MJ

Analysis: War crime tribunals are here to stay United Press International. Sunday, 25 February 2001 22:55 (ET) By MARTIN SIEFF, UPI Senior News Analyst WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Hard cases make bad law. But common crimes make law and punishment essential. This is the argument that looks likely to prove overwhelming for the likely multiplication of international war crimes tribunals approved by the Untied Nations. Two such tribunals are currently sitting in The Hague, capital of The Netherlands and in the Tanzanian city of Arusha. The Hague Tribunal last Thursday convicted three Bosnian Serbs of crimes against humanity and on other charges over mass atrocities committed during the 1992-95 civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Arusha Tribunal is slowly trying hundreds of Hutu tribesmen accused of playing key roles in one of the most appalling mass crimes of modern times, the 1994 massacre of 800,000 Tutsis -- and some moderate Hutus -- in only a month in Rwanda. Critics of these tribunals are many, and some of them may hold influential positions in the new Bush administration in the United States. They note that the precedent of establishing such commissions is virtually certain to be abused and can be used by well -organized totalitarian or anti-Western blocks as legal and propaganda weapons against democratic societies. They also note that the precedent of setting up international tribunals could cause more chaos than it solves. The precedent gravely undermines the legal status and power of any nation state, making all nation states potentially subservient to international codes of conduct. That could greatly encourage separatist and terrorist groups seeking to dismember or destabilize democratic societies. The Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals that were set up in 1946 to try accused Nazi and Japanese war criminals have been cited as precedents for the two current tribunals in The Hague and Arusha for the 1998 Rome Treaty that empowered them. But critics of the Arusha and Hague Tribunals note that the Nuremberg and Tokyo ones were set up to deal with unprecedented mass crimes of savagery unparalleled in modern human history and were expressly designed to try and create a precedent that would deter such conduct as happening again. They argue that the likely proliferation of future tribunals will not in fact deter or serve justice on real massacres. Instead, the critics say, such tribunals are more likely to become tools to inhibit constitutional democracies like the United States, the Western European nations, Japan and India when they are confronted with lawless and cynical authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was an enthusiastic advocate of such tribunals. This was ironic, since he had already shown himself extremely reluctant to intervene in order to prevent the worst outrages of the Bosnia conflict between 1991 and 1995. Clinton's record was even worse on Rwanda, a remote country without strategic significance where a small and rapid deployment of forces led by U.S. or British peacekeepers could well have prevented one of the most horrific chapters of modern history. But Clinton refused to intervene, in part through sheer negligence and in part because he did not want to anger France, in whose Franco-phone sphere of influence Rwanda was. President George W. Bush and his secretary of state, Colin Powell, are far more reluctant and cautious to commit the United States to treaties and precedents that could over-ride and undermine U.S. national sovereignty and freedom of action. Powell is also expected to appoint John Bolton, a former prominent U.S. official and current Number Two man at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, to a senior State Department position, probably at undersecretary level. Bolton is an outspoken critic of such sweeping supra-national legal precedents. And he can be expected, if appointed, to firmly commit the massive international weight of the United States to oppose the widespread use-and abuse-of such tribunals. Bush, Powell and - probably -- Bolton may well try and turn back the tidal wave of international sentiment flowing in favor of such tribunals. But they are likely to have no better luck than King Canute in England a millennium ago when he tried to command the waves of the sea to reverse themselves. For the history of the world since 1945 has driven home the frightful lesson that Adolf Hitler and the military tyrants of wartime Japan were not once in a millennium monsters in approving the massacres of and tortures of civilians and prisoners of war that they did. Nor could Josef Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong in China -- both of whom were responsible for scores of millions of murders apiece -- be seen as rare scourges that could only come every 1,000 years or so. The history of the world in the past 50 years provides all too much disturbing evidence that ethnic massacres and tortures on enormous scales, involving hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people., seem to come perfectly naturally to human beings of every race, ethnic make-up and genetic descent around the world, if political conditions permit it. Very often these massacres are entirely forgotten or ignored by the rest of the world, apart from their victims and perpetrators. Hitler openly boasted that he was emboldened to launch his grand design to exterminate the Jewish people because no one remembered the genocide of the Armenian people by the Young Turk regime ruling the Ottoman Empire during World War I. At least one and a half million Armenians died in horror. And the Turkish military junta who directed it even called what they did their "Final Solution" to the Armenian problem, a term happily appropriated by Hitler 25 years later. Stalin starved 10 million Ukrainians to death before Hitler even took power in Germany. The New York Times chief correspondent in Moscow at the time, Walter Duranty, won a Pulitzer Prize denying that the deliberately inflicted man-made famine that caused such suffering had even taken place. And at that very time, Stalin was being lauded as an outstanding humanitarian leader by writers H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw and the acclaimed American journalist H.L. Mencken. (Mencken also deeply admired Hitler, but regarded President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a truly evil figure). Perhaps most troubling to those who would see Hitler and Stalin -- and maybe Mao -- as untypical aberrations in human history are the more recent examples of Cambodia and Rwanda. The Khmer Rouge communist guerrillas seized power in Cambodia in 1975 following the conquest of South Vietnam by the communist North Vietnamese. In the next four years, they exterminated up to 3 million of their own people, who only numbered 7 million to start with. The ideological and "moral" justification for this slaughter was the half-baked sociological theories of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot which he had developed as a Ph.D. student at the Sorbonne University in Paris, one of the oldest and most prestigious centers of learning in the world, 20 years before. The Hutu killers in Rwanda did not even bother for Pol Pot's fig leaves of sociological theory to justify their massacre of 800,000 Tutsis in a month. Their efficiency and passion in maintaining such an "impressive;' rate of slaughter even outdid the Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or Special Action Units, that over a year killed a million and half Jews in the Soviet union during 1941-42. The concept of setting up international tribunals under United Nations auspices to bring to justice those responsible for such appalling atrocities is filled with flaws and pitfalls. But its critics appear unlikely to prevail for the simplest and most compelling of reasons. The previous framework of international, law had seen no such tribunals in operation anywhere since Nuremberg and Tokyo. And it had manifestly failed to deter or bring any semblance of justice to the perpetrators of previous genocides over the half-century since the end of World War II. Current UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had become convinced that some kind of international legal framework had to be set up urgently to try and create a deterrent and instrument of avenging justice to prevent future such crimes. He believed such tribunals were also needed in order to show the world that those who committed such massacres could and would be brought to justice. The current tribunals operating in Arusha and The Hague are the first, halting examples of this effort in practice. Whatever the new U.S. administration believes or wants, they are unlikely to be the last. Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

Chicago Tribune Feb 26 2001 FERRIS CHORALE FINDS GEMS IN SELDOM-HEARD MUSIC By Dan Tucker Special to The Tribune The William Ferris Chorale keeps more than its late founder's name alive. Under Paul French, the newly appointed music director of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church--the chorale's home base--it keeps the big, glowing sound that Ferris made its trademark. It also retains his knack for unearthing interesting, seldom heard, music. Friday's program, which contained 10 works by Gian-Carlo Menotti and Alan Hovhaness, there was one familiar selection--the Shepherd's Choruses from Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors." The rest of the program was surely new to most of the audience, new in the agreeable sense of finding out something interesting about a friend. There was also the pleasure of hearing impressive young voices. Of three solo singers, Michelle Areyzaga had the most demanding role, and carried it out with distinction. French established his authority right away with the scene from "Amahl." It was crisp, light, and understandable, the choir's diction clear in spite of the way big spaces like this church tend to swallow consonants. Areyzaga appeared in Menotti's setting of "Muero Porque No Muero," a prayerful poem by St. Teresa of Avila. Her affinity for Spanish culture is clear, and this poem is Catholic Spain distilled--Teresa grieves because she cannot die immediately and be one with her God. In setting it, Menotti used his Puccini-like gift for exploiting the poignancy of the human voice to his fullest. Most of this long poem is the solo voice pouring out emotions--a complex of them including love, grief, frustration and joy. Areyzaga's voice is full and live; it seems to leap out of her throat of its own volition, and all she has to do is shade it expressively--which she does. Hovhaness turned out an enormous amount of music, much of it stamped with his own Armenian-Scottish, east-west ethnic background. The eight settings of hymns and biblical texts show it. For all their wealth of musical material, they also showed a certain sameness. Hovhaness sometimes relied more on skill than inspiration. His Easter hymn "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" starts like a jig, turns into a canon, and takes on an Middle Eastern cast with timpani and tam-tam. All these pieces seem fairly traditional but take unexpected harmonic turns and colorings. Mezzo-soprano Jody Doktor displayed a rich, focused voice in "Out of the Depths," Oswaldo Iraheta a strong baritone in "The God of Glory Thundereth." Trumpeter Kevin Hartman, paired with organist Thomas Weisflog, gave a laser-like intensity to "Prayer of St. Gregory," an unwinding skein of modal sound. In the "Gloria" from Hovhaness' "Magnificat," a soft, clotted blur of sound grew into a massive choral climax.

