is giving to the
church.
New Armenian Cathedral in Moscow
Of course, there are truly worthwhile church building and restoration projects, with strategic
and significant benefits for all Armenians. One example is the restoration of the
Ghazantchetsots Church in Shushi, undertaken immediately after the Karabagh war. During
the war, Azeris controlling Shushi had used this historic church as an arms depot and military
centre, while continuously bombarding Stepanakert below in the valley. Their reasoning was
that Armenians would never attack and fire on their church. When Armenian commandos
victoriously entered Shushi in May 1992, they found the church in shambles, burnt,
desecrated and full of human excrement. Today, it stands as a symbol of victory against all
odds.
The other critical restoration project is the total reconstruction of the Diyarbakir/Dikranagerd
Surp Giragos Church in 2011, the first time an Armenian church was restored as an Armenian
church in historic Armenia after being destroyed in 1915. This project is strategically
significant for a number of reasons: First, the restored church became concrete evidence
against the denialist state version of history of the government of Turkey, demonstrating that
there was a large Armenian presence in Anatolia before 1915. Secondly, it immediately
became a religious and cultural centre helping the Turkish and Kurdish population of Turkey
understand the realities of 1915, through media events, conferences and concerts. Thirdly,
the foundation which restored the church started the process to reclaim the properties
belonging to the church but confiscated after 1915, with several properties already secured
through negotiations and courts, for the first time since 1915. Fourth, the church became a
living Genocide memorial, attracting tens of thousands of Armenian visitors from the Diaspora
and Armenia, helping start a dialogue and better relationship with liberated Kurds and Turks
who have faced the historical truths of 1915, and now demand their government to do so.
Last but not least, the most significant outcome of the restoration of this church has been the
emergence of the hidden Armenians. Islamicized Armenians have started ‘coming out’,
visiting and praying in the church, getting baptized, participating in Armenian language
courses, helping build an Armenian museum on the church grounds, contributing to the
security and administration of the church, demanding acceptance of their real identity by the
government, and so on. The church acts like a magnet for these people, with over one
hundred people visiting daily on average, coming from all over Anatolia, not just Diyarbakir,
trying to find their Armenian roots. New initiatives underway to restore and reclaim other
destroyed Armenian churches and monasteries in historic Armenia will help accelerate all
these outcomes.
Diyarbakir/Dikranagerd Surp Giragos Church inscription
It is my sincere hope that future government and Church leaders, as well as future
benefactors, will decide more wisely on what projects to invest in, giving higher priority to the
needs and wants of the Armenian people than their own.
Toronto, Canada
September 17, 2013 - 12:41 AMT
because corruption will never end.