No-Go Perspective of Roslin Unlike frescos that are intended for public observation, manuscript paintings are hidden between the parchment pages and destined for a personal, more intimate contemplation. When we open a manuscript, the sense of possession in a way reduces the distance inherent to visual perception. This subjective factor along with generally small format of picture makes up the conditionality of the miniature image and its specific means of expression. Thoros Roslin was one of the best Cilician painters. He lived in Romklay in the thirteenth century. Working within the framework of the scholastic tradition, he, however, was always in a willful aesthetic and philosophical quest. His indomitable imagination has organically melted bizarre Persian, Byzantine, even Chinese elements in the strong streams of the canonical, almost ritualized, traditional marginal ornaments. He came to realize the power of the three-dimensional technique of painting half a century before Giotto di Bondone and Paolo Uccello. The Birth Generally, Cilician miniatures are remarkable for their vivid colors and profound theatricality. Indeed, each school of manuscript painting during its development has precisely declared its chromatic predilection. That is not a mere aesthetic or idiosyncratic matter, for colors are the fruits of technology. Be that as it may, at times a tint can be one of the main signifiers of Roslin’s images. Thus, the mysterious depth of the sky blue background of the Ascension (The Zeitoun Four Gospels, 1268), as a unique, ‘pure’ color of the spring dawn, autonomously from the text, refers to the ascent of Christianity. His succession of the blue shades in tonal perspective of the firmament has become a symbol for the spiritual passageway. This motif has been taken up and handed down by the descendants of the school. Moger Roslin uses the elements of linear and tonal perspective representation not so often and only for inanimate objects, interior, landscape, etc. Crowd and apostles are depicted in correspondingly different sizes, despite their location on the plain of picture. Formally, in this genre, the structuring by size is one of the important means that reflects and carries out the quintessence of social hierarchy in the medieval Kingdom of Cilicia. However, prudently refusing to implement the method on figures of people and saints, Roslin justifies the abstraction by the concept of selectivity of vision. Here we can see another essence: the master has his own stance towards the ideology. He is inside, developing the canon. Malatia: For Gospels In a typically Armenian way he distorts the space of his pictures, he turns it out, accordingly to the “inverted” perspective of the evangelical narration. Thereby allusion to the extrinsic clarity leads us deeper through the visual counterpoint. And before closing the manuscript, we are given the insight into the realm of faith and responsibility, love and eschatological dread of the thirteenth-century men. We see the sacred mise-en-scènes at a standstill of non finito which cannot cease the whirlwind of dramatic action. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8069/roslin.html [ February 27, 2001: Message edited by: MJ ]

Grigor Tatevatsi Grigor Tatevatsi was one of the greatest figures of medieval Armenia. He is known as a philosopher, a social-ecclesiastical figure, a teacher, scribe and miniaturist. He was born in 1346 in Vayots-Dzor where he spent his early years. He began to study under Hovhan Vorotnetsi in 1370. Together with the latter, Tatevatsi went to Jerusalem and it was Vorotnetsi who ordained him archimandrite in the district of Daranaghi in 1373. After his teacher's death, Tatevatsi headed the higher schools at Tatev and Aprakounis. He taught philosophy, theology and grammar at higher monasterial schools of Tatev, Aprakounis, Medsop and Yerevan. He died in 1409 and was buried near the St. Peter and Paul Church in Tatev. The most significant of Grigor Tatevatsi's activities were those in Tatev, where the Syuniq prince Smbat Orbelian invited him in 1393. He worked there for fifteen years; those years being the most flourishing for the university. He conducted extensive pedagogical work and enjoyed great repute. He combined all-round knowledge in-born oratorical skills. Thovma Medsopetsi, Arakel Syunetsi, Mattheos Djughayetsi and other famous figures in XV century Armenian culture were pupils of Grigor Tatevatsi. Great was Grigor Tatevatsi's role in the struggle led by the Armenian Church against tile Unitarians. Grigor Tatevatsi's rich literary heritage covers almost all the fields of knowledge of that time. His more important works are: "Book of Questions", "Book of Sermons" (Summer and Winter volumes), ''Miscellany", "Concise Analysis on Porphyry's Work" and a number of others. His works, encyclopedic in nature, also contain valuable thoughts on aesthetics, which help in understanding certain aspects of his art and that of medieval art generally. The nativity Artist - Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378 Gospel, 1297 Grigor Tatevatsi's aesthetic views do not, of course, give a complete doctrine. It refers to separate thoughts and remarks scattered in different works in which he tried to explain his concepts of beauty, reveal the meaning of art and the role of art in society as well as problems on Christian symbolism of iconography and questions directly concerning to the practical work of the artist. Art, for Grigor Tatevatsi, was a form of "rational" knowledge, the fruit of thought and work. "Each work of art is at first thought about, then seen through the eyes, and only after that, is it created by hand. The crucifixion Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378 Gospel, 1297 Grigor Tatevatsi began his work as a scribe. Numerous manuscripts have survived will colophons written by him. However, his name as an illuminator is mentioned only once, in the Gospel illustrated at the Tatev Monastery in the year 1378. The Gospel was copied in 1297 in Eghegis, the "glorified capital" of Syuniq. In the same year the scribe of the Gospel, Hovhan, executed khorans (canon tables) and marginal illustrations. Simple plant and geometric designs prevail in the canon tables. In 1378, some one hundred years after its creation, the priest Sargis, sent the manuscript to the Tatev Monastery to be restored and illuminated by illuminator Grigor. Title page of gospel according to John Artist - Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378 Gospel, 1297 The following miniatures were painted at that same time: portraits of the four evangelists, title pages and five thematic miniatures: the "Annunciation", "Nativity", "Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion" and "Virgin and Child". The identity of the painter of these miniatures becomes clear from the colophon around the bay in the "Annunciation". The colophon clearly states that the painter is Grigor, a pupil of Hovhan Vorotnetsi. The colophons surviving, as well as general features of the miniatures created in 1379 served as the basis for art historians to make the statement that all the miniatures made that year had been done by one and the same master, Grigor Tatevatsi. There are, however, certain stylistic differences, which suggest that yet another master, probably a pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, also took part in the illumination of the manuscripts. In those miniatures Grigor Tatevatsi's influence is so strong that at first glance, all Christological miniature paintings are taken as the work of one artist. Entry into Jerusalem Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378 Gospel, 1297 Taking the miniature the "Annunciation" created by Grigor Tatevatsi as a basis, we come to the conclusion that the portraits of the evangelists, the title pages and the miniatures the "Annunciation", "Nativity" (plate 14, plate 15) have been created by Grigor Tatevatsi; the other three miniatures "Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion" and the "Virgin and Child" (plate 16, plate 17, plate 18) by the pupil. Essential differences which permit speaking of two painters and dividing the miniatures of the manuscript into two groups are expressed, by differences in ways of thinking, concepts and interpretation of form. In Grigor Tatevatsi's works, the figures, especially those of the "Annunciation", are monumental and to a certain extent, dimensional. The folds of the garments are treated by means of color, emphasizing the harmony and proportions of the body. The faces are drawn with a sure, precise hand. As for the second painter, his drawings are somewhat weaker and that is especially seen in tile figure of the Virgin (in the "Virgin and Child" and "Crucifixion"). The execution of the other figures is also not successful; they are rather stocky and not so proportional. Flatness is stressed and is especially expressed in the folds of the garments; they are stiff and not at all flexible. Canon table Artist - Hovhannes Gospel, 1297 The compositional structure of the page itself is also expressed by the differences in these two groups of miniatures. In the first group (the portraits of the evangelists, the "Annunciation" and "Nativity") the composition is encircled by homogeneous ornamental frames. In the second group ("Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion", "Virgin and Child"), there is no frame. One or two sides of the composition have no ornamental frame decorations. It seems as if the painter, by means of this device, wants to free the picture of limiting borders, thus increasing the dimensional possibilities of the miniature. The miniatures also differ in their color-range. Grigor Tatevatsi preferred dark shades of blue, brown, red and ochre; while the second painter preferred lighter shades. It must be said that the latter is professionally inferior to Grigor Tatevatsi. The above-stated differences do not refute the presence of features common to both groups of miniatures, which were apparently conditioned by the common aim placed before the painters. They tried to give the manuscript a complete effect, and so the pupil, in fulfilling this task, endeavored to imitate his talented master arid sometimes even meticulously copied his interpretation of images, harmony of color and ornaments. The more beautiful miniature of the manuscript is the "Annunciation", where Grigor Tatevatsi's talent, his great imaginative powers and originality are brilliantly expressed. (It is not at all incidental that he placed his signature on this miniature). The "Annunciation" is depicted within a closed ornamental frame, the composition is well-balanced. Its focal point is the small bay in which there is a jug of water. There are decorative arches to the left and the right of the bays. The figures are placed against an ornamental background, which gives the composition balance. The background, entirely covered with geometric and plant designs, deprives the miniature of depth. This lack is the reason why it seems as though the figures do not have sufficient space. This device stresses the monumentalism of the figures. The image of Mary is quite expressive. Her features, face, eyes and especially thick eyebrows uniting over her nose, form an unusual arch, emphasizing the Armenian woman's ethnic type. Virgin and child Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378 Gospel, 1297 The angel and Mary are bound by the same action but they represent different emotional states, revealed also by means of the coloring of the miniature. Warm red and yellow prevail in the clothing of the angel bearing happy tidings; while in Mary's garment, the combination of cold blue and deep violet shows her contradictory feelings, that of joy and deep concern. Great skill is displayed in depicting the figures, their gestures, and their movements. Somewhat elongated figures are remarkable for their shapeliness and proportions. Both the Virgin and the Archangel are distinguished by their grandeur and beauty. It is appropriate here to recall the definition of beauty given by Grigor Tatevatsi, which is in consonance with the images created by him. "One should know that the beauty of the image becomes similar to that of the prototype revealed in three-fold manner: first in the proportionality of form, second in the balance of the parts, and third in proper radiance". ]http://www.armsite.com/miniatures/index2.html[/url]

APRIL 20, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AN ANALYSIS OF ARMENIA’S INTERNAL POLITICAL SITUATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TEEGRAN TOROSSYAN Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Political issues in Armenia had to be resolved by political forces within the political field. Before speaking about the current internal political situation in Armenia, I would like to say a few words about the years that preceded it. A national idea existed during the Artsakh war: there was an essential problem that united the nation and, despite the suffering that our nation had to go through in that period, the idea-and the nation's devotion to it- remained. It ultimately brought success. In 1994, when the war stopped, it seemed we would have to choose a different path. In order to have a developed and powerful fatherland and a free nation, confident about its future, Armenia would have to take the same path that numerous countries had already taken. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Why? First of all, no one found an idea that would become a nation-wide objective to unite the whole nation again. This, indeed, is unfortunate. It seemed obvious that this idea might be the economic development of the country. However, following unsuccessful attempts to spread this idea properly and, because appropriate measures were not planned and taken, there was just one thing to do: to declare democracy as the fundamental idea. Of course, this is one of the main ideas in modern countries and societies, but in Armenia, democracy was declared to be the fundamental idea -- by both government and opposition. Nevertheless, experience proved that these were merely words. It was necessary to make a long journey, and this required mutual respect and a clear vision. Unfortunately, this did not take place. The basis that was necessary for a civic society (or at least to attempt to build one) was not created in Armenia. Instead, a multi-elite society was created. This consisted of various groups having different interests. As a matter of fact, countries that have found themselves in similar situations go through this natural path. Ultimately, they enter a phase characteristic of developed countries only if one condition is met: the president of the country -- or a group having enough power -- must be able to ensure balance and stability amongst the various groups that may exist in the country. Later, they must follow a certain path and form a multi-party political system. This is the normal course of action that many countries have already experienced. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Although several dozen new parties appeared on the political scene in Armenia, only a few had clearly formulated ideas and programs. To be honest, I must say that many parties simply served to satisfy the personal and group ambitions of some individuals. The logical follow-up to this situation was that from late 1995 to early 1996, the country entered a phase in which there were no clear goals: economic policy and fundamental economic ideas lacked focus. Finally, the country failed in the 1996 elections. The existing conflict between the authorities and the opposition sharpened. All the bilaterally proposed values were ignored, and the country ultimately found itself in chaos. Following the presidential elections in 1998, which were preceded by rather tough confrontations among various authority groups, it seemed that the country would soon be entering a new era. This would fill the gap that Armenia had been trying to fill since peace had been restored in 1994. The country could finally go through the same stages as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. There was an effective necessity for an additional step -- parliamentary elections -- that would ensure a complete change in authority. However, the parliamentary elections were preceded by extremely important measures, and the impact of these measures will continue to be significant for the country in the future. People and groups that try to change the form of the political field and, naturally, the economy, remain -- and continue to act. The late Vazgen Sargsyan is usually thought of as the leader and founder of the Armenian Army. Of course, he had done a great deal in this area and this is worthy of acknowledgement. In 1998, he initiated a process that was of great significance to finally return the country's political life to a phase of stability. What he did was to announce, following several meetings with the authorities of the "Hanrapetakan" party in spring of 1998 (this announcement was re-affirmed and supported by the "Hanrapetakan" party itself) that the process of unifying the powers in the country would be initiated. This was an obviously positive step aimed at clearing up internal political life and bringing about an acceptable atmosphere. As a matter of fact, a great deal of work in this direction was already accomplished by November 1998. A significant portion of the "Yerkrapah Kamavorakan" (National Defence Volunteers) Union had already joined the "Hanrapetakan" party. The objective was set out quite clearly: political issues in Armenia had to be resolved by political forces within the political field. Those individuals or groups that wished to play a role in politics would have to be members of parties: the natural structures to conduct political activities. I am convinced that this first step was of great importance for the future as well. This, though, was not the end. In the spring of 1999, another step-the creation of the "Meeasnootyoon" ("Unity") alliance-was initiated. This would, in fact, finally stabilize the internal political situation during (and following) the parliamentary elections. It would enjoy the confidence and respect that people had for the two leaders of the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance. It seemed as if everything was moving along quite nicely after the parliamentary elections. Why? Because, as everyone later confessed, these elections were much better organized and were much fairer than the previous ones. Nobody complained about their outcome at all. Of course, there were drawbacks, but this is a different topic for discussion directly related to the elections. Immediately after the elections, when the Government and the governing bodies of the National Assembly were formed, it became obvious that the Government has taken a path that has the previously mentioned goal of economic rehabilitation and development. This was the objective that would become fundamental at the national level. Moreover, the economic and political borders were drawn. The concept of solving political issues in the political field by political forces was further developed. It was made clear that, though the economy was in an extremely difficult situation, there were steps which, if taken, would help significantly improve the situation and create the bases for development. The main steps were the battle against corruption (the late Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan announced this several times), the proper regulation of the economy, and the establishment of the rule of law. For the first time, the overall state and the economic and budgetary situations were presented simply and straightforwardly. A budget-restructuring plan was presented, and the National Assembly soon adopted it. One might think that all the pre-conditions for things to begin to move in the right direction were created. This could be proved by the work that had been started in the National Assembly, as well as the natural course of relationships between the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance and the other parties. This is when the dreadful events of October 27 came about. This tragedy cut short this new course. It left the job that had been started, unfinished. This work was extremely important for the future of our country: it was to "legitimize" political life in Armenia. This job aimed at having all the political forces act and making all the political processes work in their field. It seems that there were groups for whom this was not beneficial. These were groups that operated backstage. They were interested in re-distributing the economic levers in the country and dragging the political processes backstage again. As a result, the tragic events of October 27 took place. Of course, the events that followed proved that this action was one with clear political goals. They also showed that people and groups that try to change the form of the political field and, naturally, the economy, remain -- and continue to act. This was proved by everything that followed October 27. Unfortunately, attempts to politicise the investigation of the criminal case surrounding the assassinations have been noticed. Now, Armenia finds itself at a very important point. Either the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, that has real power, will be able to return the political processes to the political field (anybody not representing a political organization will not be able to play a role in this); or divisions will again take place in both the political and economic fields. Afterwards, I think that Armenia will not be able to come out of this situation for a long time, and it will be extremely difficult to prevent a worsening of the problems it may create. Why? Because I am sure that as a result of the breaking up of the political field into many small pieces, no political majority will be formed in the next parliamentary elections (regardless of whether these are regular or special ones). In such situations, however, only having a majority in the National Assembly can stabilize the situation. Naturally, the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance will be required to make a great effort, not only to ensure stability in the political field, but also to obtain agreement on numerous principles and concepts. This is necessary to avoid economic shocks. Over the four to five months that have followed October 27, the situation has become several times more acute. At each time the situation worsened, it was clear that it had taken place behind the scenes. This is obvious proof that there are groups interested in seeing a sharp worsening in the situation. They also seek the break-up of the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, and the deterioration of the overall situation in the country. These are the particular objectives of the forces that have lost power in government. They are perhaps seeking the only way back to further harming the situation in the country, breaking the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, and ruining the economy. Then they will be able to compare those ruins with the situation in 1995, 1996, or 1997, and claim that the situation was much better back then. These forces are not the only ones, though. There are other groups and forces that either willingly or unwillingly came out into the open. It is obvious that there are forces that have the objective of re-distributing the economic and political levers, and altering the political field. Currently, the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance has found itself in an extremely complicated situation. I apologize for referring to this alliance so much, for the problem relates not only to it. In this situation, any political force with a majority in the national Assembly would find itself in the same condition. The future development of the country would depend on the integrity of that force. I must point out with regret that neither the political organizations nor the mass media seriously understand the dangers involved in this situation. As a matter of fact, there is currently a struggle taking place in the absence of any rules or laws. The forces involved in this struggle will not stop at anything. Another sad fact is that certain information sources have joined the struggle. The situation kept getting worse until late March. It might sound strange, but the announcement made by the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance on March 3 had some serious drawbacks. As they say, "there is no evil without good". Time showed that this announcement had relieved stress. Everything that has happened in the past 20-25 days seems to be moving towards a stabilization of the situation (although during the last few days, it seems as if some attempts have been made to make the October 27-related situation more tense). Nonetheless, I must confess that there do not seem to be any shocks, and the outcome will most likely be different this time. This is the essential problem that the Armenian political forces currently face. Will Armenia's political forces and, most importantly, the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance find the strength to overcome this crisis? There are certain pre-conditions for it, but several clear steps are required. Firstly, the political forces should refrain from acting behind the scenes and they should not enter into any deals. Unfortunately, even experienced politicians have not been able to resist this temptation during the last few months. They have attempted to take inappropriate steps and have failed to do so. There is another issue. Armenia's political forces must accept the fact that parties here are still in the initial phase of their formation. Only one or two political parties have clear programs and ideologies. In this respect, the only requirements are new forces. Numerous politicians wasted their potential throughout the last ten years in various parties. New people, new faces and, what is more important, new ideas and programs are needed. Unfortunately, there have been very few changes in the administration of parties. This also proves that Armenia is facing a crisis in political thought, and this is more than a simple political crisis. Often, comparisons are drawn between Armenia and Russia. Unfortunately, there is almost no political or economic thinking in Armenia. In Russia, however, powerful political and economic centers exist. The creation of such thinking would be one of the guarantees that Armenia may come out of this situation. Being a representative of "Meeasnootyoon", which is a political majority, I realize that the solution of the aforementioned problems primarily depends on the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, since the latter has a majority in the National Assembly and it has formed the current government. When seriously assessing the situation, however, one must point out that the other political organizations, as well as the mass media, also have important roles to play. Will we be able to overcome this situation or not? I hope that we will. It will require political will and clear efforts from a lot of people - day in and day out. This is something that has hardly be noticed in Armenia over the past few months. There is no day-to-day work, no clear programs, and no indicators. The National Assembly must plan its actions towards setting order in the legal field. Such a plan must naturally comply with the three-year program of the Government, which the Government has promised to present in the upcoming one to two months. This program must contain not only macro-economic indicators, but also clear and concrete indicators that refer to real life. If Armenia's political forces and the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, in particular, can fulfill these objectives in terms of maintaining internal stability, then I think that it will be possible to attain success in Armenia. Numerous politicians wasted their potential throughout the last ten years in various parties. New people, new faces and, what is more important, new ideas and programs are needed. This success will not come about in ten, fifteen, or twenty years, as is often promised. Each political force is responsible for the period it has been elected for. In this case, only the next three years can be currently taken into consideration. I am sure that with discipline in the economy and in our lives, if the battle against corruption, nepotism, and patronage enters a practical phase, and if the political forces are the ones to solve political problems in the political field, then we will be able to attain our goals. One year is quite enough to establish trends and to prove that the country is moving in the right direction. I am convinced that if this happens, the people will have the confidence we often speak of. The lack of confidence is choking the country, but corruption, nepotism, and patronage are even more destructive phenomena. Clear objectives should be set. Officials must clearly perform their functions regardless of what force or political party they represent. If they do not perform their functions, then there should be a clearly defined attitude towards them-they will have to leave. Currently, our country faces another difficulty. Many thousands of employees, including numerous government officials, who have gone through the path that promotes corruption, nepotism, and patronage are now used to that lifestyle. Now, they oppose reforms. What can be done in this respect? Naturally, the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance is against firing all such people, as some people have recommended from time to time. Those experts who have experience and are currently government officials must accept new approaches and new principles. Discipline and accountability should become the main guarantee for those people's jobs. Only then will it be possible for them to keep their jobs. This is a difficult problem in our lives. If this and the other problems do not get solved, the crisis will continue. Our country has neither the time nor the capacity to endure any more shocks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS -What do you think is the idea that can unite the nation and become the basis for national unity? -This is the idea that was going to be formulated and implemented in late 1994: rehabilitating and strengthening the economy. -Do you think that the political right wing has been established in Armenia? If so, what parties are the practical representatives of that wing? -Unfortunately, the only representatives of the right wing in Armenia are those that are extreme rightists, and we were able to see the outcome of their activities during the six to seven years that followed independence. It is obvious that such an ideology does not exist in any other country. The most painful thing is that right wing ideology (independence, privatization, as well as a number of other tools that our country needed to enter a developmental stage) all lost their reputation. There is another factor involved here. As representatives of that ideology, we can picture parties that essentially represent the conservative wing, if assessed on the basis of pure political terminology. In particular, the "Hanrapetakan" ("Republican") party can be seen as one of these parties because the main values of this party (which I consider to belong to the conservative side) are freedom and independence of the nation and state, as well as free economic relations and a strong family base. I believe that any party that considers itself to be right-wing, supports the same values. As for economic relations, I already mentioned that we support a free economy. We try, however, not to go to extremes and forget the main objectives. We believe that the state should necessarily play a clear regulatory role. This role should be attained first of all by means of drafting and adopting legislation: laws ultimately regulate our life. -Is it true that all the profitable sectors of the Armenian economy are in the hands of the mafia, and that it is because of the mafia's avoiding paying taxes that the state cannot afford to pay salaries? -I would not say so. As I mentioned before, a multi-elite society, rather than a civic or multi-party one, was unfortunately formed in Armenia. What is called "elite" is often understood as something typical of a group with positive aspects, which is actually not so. Multi-elite groups are those that have differing interests and influence different sectors. Unfortunately, this has been so for a long time now, and we travelled a long path without noticing that the roles in the economy were being distributed under such conditions. The reason that people do not receive their salaries is not so much because of the large shadow economy in our country or because there are groups that think they have the right to avoid the payment of taxes, but because there are numerous other problems in the economy. One problem that has often been spoken about recently, and is very real, is the privatization of the electricity distribution companies. The distribution companies are currently state-owned, and there is a desire to privatize them. I would like to mention that only last year, we provided the equivalent of 35 million USD from the state budget to pay for the amounts owing to the distribution companies. Those were mainly debts of other state-owned enterprises such as "Nayreet", the irrigation sector, and so on. Having such a small state budget and providing 35 million USD for such purposes will obviously cause us to default on pensions, benefits, and salaries. This is the reality. Unfortunately, some are currently trying to change it in the wrong direction. Your question partially refers to the electricity distribution companies, as well. If we look at things carefully, we will often come across top officials and very rich people among those who do not pay for electric power. Thus, when discussing any issue (and the issue of the distribution companies, in particular) problems should be linked to the question you asked concerning why pensions, benefits, and salaries do not get paid, and why it is impossible to increase them. It is obvious that that the current amount of pensions and benefits is not sufficient to solve any problems for anyone. It only looks like an ethical step taken by the state for the benefit of its citizens. -Do you think that pushing the Russian companies out of the electricity distribution companies' privatization process is a step initiated by foreign policy interests? -As I already mentioned, our main drawback is that problems are not solved in the fields in which they ought to be solved: political problems have to be solved in the political field, while economic problems have to be solved in the economic field. As a matter of fact, some are trying to shift this economic issue towards the political field. I am sure that this has nothing to do with the excellent relationships between Armenia and Russia. The fact that the Russian company was left out of the tender process can be very easily explained. There are criteria that have to be met. This has to be one of the rules of our political and economic life. If rules and conditions have been defined, then they have to be met and satisfied. No exceptions should be made for anyone. -Are there any conflicts between the two wings of the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance? If yes, what are they, and how deep are they? -There are some difficult issues, and they should not be hidden. There is an ideological difference which we knew very well when we were creating the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance. To be honest, the main guarantors of reconciling the different approaches at that time were Vazgen Sargsyan and Karen Demeertshyan, who could do so because of their enormous reputations. Unfortunately, they are not with us today, but the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance still carries the same responsibility. I hope that no matter how much the various approaches differ, we will be able to find common solutions through discussions and preserve the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance. It must remain not only as "Meeasnootyoon", but also as the political majority for the future of our country. -What are the basic provisions of the economic program of the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance? Do you think that "Meeasnootyoon" is strong enough to survive the current political crisis? If yes, how would you justify it? -In general, the basic economic approaches are as follows. First, our country will not have a future without the development of free economic relations. In order to attain this goal, we must solve two extremely important problems: we must ensure the right conditions for the efficient performance of businesses and for investments. The most important thing is that we must turn Armenia's economy into a clearly export-oriented one. Our market is way too small, and so we can ensure efficient domestic production only in food products and one or two other sectors in which there is daily or frequent consumption. As for the goods that are consumed over a longer period of time (goods that cannot be sustained in large amounts in Armenia) their production can be efficient only if appropriate conditions are ensured for their production and sales in our neighboring countries. Only in this case will Armenia have the opportunity to have the necessary volumes of production and, consequently, the appropriate budget and so on. -Do you think that the current qualitative composition of the National Assembly is acceptable? What do you think are the chances for precipitated parliamentary elections? -Of course, it is desirable that the deputies in the National Assembly have a real calling to be deputies, so that they can be useful in the National Assembly. We must also consider that after the last elections, the National Assembly has been turned into a professional one. Unfortunately, however, the National Assembly is not really professional. A number of deputies have nothing to do with being parliamentarians. This should not be an obstacle to the efficiency of our activities. It is very good to dream of immediately having a perfect National Assembly, a rapidly developing economy, and a decent life. Unfortunately, these can so far only be dreams. I think that the current National Assembly is a reflection of our reality, and I am sure that there is no need for precipitated parliamentary elections because it would not improve the work of the National Assembly at all. Moreover, I am sure that there are a number of deputies in the National Assembly who can really facilitate its performance through their serious and efficient efforts. The shock of October 27 seems to have left us, and the National Assembly is entering a phase of quite efficient performance. -Who do you think are the organizers of the October 27 crime? Who are the people and forces, besides the formerly ruling political power, which are willing to transform the political and economic fields? -Naturally, I cannot link the former authorities with the October 27 events because these things have nothing in common. Moreover, I cannot tell you who were the organizers. It is a very difficult question. I can tell you one thing for sure: having been in the parliament building from October 27 to the morning of October 28, and having seen the people there, it is obvious that they were quite carefully selected. They were really people who were capable of committing such a crime. It is the job of the judiciary to find out who the organizers were. As for those who try to transform reality, the answer is yes, there are such people, and many of them appeared after the October 27 events. Directly after murdering Vazgen Sargsyan, Nayree Hoonanyan approached his body and said: "Was this the one you were all afraid of? Now you are free, do as you like!" Perhaps there were people who were really afraid of the late Prime Minister, and now they are free to do as they wish. Unfortunately, there are also such individuals and groups among those who stand close to the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance. I do not want to give any names. I believe that this phenomenon itself is the most important issue here. If we see something like that and we battle it by not letting it accomplish its goals, then names are not important. I think that the names will become clear some day. -Was the reason for the murders of Vazgen Sargsyan and Karen Demeertshyan their resolve to legitimize political life? -Undoubtedly, the desire to legitimize our political life and the battle against corruption were the two main reasons. They were also the factors that could bring about economic development. I am sure that the cause for these murders was their decisiveness to shift everything into the legal field and clear the political and economic sectors. These were the two main objectives of the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, and it became clear after a few months that decisive steps had been being taken in this direction. Perhaps crime was the only way to impede these steps. -What practical measures can be implemented in order to decrease bribery, nepotism, and patronage? -There are many steps. Recently, much is being said about the law on corruption, and some naïve people think that if we adopt this law, then all the problems in the country will be solved. It is not quite true. Corruption is a phenomenon that exists in all areas of our life. Corruption actually consists of three elements: bribery, nepotism, and patronage. They have been flourishing for years now. Establishing accountability and the rule of law are some other measures that need to be taken. There are a number of other issues that remain unsolved. Only complex solutions will allow us to dispose of this harmful phenomenon, which is choking our economy and our country, in general. -Constitutional reforms seem to be delayed. Is this question also going to be solved in the political field? Setting time periods for constitutional reforms would be quite pointless. It has been announced several times (and especially by "Meeasnootyoon") that such a process has already been initiated, and quality is the most important factor here. During the last five years, imperfections have been noticed in our Constitution, but a constitution is a very complicated document. It is the main law of a country, and it should be amended very carefully. An interesting point is that when we were originally trying to draft amendments to individual chapters, we realized that all the amendments should be made through a complex approach. The concept paper of these amendments has already been developed, and it will soon be discussed. The Venice Commission assists European and newly independent states during the process of amending or adopting constitutions. Discussions had been held in this area, after which the work on specific chapters continued. The first constitutional reforms committee was established by the President and headed by Parooyr Hayreekyan. Then, a second committee was created, and it is currently operating under the supervision of the Minister of Justice, Daveet Harootyoonyan. An agreement has been reached to unite the efforts of this committee and the "Meeasnootyoon" alliance, and to accelerate work in this direction. Time is not an issue; the quality of the work is what is most important here. Constitutions cannot be amended every day or every year. This is very serious work. -You mentioned in your speech that the National Assembly must clearly plan its program and its activities. Please, elaborate on why this has so far not been done in the National Assembly. It seems you are not working efficiently because you do not yet have a program. -There are a number of measures that can be taken to increase the efficiency of the performance of the National Assembly. The National Assembly is currently discussing the Law on the Charter of the National Assembly. Adoption of this law will create the appropriate conditions. Moreover, certain specific steps have already been taken. The staff infrastructures of the National Assembly should also be defined. When I was elected as the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly and I tried to work with the staff, I noticed that there were many people on staff who did not even know what their roles, positions, or functions should be. We initiated a new stage of activities in cooperation with the staff, and we tried to bring everything to a point at which the performance of the National Assembly could be more efficient. The reason I am specifically pointing out the problems related to the staff is because deputies do not actually have assistants or advisors, and the subdivisions and departments of the National Assembly do the main work. Numerous problems have accumulated. Moreover, the regulations concerning the National Assembly, which were adopted on the basis of the Constitution, contain several provisions that were inserted to define a range of authorities for specific individuals and specific cases. Currently, they need to be reviewed. A number of issues need to be resolved both through the Constitution and the Charter of the National Assembly. -Before economic prosperity can be achieved, how exactly can migration be stopped? -In order to stop migration, the rule of law must be established in Armenia, so that our society can finally see that the country is living lawfully. People are first of all unhappy because of the lack of legality. People cannot envisage their future without any legality. Another cause for migration is the loss of faith in the future. Various measures must be taken to establish the rule of law and justice and ensure the implementation of public measures. It is necessary to report at least some trends since we cannot attain great success. People must see that positive measures are being implemented. I am sure that even if there are small trends, people will again start believing in their future and in the future of our country, and nobody will leave it. I am sure that the majority of those who are leaving the country are doing so with a great amount of pain in their hearts. -Nowadays, the internal political balance in Armenia is determined by the way in which the Artsakh conflict will be resolved. What can you say about the meetings between Kocharyan and Aleeyev and about the outcome of these meetings, if any? -It is the opposite: stability in political life and economic success will bring about a reasonable solution of the Artsakh conflict. As for the meetings between Kocharyan and Aleeyev, these were important steps that had to be taken, considering that relationships had been broken. When the Artsakh crisis took place in 1997, many people, especially the former authorities, claimed that Armenia would soon find itself in a political and economical blockade. However, this did not happen. The meetings between the two presidents set the bases for re-starting the process of negotiations. Unfortunately, the tragedy of October 27 proved to be a great obstacle. Bilateral meetings have begun again, and we should continue to hope that if the meetings move ahead in a normal way, they will finally turn into real negotiations. http://www.aua.am/aua/extens/lectures/36_e.htm

Visit http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm for much more on Gurdjieff and his teachings.

Gurdjieff’s Pupils Followers— then Leaders of the Teaching Adie, George George Adie first studied with P. D. Ouspensky and later Gurdjieff. After many years in England working with other prominent pupils such as Henriette Lannes and Jane Heap, Mr. Adie moved to Australia and established groups there. Anderson, Margaret Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap were founding editors of the legendary Little Review. She met Gurdjieff in New York in 1924 and shortly thereafter relocated to Paris, partly to study with him at his Institute at Fontainebleau. She then continued to study with Gurdjieff in France until his death. Bennett, John G. J. G. Bennett was a British scientist, mathematician, and philosopher who integrated scientific research with studies of Asiatic languages and religions. Bennett travelled widely and met many spiritual leaders. In the early 1920s, he was introduced to G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky, who both became central guiding forces in his life. Daumal, René One of the most gifted literary figures in France in the early part of the twentieth century, René Daumal was a genuine seeker of truth. In the later part of his life, he had the good fortune to meet and work with Gurdjieff. Fremantle, Christopher The tall, soft-spoken Christopher Fremantle first met P. D. Ouspensky in 1935. Later he was introduced to Gurdjieff in Paris and worked with him until G’s death. In 1951, he in started groups in Mexico and worked with them for the next 30 years. He also led groups in the U.S. Hartmann, Thomas de Thomas de Hartmann was born in the Ukraine and was already an acclaimed composer in Russia when he first met Gurdjieff. He spent the years 1917–1929 as a pupil and confidant of Gurdjieff. While at the Prieuré, he collaborated with Gurdjieff to compose hundreds of musical works that continue to inspire listeners. Hartmann, Olga de Olga de Hartmann was a major figure in the transmission of the teachings of Gurdjieff. Having met Gurdjieff in 1917, she worked with him intensely in very trying and even dangerous conditions until 1929. She was Gurdjieff’s private secretary for many of these years and often helped with his writings. Heap, Jane Even before she met Gurdjieff, Jane Heap was a legendary thinker and raconteur. She first met A. R. Orage through her work on The Little Review and Gurdjieff during his 1924 visit to New York. In the fall of 1935, Gurdjieff sent Heap to London to direct groups. Hulme, Kathryn Author of The Nun’s Story, The Wild Place, and Undiscovered Country (a description of her years with Gurdjieff). A woman of boundless energy, she was also an astute and perceptive observer of life around her. Lannes, Henriette That the Work in England is today so firmly established is preponderantly owed to one woman. Active in London for nearly three decades, this remarkable human being guaranteed the Work’s ethos, dynamic, and trajectory. Her name was Madame Lannes. Lester, John John Lester, a native of Australia, went to England in 1939 to study medicine. His life was forever altered when he met Jane Heap and then Mr. Gurdjieff, who he visited in Paris with other members of Jane’s London group after the war. March, Louise One evening in early 1929, Lousie March was invited to the studios of Carnegie Hall, where Gurdjieff was hosting a recital of piano music. By late spring, she found herself crossing the Atlantic to live and study at his Institute for the Harmonious Development in France. Nicoll, Maurice In 1921, Dr. Maurice Nicoll was Jung’s leading exponent when he met P. D. Ouspensky. The following year, he went to the Prieuré to study directly with Gurdjieff. He afterwards resumed his psychiatric practice in London and studied under Ouspensky until 1931 when Ouspensky gave him permission to teach. Nott, C. Stanley In 1923, C. S. Nott first met Gurdjieff and A. R. Orage in New York. At the Prieuré, Nott experienced sustained and intense periods of inner work with Gurdjieff. He was also a close associate of Orage, Dr. Stjoernval, Thomas de Hartmann and later Ouspensky. Nyland, Willem A. Mr. Nyland first met Gurdjieff in 1924 and was one of the founding members of Orage’s New York group. He maintained close contact with Gurdjieff for the next 25 years. Mr. Nyland was also one of the original founders and trustees of the Gurdjieff Foundation and started his own groups in America and Europe. Orage, Alfred R. A. R. Orage was a leading pupil of Gurdjieff. Having met Ouspensky in 1914 and later Gurdjieff in 1922, Orage surrendered the forefront of intellectual life in London to study at the Prieuré. In January 1924, Orage went to New York to help Gurdjieff with his first visit to America and later introduced and supervised the Work there. Ouspensky, Peter D. P. D. Ouspensky was a major contributor to Twentieth century ideas. He anticipated many of the key questions in philosophy, psychology and religion that have driven and informed us throughout the century. He studied intensively with Gurdjieff between 1915–1918 and throughout the rest of his life continued to promote Gurdjieff’s system. Pentland, Lord Lord Pentland was a pupil of Ouspensky for many years during the 1930s and 1940s. He began to study intensely with Gurdjieff in 1948. Gurdjieff then appointed him to lead the Work in North America. He became president of the Gurdjieff Foundation when it was established in New York in 1953 and remained in that position until his death. Salzmann, Alexandre de When Alexandre de Salzmann and his wife Jeanne first met Gurdjieff in 1919, he was already a well known stage lighting artist in both Russia and Germany. He soon gave up his professional career to follow Gurdjieff and was one of the founding members of the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. Salzmann, Jeanne de Having first met Gurdjieff with her husband in 1919, Madame de Salzmann studied with Gurdjieff for three decades. After Gurdjieff’s death in 1949, she took primary responsibility for carrying on the Gurdjieff Work. She published his books and helped preserve the form of his Movements. Segal, William William Segal taught and embodied a threefold life: theosopher, artist, and man of the market. As an artist, he developed an appreciation for the enigma of self-portraiture. To see and be seen simultaneously, he felt, leads toward Essence—toward what truly is, no more, no less. Staveley, Annie Lou Mrs. Staveley lived in England for more than thirty years and was introduced to the Work by Jane Heap. In 1946, she traveled to Paris to study with Mr. Gurdjieff. She eventually moved to rural Oregon and started a community named Two Rivers Farm. Tracol, Henri Former journalist, photographer and sculptor, Henri Tracol was also a close pupil of Gurdjieff for ten years. As a leading exponent of the Gurdjieff teaching, he was President of the Gurdjieff Institute in France. Travers, Pamela Although there is uncertainty as to where and when Pamela Travers first met Mr. Gurdjieff, she spoke more freely about her friendship with A. R. Orage which developed when he published one of her poems in the New Age. Walker, Kenneth Kenneth Walter—a gifted surgeon—first met P. D. Ouspensky in 1923. He studied and practiced the ideas of Gurdjieff from that time until his death in 1966. A prolific author, his Venture with Ideas and A Study of Gurdjieff’s Teaching provide valuable introductions to Gurdjieff’s ideas. Welch, Louise Louise Welch studied with A. R. Orage during his eight years in New York. She went on to become a senior leader in the study of Gurdjieff’s teaching. In her book, Orage with Gurdjieff in America, she provides a vividly personal account of Orage’s background and his continuing influence as Gurdjieff’s representative in America. Welch, William Dr. William Welch attended Gurdjieff at his death and was President of the Gurdjieff Foundation in New York, succeeding John Pentland. Copyright © 1999 Gurdjieff Electronic Publishing Photo of Lord Pentland © 1983 David Sailors Revision: October 1, 2000 http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm

The Armenian Boy Sarkis a Gurdjieff Anecdote One day Mr. Gurdjieff happened to be lunching alone at a small Paris restaurant. His attention was called to a table nearby where he saw a couple, clearly very anxious about the boy sitting with them. He seemed almost like an animal greedily eating the food before him. He was fat, very fat, far overweight. He ate like an animal. Mr. Gurdjieff overheard one or two remarks the couple were making and knew they were talking Armenian. Now it happened that he had a great weakness for Armenians. He said they were a wonderful people of great antiquity. They had not let their country be overrun by Western civilization. They had kept up their old customs, particularly the roots of their language, which was full of old sayings, old customs of the past, and this kept their people clean and unspoiled by the slime of the West. When Mr. Gurdjieff spoke to them in Armenian, they were clearly surprised and delighted. They got into conversation, he joined them at their table and, of course, being Mr. G, it wasn't long before they were treating him as an old friend. Only the son went on eating, taking no notice. Mr. G explained he was a Russian, a doctor, a child specialist, but of course unknown in Paris, where he was still making his reputation. They arranged to meet again and Mr. G succeeded in getting their confidence and hearing more about their deep anxiety about their son. He told them that, in his opinion, it was their love that had spoiled the boy. His condition had become a disease. It was quite well known in Russia, where parents were often overindulgent to their children. It was fear of starvation really. They had known terrible days of famine. Their children must never know that, so they encouraged them to eat and eat well, with the result that some of them could not stop and the thing became compulsive, serious… He was very busy, he told them, and it was only because he had a weakness for Armenians that … well, he would make them an offer: "Give your son to me. I will cure him. It will take about three months. But there are conditions. You must not see him, write to him, or come anywhere near him during this time. Your absence is part of the cure." They were a bit doubtful about this, adoring their son and never having been parted from him. "Besides, three months … that's a long time … what will it cost?" Gurdjieff brushed all this aside. "It will cost what it costs. Whatever it costs, you must promise to pay it without question. Your faith in me is part of your son's cure…" Well … finally they agreed. Probably it was only because Mr. Gurdjieff was what he was that such an extraordinary arrangement was possible… The first thing was to gain the trust of Sarkis—that was the boy's name—his trust and affection, that was all-important and not difficult. He had a naturally open and affectionate nature. Gurdjieff started by painting a pitiable picture of his own state. A terrible thing had happened. "Just today! Just when I was going to take off on holiday with you!" he said. "I was robbed! In business." The man would be caught, of course. He would be rich again, but for the moment he had nothing. They would have hardly enough to eat. But soon everything would be better! (He kept on inventing these 'bad luck' stories). But tomorrow never came, they had hardly enough to eat, but now they trusted each other, shared everything, it would be bound to come out all right. Well, Sarkis believed him and began to adore him and over the next weeks, getting used to starving without noticing it, he grew into a healthy young man, ready to do anything and everything Gurdjieff asked of him. The money never turned up and they were always very poor, had to work, had to struggle to make ends meet, but together they would make it. This regime went on for weeks, Gurdjieff putting more and more work on Sarkis' shoulders, with the excuse that he himself was getting weaker, older… At last, at the end of a long day when they had climbed all the stairs up to the top flat where they were living, Mr. G accidentally tripped over the trash can and sent the whole lot—it was full—cascading down the staircase and landings below. Starting in at once to pick up all the mess, piece by piece, and get it back in the bin, without the least sign of any blame or irritation at Mr. G's carelessness was a climax. The boy was cured, both in body and mind. Gurdjieff threw his arms round him. It was over! At the family reunion the parents, overjoyed at their newborn son, now an athletic and normal young man, almost timidly asked Mr. G for the bill. Mr. G showed them the itemized account Sarkis and he had made together of what they had spent. Every detail was shown. The total was so small it looked ridiculous. Copyright © 1993 Cecil Lewis Featured: Winter 1997/1998 Issue, Vol. I (2) Revision: April 1, 2000 http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm

Gurdjieff International Review More Selected Excerpts from the Talks and Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff Art, Music and Movement YOU ARE RIGHT IN SAYING THAT THERE ARE MANY CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS on this subject. Does not that alone prove that people do not know the truth? Where truth is, there cannot be many different opinions. In antiquity that which is now called art served the aim of objective knowledge. And as we said a moment ago, speaking of dances, works of art represented an exposition and a record of the eternal laws of the structure of the universe. Those who devoted themselves to research and thus acquired a knowledge of important laws, embodied them in works of art, just as is done in books today.… This art did not pursue the aim either of “beauty” or of producing a likeness of something or somebody. For instance, an ancient statue created by such an artist is neither a copy of the form of a person nor the expression of a subjective sensation; it is either the expression of the laws of knowledge, in terms of the human body, or a means of objective transmission of a state of mind. The form and action, indeed the whole expression, is according to law. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, pp. 32–33 [paperback] TO DEFINE WHAT I CALL OBJECTIVE ART IS DIFFICULT first of all because you ascribe to subjective art the characteristics of objective art, and secondly because when you happen upon objective works of art you take them as being on the same level as subjective works of art…. In subjective art everything is accidental. The artist, as I have already said, does not create; with him “it creates itself.” This means that he is in the power of ideas, thoughts, and moods which he himself does not understand and over which he has no control whatever. They rule him and they express themselves in one form or another. And when they have accidentally taken this or that form, this form just as accidentally produces on man this or that action according to his mood, tastes, habits, the nature of the hypnosis under which he lives, and so on. There is nothing invariable; nothing is definite here. In objective art there is nothing indefinite. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 296 “DO SUCH OBJECTIVE WORKS OF ART EXIST AT THE PRESENT DAY?” I asked. “Of course they exist,” answered G. “The great Sphinx in Egypt is such a work of art, as well as some historically known works of architecture, certain statues of gods, and many other things. There are figures of gods and of various mythological beings that can be read like books, only not with the mind but with the emotions, provided they are sufficiently developed. In the course of our travels in Central Asia we found, in the desert at the foot of the Hindu Kush, a strange figure which we thought at first was some ancient god or devil. At first it produced upon us simply the impression of being a curiosity. But after a while we began to feel that this figure contained many things, a big, complete, and complex system of cosmology. And slowly, step by step, we began to decipher this system. It was in the body of the figure, in its legs, in its arms, in its head, in its eyes, in its ears; everywhere. In the whole statue there was nothing accidental, nothing without meaning. And gradually we understood the aim of the people who built this statue. We began to feel their thoughts, their feelings. Some of us thought that we saw their faces, heard their voices. At all events, we grasped the meaning of what they wanted to convey to us across thousands of years, and not only the meaning, but all the feelings and the emotions connected with it as well. That indeed was art!” IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 27 BUT ANCIENT ART WAS NOT FOR LIKING. Everyone who read understood. Now, this purpose of art is entirely forgotten. For instance, take architecture. I saw some examples of architecture in Persia and Turkey—for instance, one building of two rooms. Everyone who entered these rooms, whether old or young, whether English or Persian, wept. This happened with people of different backgrounds and education. We continued this experiment for two or three weeks and observed everyone’s reactions. The result was always the same. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 184 THE KEYS TO ALL THE ANCIENT ARTS ARE LOST, were lost many centuries ago. And therefore there is no longer a sacred art embodying laws of the Great Knowledge, and so serving to influence the instincts of the multitude. There are no creators today. The contemporary priests of art do not create but imitate. They run after beauty and likeness or what is called originality, without possessing even the necessary knowledge. Not knowing, and not being able to do anything, since they are groping in the dark, they are praised by the crowd, which places them on a pedestal. Sacred art vanished and left behind only the halo which surrounded its servants. All the current words about the divine spark, talent, genius, creation, sacred art, have no solid basis—they are anachronisms. What are these talents? We will talk about them on some suitable occasion. Either the shoemaker’s craft must be called art, or all contemporary art must be called craft. In what way is a shoemaker sewing fashionable custom shoes of beautiful design inferior to an artist who pursues the aim of imitation or originality? With knowledge, the sewing of shoes may be sacred art too, but without it, a priest of contemporary art is worse than a cobbler. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, pp. 35–36 IN THE LEGEND OF ORPHEUS THERE ARE HINTS OF OBJECTIVE MUSIC, for Orpheus used to impart knowledge by music. Snake charmers’ music in the East is an approach to objective music, of course very primitive. Very often it is simply one note which is long drawn out, rising and falling only very little; but in this single note “inner octaves” are going on all the time and melodies of “inner octaves” which are inaudible to the ears but felt by the emotional center. And the snake hears this music, or, more strictly speaking, he feels it, and he obeys it. The same music, only a little more complicated, and men would obey it. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 297 ON SUNDAYS, NAMELY, ON THE DAYS CONSECRATED TO MUSIC AND SINGING, the learned beings belonging to this group first produced on various sound-producing instruments, and also with their voices, every kind of what is called “melody” and then explained to all the other learned beings how they indicated in these works of theirs whatever they wished. They also had it in view to implant these works of theirs in the customs of various peoples, calculating that these “melodies” they created, passing from generation to generation, would reach men of remote generations who, having deciphered them, would discover the knowledge put into them and that had already been attained on the Earth, and would also use it for the benefit of their ordinary existence. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, p. 488 IMAGINE THAT IN STUDYING THE LAWS OF MOVEMENT of the celestial bodies, let us say the planets of the solar system, you have constructed a special mechanism for the representation and recording of these laws. In this mechanism every planet is represented by a sphere of appropriate size and is placed at a strictly determined distance from the central sphere, which stands for the sun. You set the mechanism in motion, and all the spheres begin to turn and move in definite paths, reproducing in a lifelike way the laws which govern their movements. This mechanism reminds you of your knowledge. In the same way, in the rhythm of certain dances, in the precise movements and combinations of the dancers, certain laws are vividly recalled. Such dances are called sacred. During my journeys in the East, I often saw dances of this kind executed during the performance of sacred rites in some of the ancient temples. These ceremonies are inaccessible, and unknown to Europeans…. Such is the origin of the dances, their significance, in the distant past. I will ask you now, has anything in this branch of contemporary art been preserved that could recall, however remotely, its former great meaning and aim? What is to be found here but triviality?… Contemporary art as a whole has nothing in common with the ancient sacred art. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, pp. 31–32 YOU SAW OUR MOVEMENTS AND DANCES. But all you saw was the outer form—beauty, technique. But I do not like the external side you see. For me, art is a means for harmonious development. In everything we do the underlying idea is to do what cannot be done automatically and without thought. Ordinary gymnastics and dances are mechanical. If our aim is a harmonious development of man, then for us, dances and movements are a means of combining the mind and the feeling with movements of the body and manifesting them together. In all things, we have the aim to develop something which cannot be developed directly or mechanically—which interprets the whole man: mind, body and feeling. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 183 MANY YEARS PASS before these young future priestesses are allowed to dance in the temple, where only elderly and experienced priestesses may dance. Everyone in the monastery knows the alphabet of these postures and when, in the evening in the main hall of the temple, the priestesses perform the dances indicated for the ritual of that day, the brethren may read in these dances one or another truth which men have placed there thousands of years before. These dances correspond precisely to our books. Just as is now done on paper, so, once, certain information about long past events was recorded in dances and transmitted from century to century to people of subsequent generations. And these dances are called sacred. MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, pp. 162–163 ~ • ~ These excerpts were previously published as part of a program booklet issued for the “Ideas of Gurdjieff Conference” sponsored by Far West Institute in San Rafael, California in November 1996 and are reproduced with their kind permission. Copyright © 1996 Far West Institute Featured: Fall 2000 Issue, Vol. IV (1) Revision: October 1, 2000 http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm

Gurdjieff International Review Selected Excerpts from the Talks and Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff Every branch of science endeavors to elaborate and to establish an exact language for itself. But there is no universal language. For exact understanding exact language is necessary.… This new language is based on the principle of relativity; that is to say, it introduces relativity into all concepts and thus makes possible an accurate determination of the angle of thought—making it possible to establish at once what is being said, from what point of view and in what connection. In this new language all ideas are concentrated round one idea. This central idea is the idea of evolution … and the evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness. G. I. Gurdjieff, paraphrased from page 70 of IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS Philosophy and Religion THERE DO EXIST ENQUIRING MINDS, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life, try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves. If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him. For without this knowledge, he will have no focal point in his search. Socrates’ words, “Know thyself” remain for all those who seek true knowledge and being. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 43 [pb] LIBERATION LEADS TO LIBERATION. These are the first words of truth—not truth in quotation marks but truth in the real meaning of the word; truth which is not merely theoretical, not simply a word, but truth that can be realized in practice. The meaning behind these words may be explained as follows: By liberation is meant the liberation which is the aim of all schools, all religions, at all times. This liberation can indeed be very great. All men desire it and strive after it. But it cannot be attained without the first liberation, a lesser liberation. The great liberation is liberation from influences outside us. The lesser liberation is liberation from influences within us. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 266 RELIGION IS DOING; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he ‘lives’ his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy. Whether he likes it or not he shows his attitude towards religion by his actions and he can show his attitude only by his actions. Therefore if his actions are opposed to those which are demanded by a given religion he cannot assert that he belongs to that religion. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 299 ONE MUST LEARN TO PRAY, JUST AS ONE MUST LEARN EVERYTHING ELSE. Whoever knows how to pray and is able to concentrate in the proper way, his prayer can give results. But it must be understood that there are different prayers and that their results are different. This is known even from ordinary divine service. But when we speak of prayer or of the results of prayer we always imply only one kind of prayer—petition, or we think that petition can be united with all other kinds of prayers.… Most prayers have nothing in common with petitions. I speak of ancient prayers; many of them are much older than Christianity. These prayers are, so to speak, recapitulations; by repeating them aloud or to himself a man endeavors to experience what is in them, their whole content, with his mind and his feeling. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 300 THE COMMANDMENT INCULCATED IN ME IN MY CHILDHOOD, enjoining that “the highest aim and sense of human life is the striving to attain the welfare of one’s neighbor,” and that this is possible exclusively only by the conscious renunciation of one’s own. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, p. 1186 ALL THE BEINGS OF THIS PLANET THEN BEGAN TO WORK in order to have in their consciousness this Divine function of genuine conscience, and for this purpose, as everywhere in the Universe, they transubstantiated in themselves what are called the ‘being-obligolnian-strivings’ which consist of the following five, namely: The first striving: to have in their ordinary being-existence everything satisfying and really necessary for their planetary body. The second striving: to have a constant and unflagging instinctive need for self-perfection in the sense of being. The third: the conscious striving to know ever more and more concerning the laws of World-creation and World-maintenance. The fourth: the striving from the beginning of their existence to pay for their arising and their individuality as quickly as possible, in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible the Sorrow of our Common Father. And the fifth: the striving always to assist the most rapid perfecting of other beings, both those similar to oneself and those of other forms, up to the degree of the sacred ‘Martfotai’ that is up to the degree of self-individuality. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, pp. 385–386 IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN WHAT TAKES PLACE IN ME when I see or hear anything majestic which allows no doubt that it proceeds from the actualization of Our Maker Creator. Each time, my tears flow of themselves. I weep, that is to say, it weeps in me, not from grief, no, but as if from tenderness. I became so, gradually, after meeting Father Giovanni.… After that meeting my whole inner and outer world became for me quite different. In the definite views which had become rooted in me in the course of my whole life, there took place, as it were by itself, a revaluation of all values. Before that meeting, I was a man wholly engrossed in my own personal interests and pleasures, and also in the interests and pleasures of my children. I was always occupied with thoughts of how best to satisfy my needs and the needs of my children. Formerly, it may be said, my whole being was possessed by egoism. All my manifestations and experiencings flowed from my vanity. The meeting with Father Giovanni killed all this, and from then on there gradually arose in me that “something” which has brought the whole of me to the unshakable conviction that, apart from the vanities of life, there exists a “something else” which must be the aim and ideal of every more or less thinking man, and that it is only this something else which may make a man really happy and give him real values, instead of the illusory “goods” with which in ordinary life he is always and in everything full. Professor Skridlov, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, pp. 245–246 YES, PROFESSOR, KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ARE QUITE DIFFERENT. Only understanding can lead to being, whereas knowledge is but a passing presence in it. New knowledge displaces the old and the result is, as it were, a pouring from the empty into the void. One must strive to understand; this alone can lead to our Lord God. And in order to be able to understand the phenomena of nature, according and not according to law, proceeding around us, one must first of all consciously perceive and assimilate a mass of information concerning objective truth and the real events which took place on earth in the past; and secondly, one must bear in oneself all the results of all kinds of voluntary and involuntary experiencings. MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, p. 242 FAITH CAN NOT BE GIVEN TO MAN. Faith arises in a man and increases in its action in him not as the result of automatic learning, that is, not from any automatic ascertainment of height, breadth, thickness, form and weight, or from the perception of anything by sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste, but from understanding. Understanding is the essence obtained from information intentionally learned and from all kinds of experiences personally experienced. MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, p. 240 ALL RELIGIONS SPEAK ABOUT DEATH DURING THIS LIFE ON EARTH. Death must come before rebirth. But what must die? False confidence in one’s own knowledge, self-love and egoism. Our egoism must be broken. We must realize that we are very complicated machines, and so this process of breaking is bound to be a long and difficult task. Before real growth becomes possible, our personality must die. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 86 THE SOLE MEANS NOW FOR THE SAVING OF THE BEINGS OF THE PLANET EARTH would be to implant again into their presences a new organ, an organ like Kundabuffer, but this time of such properties that every one of those unfortunates during the process of existence should constantly sense and be cognizant of the inevitability of his own death as well as of the death of everyone upon whom his eyes or attention rests. Only such a sensation and such a cognizance can now destroy the egoism completely crystallized in them that has swallowed up the whole of their Essence and also that tendency to hate others which flows from it—the tendency, namely, which engenders all those mutual relationships existing there, which serve as the chief cause of all their abnormalities unbecoming to three-brained beings and maleficent for them themselves and for the whole of the Universe. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, p. 1183 WILL IS A SIGN OF A BEING OF A VERY HIGH ORDER OF EXISTENCE as compared with the being of an ordinary man. Only men who are in possession of such a being can do. All other men are merely automata, put into action by external forces like machines or clockwork toys, acting as much and as long as the wound-up spring within them acts, and not capable of adding anything to its force. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 71 Faith of consciousness is freedom Faith of feeling is weakness Faith of body is stupidity. Love of consciousness evokes the same in response Love of feeling evokes the opposite Love of body depends only on type and polarity. Hope of consciousness is strength Hope of feelings is slavery Hope of body is disease. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, p. 361 Science and Psychology IN RIGHT KNOWLEDGE the study of man must proceed on parallel lines with the study of the world, and the study of the world must run parallel with the study of man. Laws are everywhere the same, in the world as well as in man. Having mastered the principles of any one law we must look for its manifestation in the world and in man simultaneously.… This parallel study of the world and of man shows the student the fundamental unity of everything and helps him to find analogies in phenomena of different orders. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 122 AS EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE IS ONE, so, consequently, everything has equal rights, therefore from this point of view knowledge can be acquired by a suitable and complete study, no matter what the starting point is. Only one must know how to ‘learn.’ What is nearest to us is man; and you are the nearest of all men to yourself. Begin with the study of yourself; remember the saying ‘Know thyself.’ VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 25 BUT OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE, THE IDEA OF UNITY INCLUDED, belongs to objective consciousness. The forms which express this knowledge when perceived by subjective consciousness are inevitably distorted and, instead of truth, they create more and more delusions. With objective consciousness it is possible to see and feel the unity of everything. But for subjective consciousness the world is split up into millions of separate and unconnected phenomena. Attempts to connect these phenomena into some sort of system in a scientific or philosophical way lead to nothing because man cannot reconstruct the idea of the whole starting from separate facts and they cannot divine the principles of the division of the whole without knowing the laws upon which this division is based. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 279 EVERY PHENOMENON, ON WHATEVER SCALE and in whatever world it may take place, from molecular to cosmic phenomena, is the result of the combination or the meeting of three different and opposing forces. Contemporary thought realizes the existence of two forces and the necessity of these two forces for the production of a phenomenon: force and resistance, positive and negative magnetism, positive and negative electricity, male and female cells, and so on. But it does not observe even these two forces always and everywhere. No question has ever been raised as to the third, or if it has been raised it has scarcely been heard. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 77 ALL THIS AND MANY OTHER THINGS CAN ONLY BE EXPLAINED WITH THE HELP OF THE LAW OF OCTAVES together with an understanding of the role and significance of ‘intervals’ which cause the line of the development of force constantly to change, to go in a broken line, to turn round, to become its ‘own opposite’ and so on. Such a course of things, that is, a change of direction, we can observe in everything. After a certain period of energetic activity or strong emotion or a right understanding a reaction comes, work becomes tedious and tiring; moments of fatigue and indifference enter into feeling; instead of right thinking a search for compromises begins; suppression, evasion of difficult problems. But the line continues to develop though now not in the same direction as at the beginning. Work becomes mechanical, feeling becomes weaker and weaker, descends to the level of the common events of the day; thought becomes dogmatic, literal. Everything proceeds in this way for a certain time, then again there is reaction, again a stop, again a deviation. The development of the force may continue but the work which was begun with great zeal and enthusiasm has become an obligatory and useless formality; a number of entirely foreign elements have entered into feeling—considering, vexation, irritation, hostility; thought goes round in a circle, repeating what was known before, and the way out which had been found becomes more and more lost. The same thing happens in all spheres of human activity. In literature, science, art, philosophy, religion, in individual and above all in social and political life, we can observe how the line of the development of forces deviates from its original direction and goes, after a certain time, in a diametrically opposite direction, still preserving its former name. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 129 I ASK YOU TO BELIEVE NOTHING that you cannot verify for yourself. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 78 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN CAN BE TAKEN AS THE DEVELOPMENT IN HIM of those powers and possibilities which never develop by themselves, that is, mechanically. Only this kind of development, only this kind of growth, marks the real evolution of man. There is, and there can be, no other kind of evolution whatever.… In speaking of evolution it is necessary to understand from the outset that no mechanical evolution is possible. The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness. And ‘consciousness’ cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of man is the evolution of his will, and ‘will’ cannot evolve involuntarily. The evolution of man is the evolution of his power of doing, and ‘doing’ cannot be the result of things which ‘happen.’ IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, pp. 56, 58 BUT THE BEING OF TWO PEOPLE CAN DIFFER from one another more than the being of a mineral and of an animal. This is exactly what people do not understand. And they do not understand that knowledge depends on being. Not only do they not understand this latter but they definitely do not wish to understand it. And especially in Western culture it is considered that a man may possess great knowledge, for example he may be an able scientist, make discoveries, advance science, and at the same time he may be, and has a right to be, a petty, egoistic, caviling, mean, envious, vain, naïve, and absent-minded man. It seems to be considered here that a professor must always forget his umbrella everywhere. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 65 THERE ARE TWO LINES ALONG WHICH MAN’S DEVELOPMENT PROCEEDS, the line of knowledge and the line of being. In right evolution the line of knowledge and the line of being develop simultaneously, parallel to, and helping one another. But if the line of knowledge gets too far ahead of the line of being, or if the line of being gets ahead of the line of knowledge, man’s development goes wrong, and sooner or later it must come to a standstill. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 64 THE POWER OF CHANGING ONESELF LIES NOT IN THE MIND, but in the body and the feelings. Unfortunately, however, our body and our feelings are so constituted that they don’t care a jot about anything so long as they are happy. They live for the moment and their memory is short. The mind alone lives for tomorrow. Each has its own merits. The merit of the mind is that it looks ahead. But it is only the other two that can “do.” VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 222 DURING THE PERIOD OF MY YEAR OF SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS on all of their manifestations and perceptions, I made it categorically clear to myself that although the factors for engendering in their presences the sacred being-impulses of Faith, Hope, and Love are already quite degenerated in the beings of this planet, nevertheless, the factor which ought to engender that being-impulse on which the whole psyche of beings of a three-brained system is in general based, and which impulse exists under the name of Objective-Conscience, is not yet atrophied in them, but remains in their presences almost in its primordial state. BEELZEBUB’S TALES, p. 359 THE GENERAL PSYCHE OF MAN IN ITS DEFINITIVE FORM is considered to be the result of conformity to these three independent worlds. The first is the outer world—in other words, everything existing outside him, both what he can see and feel as well as what is invisible and intangible for him. The second is the inner world—in other words, all the automatic processes of his nature and the mechanical repercussions of these processes. The third world is his own world, depending neither upon his “outer world” nor upon his “inner world”; that is to say, it is independent of the caprices of the processes that flow in him as well as of the imperfections in these processes that bring them about. A man who does not possess his own world can never do anything from his own initiative: all his actions “are done” in him. Only he can have his own initiative for perceptions and manifestations in whose common presence there has been formed, in an independent and intentional manner, the totality of factors necessary for the functioning of this third world. LIFE IS REAL ONLY THEN, WHEN “I AM,” pp. 172–173 ONE OF MAN’S IMPORTANT MISTAKES, one which must be remembered, is his illusion in regard to his I. Man such as we know him, the ‘man-machine,’ the man who cannot ‘do,’ and with whom and through whom everything ‘happens,’ cannot have a permanent and single I. His I changes as quickly as his thoughts, feelings and moods, and he makes a profound mistake in considering himself always one and the same person; in reality he is always a different person, not the one he was a moment ago. Man has no permanent and unchangeable I. Every thought, every mood, every desire, every sensation, says ‘I.’ And in each case it seems to be taken for granted that this I belongs to the Whole, to the whole man, and that a thought, a desire, or an aversion is expressed by this Whole. In actual fact there is no foundation whatsoever for this assumption. Man’s every thought and desire appears and lives quite separately and independently of the Whole. And the Whole never expresses itself, for the simple reason that it exists, as such, only physically as a thing, and in the abstract as a concept. Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I’s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible. Each minute, each moment, man is saying or thinking, ‘I.’ And each time his I is different. Just now it was a thought, now it is a desire, now a sensation, now another thought, and so on, endlessly. Man is a plurality. Man’s name is legion. IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, p. 59 TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT YOU USUALLY CALL “I” IS NOT I; there are many “I’s” and each “I” has a different wish. Try to verify this. You wish to change, but which part of you has this wish? Many parts of you want many things, but only one part is real. It will be very useful for you to try to be sincere with yourself. Sincerity is the key which will open the door through which you will see your separate parts, and you will see something quite new. You must go on trying to be sincere. Each day you put on a mask, and you must take it off little by little. VIEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, p. 240 FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, HE CAN BE CALLED A REMARKABLE MAN who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind, and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations which proceed from his nature, at the same time conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others. MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, p. 31 ~ • ~ These excerpts were previously published as part of a program booklet issued for the “Ideas of Gurdjieff Conference” sponsored by Far West Institute in San Rafael, California in November 1996 and are reproduced with their kind permission. Copyright © 1996 Far West Institute Featured: Fall 1999 Issue, Vol. III (1) Revision: October 1, 1999 http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm

People Who Hunger and Thirst for Truth Views from the Real World: Early Talks of Gurdjieff I have already said that there are people who hunger and thirst for truth. If they examine the problems of life and are sincere with themselves, they soon become convinced that it is not possible to live as they have lived and to be what they have been until now; that a way out of this situation is essential and that a man can develop his hidden capacities and powers only by cleaning his machine of the dirt that has clogged it in the course of his life. But in order to undertake this cleaning in a rational way, he has to see what needs to be cleaned, where and how; but to see this for himself is almost impossible. In order to see anything of this one has to look from the outside; and for this mutual help is necessary. If you remember the example I gave of identification, you will see how blind a man is when he identifies with his moods, feelings and thoughts. But is our dependence on things only limited to what can be observed at first glance? These things are so much in relief that they cannot help catching the eye. You remember how we spoke about people’s characters, roughly dividing them into good and bad? As a man gets to know himself, he continually finds new areas of his mechanicalness—let us call it automatism—domains where his will, his “I wish,” has no power, areas not subject to him, so confused and subtle that it impossible to find his way about in them without the help and the authoritative guidance of someone who knows. This briefly is the state of things in the realm of self-knowledge: in order to do you must know; but to know you must find out how to know. We cannot find this out by ourselves. Besides self-knowledge, there is another aspect of the search—self-development. Let us see how things stand there. It is clear that a man left to his own devices cannot wring out of his little finger the knowledge of how to develop and, still less, exactly what to develop in himself. Gradually, by meeting people who are searching, by talking to them and by reading relevant books, a man becomes drawn into the sphere of questions concerning self-development. But what may he meet here? First of all an abyss of the most unpardonable charlatanism, based entirely on the greed for making money by hoaxing gullible people who are seeking a way out of their spiritual impotence. But before a man learns to divide the wheat from the tares, a long time must elapse and perhaps the urge itself to find the truth will flicker and go out in him, or will become morbidly perverted and his blunted flair may lead him into such a labyrinth that the path out of it, figuratively speaking, will lead straight to the devil. If a man succeeds in getting out of this first swamp, he may fall into a new quagmire of pseudo-knowledge.… The more a man studies the obstacles and deceptions which lie in wait for him at every step in this realm, the more convinced he becomes that it is impossible to travel the path of self-development on the chance instructions of chance people, or the kind of information culled from reading and casual talk. At the same time he gradually sees more clearly—first a feeble glimmer, then the clear light of truth which has illumined mankind throughout the ages. The beginnings of initiation are lost in the darkness of time, where the long chain of epochs unfolds. Great cultures and civilizations loom up, dimly arising from cults and mysteries, ever changing, disappearing and reappearing. The Great Knowledge is handed on in succession from age to age, from people to people, from race to race. The great centers of initiation in India, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, illumine the world with a bright light. The revered names of the great initiates, the living bearers of the truth, are handed on reverently from generation to generation. Truth is fixed by means of symbolical writings and legends and is transmitted to the mass of people for preservation in the form of customs and ceremonies, in oral traditions, in memorials, in sacred art through the invisible quality in dance, music, sculpture and various rituals. It is communicated openly after a definite trial to those who seek it and is preserved by oral transmission in the chain of those who know. After a certain time has elapsed, the centers of initiation die out one after another, and the ancient knowledge departs through underground channels into the deep, hiding from the eyes of the seekers. The bearers of this knowledge also hide, becoming unknown to those around them, but they do not cease to exist. From time to time separate streams break through to the surface, showing that somewhere deep down in the interior, even in our day, there flows the powerful ancient stream of true knowledge of being. To break through to this stream, to find it—this is the task and the aim of the search; for, having found it, a man can entrust himself boldly to the way by which he intends to go; then there only remains “to know” in order “to be” and “to do.” On this way a man will not be entirely alone; at difficult moments he will receive support and guidance, for all who follow this way are connected by an uninterrupted chain. Perhaps the only positive result of all wanderings in the winding paths and tracks of occult research will be that, if a man preserves the capacity for sound judgment and thought, he will evolve that special faculty of discrimination which can be called flair. He will discard the ways of psychopathy and error and will persistently search for true ways. And here, as in self-knowledge, the principle which I have already quoted holds good: “In order to do, it is necessary to know; but in order to know, it is necessary to find out how to know.” To a man who is searching with all his being, with all his inner self, comes the unfailing conviction that to find out how to know in order to do is possible only by finding a guide with experience and knowledge, who will take on his spiritual guidance and become his teacher. And it is here that a man’s flair is more important than anywhere else. He chooses a guide for himself. It is of course an indispensable condition that he choose as a guide a man who knows, or else all meaning of choice is lost. Who can tell where a guide who does not know may lead a man? Every seeker dreams of a guide who knows, dreams about him but seldom asks himself objectively and sincerely—is he worthy of being guided? Is he ready to follow the way? Go out one clear starlit night to some open space and look up at the sky, at those millions of worlds over your head. Remember that perhaps on each of them swarm billions of beings, similar to you or perhaps superior to you in their organization. Look at the Milky Way. The earth cannot even be called a grain of sand in this infinity. It dissolves and vanishes, and with it, you. Where are you? And is what you want simply madness? Before all these worlds ask yourself what are your aims and hopes, your intentions and means of fulfilling them, the demands that may be made upon you and your preparedness to meet them. A long and difficult journey is before you; you are preparing for a strange and unknown land. The way is infinitely long. You do not know if rest will be possible on the way nor where it will be possible. You should be prepared for the worst. Take all the necessities for the journey with you. Copyright © 1973 Triangle Editions, Inc. Featured: Fall 2000 Issue, Vol. IV (1) Revision: October 1, 2000 http://www.gurdjieff.org/G.htm

Gurdjieff International Review Black Sheep Philosophers Gurdjieff—Ouspensky—Orage by Gorham Munson http://www.gurdjieff.org/G14.jpg ON October 29, 1949, at the American Hospital in Paris died a Caucasian Greek named Georgy Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. A few nights later at Cooper Union, New York, a medal was presented to the revolutionary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. After his part in the ceremony was over, Wright asked the chairman's permission to make an announcement. "The greatest man in the world," he said, "has recently died. His name was Gurdjieff." Few, if any, in Wright's audience had ever heard the name before, which is quite understandable; Gurdjieff avoided reporters and managed most of the time to keep out of the media of publicity. However, there was one kind of publicity that he always got in Europe and America, and that was the kind made by the wagging human tongue: gossip. In 1921 he showed up in Constantinople. "His coming to Constantinople," says the British scientist, J. G. Bennett, "was heralded by the usual gossip of the bazaars. Gurdjieff was said to be a great traveler and a linguist who knew all the Oriental languages, reputed by the Moslems to be a convert to Islam, and by the Christians to be a member of some obscure Nestorian sect." In those days Bennett, who is now an expert on coal utilization, was in charge of a British Intelligence section working in Constantinople. He met Gurdjieff and found him neither Moslem nor Christian. Bennett reported that "his linguistic attainments stopped short near the Caspian Sea, so that we could converse only with difficulty in a mixture of Azerbaidjan Tartar and Osmanli Turkish. Nevertheless, he unmistakably possessed knowledge very different from that of the itinerant Sheikhs of Persia and Trans-Caspia, whose arrival in Constantinople had been preceded by similar rumors. It was, above all, astonishing to meet a man, almost unacquainted with any Western European language, possessing a working knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology and modern astronomy, and able to make searching comments on the new and fashionable theory of relatively, and also on the psychology of Sigmund Freud." To Bennett, Gurdjieff didn't look at all like an Eastern sage. He was powerfully built—his neck rippled with muscles—and although of only medium height, he was physically dominating. He had a shaven dome, an unlined swarthy face, piercing black eyes, and a tigerish mustache that curled out to big points. In his later years he had a large paunch. But in one respect Gurdjieff's reputation followed the pattern of all the swamis, gurus and masters who have roamed the Western world: his past in the East was veiled in mystery. Only the scantiest facts are known about him before he appeared in Moscow about 1914. Gurdjieff was born in Alexandropol, an Armenian city, in 1866. His father was a kind of local bard. It is said the boy was educated for the priesthood but as a young man he joined a society called Seekers of the Truth, and went with this group on an expedition into Asia. He was in Asia for many years and then came to Moscow where there was talk that he planned to produce a ballet called "The Struggle of the Magicians." The rest is hearsay. It has been said that the Seekers of the Truth went into the Gobi desert. It has been said that they were checking on Madame Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine, and at places where she said there were "masters" they found none; whereas at places unspecified by her, they did find "masters." It has been said that Gurdjieff found one teacher under whom he studied for fifteen years and from whom he acquired his most important knowledge. It has been said that several times he became a rich man in the East. This is all hearsay. A better grade of hearsay centers around Gurdjieff in Tibet. Was he or was he not the chief political officer of the Dalai Lama in 1904 when the British invaded Tibet? According to Achmed Abdullah, the fiction writer, Gurdjieff was the "Dordjieff" to whom the history books make passing reference, supposedly a Russian who influenced the Dalai Lama at the time of the Younghusband Expedition. Abdullah was a member of the British Intelligence assigned to spy on this "Dordjieff," and when Abdullah saw Gurdjieff in New York in 1924, he exclaimed, "That man is Dordjieff!" At any rate, when there were plans in 1922 for Gurdjieff to live in England, it was found that the Foreign Office was opposed, and it was conjectured that their file dated from the time of the trouble between the British government and Tibet. According to rumor, Gurdjieff counseled the Dalai Lama to evacuate Lhasa and let the British sit in an empty city until the heavy snow could close the passes of the Himalayas and cut off the Younghusband expedition. This was done, and the British hurried to make a treaty while their return route was still open. Much more is known about Gurdjieff after 1914. A recently published book by P. D. Ouspensky which the author called Fragments of a Forgotten Teaching, but which the publisher has renamed In Search of the Miraculous, gives a running account of Ouspensky's relations with Gurdjieff over a ten-year period. Of his first interview with Gurdjieff, Ouspensky says: "Not only did my questions not embarrass him but it seemed to me that he put much more into each answer than I had asked for." By 1916 Ouspensky was holding telepathic conversations with Gurdjieff. He also records one example of Gurdjieff's transfiguring of his whole appearance on a railroad journey, so that a Moscow newspaperman took him to be an impressive "oil king from Baku" and wrote about his unknown fellow passenger. The greater part of In Search of the Miraculous consists of the copious notes Ouspensky made on Gurdjieff's lectures in St. Petersburg and Moscow, which give us the only complete and reliable outline of Gurdjieff's system of ideas thus far in print1. It is plain from Ouspensky's exposition that Gurdjieff attempted to convey Eastern knowledge in the thought-forms of the West; he was trying to bridge the gap between Eastern philosophy and Western science. For us in America the story of Gurdjieff is the story of three men whom I call the "black sheep philosophers." Gurdjieff was the master, and the other two—Alfred Richard Orage who died in the fall of 1934, and Peter Demianovich Ouspensky who died in the fall of 1947—were his leading disciples. I call them philosophers; others would call them psychologists; many have called them charlatans. Whatever one names them, they were black sheep: they were looked at askance by the professional philosophers and psychologists because of the different color of their teachings. Nor were they accepted by theosophists, mystics, or various occult professors. They stood apart and their appeal was to what I shall call, for want of a more inclusive word, the intelligentsia. It is impossible to assimilate Orage, Ouspensky and Gurdjieff into any recognized Western school of thought. The New York obituaries of Gurdjieff called him the "founder of a new religion." It was said that he taught his followers how to attain "peace of mind and calm." This was an attempt to assimilate him. But Gurdjieff claimed no originality for his system and did not organize his followers; furthermore, he did nothing to establish a new religion. As for "peace of mind and calm" … There is the incident of an American novelist who calls himself a "naturalistic mystic." In the middle of a dinner with Gurdjieff in Montmarte, this novelist jumped up, shouted, "I think you are the Devil!" and rushed from the restaurant. The truth is that Gurdjieff violated all our preconceptions of a "spiritual leader" and sometimes repelled "religious seekers." In my view, the man was an enigma, and that means that my estimate must necessarily be a suspended estimate. The supposition that he was founding a religion will not hold up. And I do not believe he was a devil out of the pages of Dostoevski. There is an old saying that a teacher is to be judged by his pupils, and by that test Gurdjieff had knowledge that two of the strongest minds in our period wanted to acquire. These minds belonged to the English editor, A. R. Orage, and the Russian mathematical philosopher, P. D. Ouspensky. Both surrendered to Gurdjieff. Let us look at the disciples and then come to their teacher. ~ • ~ ORAGE, a Yorkshireman, bought a small London weekly, The New Age, in 1906. From then until 1922, when he relinquished the paper and went to Fontainebleau where Gurdjieff had his headquarters, Orage made journalistic history. He was remarkable for finding and coaching new writers. Among these was Katherine Mansfield, who acknowledged her great indebtedness to him as a literary mentor. Another was Michael Arlen, who once dedicated a novel to Orage in terms like these: "To A. R. Orage—slow to form a friendship but never hesitant about making an enemy." Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, G. K. Chesterton, Hilarie Belloc and Arnold Bennett debated with each other in The New Age, and Shaw called Orage a "desperado of genius." The New Age was more than a literary review. It played a lively role in British political and economic movements. It began by being highly critical of Fabianism, then took a positive turn by advocating National Guilds, or Guild Socialism, as the Guilds movement was popularly called. With A.G. Penty and S.G. Hobson, Orage was one of the prime instigators of the National Guilds movement, but he always had a lingering doubt of the practicability of its platforms and in 1919 he dropped it and joined with Major C.H. Douglas to found the Social Credit movement. With him went many of the more brilliant Guild Socialists, to the mortification of G. D. H. Cole who denounced the "Douglas-New Age heresy." To literature and economics, Orage added a sustained interest in occultism, and it was this that finally led him to Gurdjieff's Château du Prieuré at Fontainebleau-Avon. Nietzsche had extended the horizons of Orage's thought during his formative years, and Orage's weekly became a forum for Nietzscheans. He himself wrote two small books on that grossly misunderstood philosopher which remain the clearest expositions yet penned of the superman doctrine. On the spoor of the superman, Orage investigated theosophy, psychical research, and Indian literature, and he wrote one book, Consciousness: Animal, Human and Superman, which hinted at the mental exercises he practiced to enlarge and elevate consciousness. T. S. Eliot called Orage the finest critical intelligence of his generation, which is an assurance to the reader that Orage was no gull in his excursions into mysticism. In 1922, at the age of forty-nine, he cut all ties in England, went to Gurdjieff at Fontainebleau-Avon, and was set to digging trenches and washing casseroles. At that time Gurdjieff's Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man was in full swing. With funds provided by Lady Rothermere, Gurdjieff had acquired the historic Château du Prieuré, once the residence of Madame de Maintenon, the consort of Louis Quatorze, and in latter years the property of Labori, the attorney for the exonerated French officer, Dreyfus. The institute provided a thorough work-out for the three "centers" of human psychology. Its members engaged in hard physical tasks ranging from long hours of kitchen drudgery to the felling of trees in the chateau's forest. Unusual situations, friction between members, and music insured great activity for the emotional "center." For the mental "center" there were exercises that often had to be performed concurrently with physical tasks. An airplane hangar had been set up on the grounds. This was known as the "study house" and was the scene for instruction in complicated dance movements. There were mottoes on the walls of the "study house." One of them in translation read: "You cannot be too skeptical." This was the milieu the brilliant English editor entered to become a kitchen scullion. In 1924 Gurdjieff came to America with forty pupils—English and Russian—and gave public demonstrations of dervish dances, temple dances, and sacred gymnastics. Orage came along but did not perform the movements, although he had practiced them for a Paris demonstration. Nothing like these dances had ever been seen in New York, and they aroused intense interest. They called for great precision in execution and required extraordinary coordination. One could well believe they were, as claimed, written in an exact language, even though one could not read that language but only received an effect of wakefulness quite different from the pleasant sense of harmony most art produces. When Gurdjieff and his pupils sailed for France, Orage was left in New York to organize groups for the study of Gurdjieff's system, and for the next seven years he was engaged in this task. Let me call up from memory one of the evenings Orage talked to a group in New York. The place is a large room above a garage on East Fortieth Street. It is Muriel Draper's flat and there is a bizarre note in its furnishings produced by the gilt throne from a production of Hamlet which Mrs. Draper had picked up. In those days Mrs. Draper was the "music at midnight" hostess she had been in Florence and London. By nine o'clock about seventy people had gathered. Let us look around the room. Seated well back is Herbert Croly, the founder and editor of the New Republic, an admirer of Auguste Comte and therefore a rationalist. A few rows in front is Carl Zigrosser, the print expert. Well off to one side is Amos Pinchot, the liberal publicist, and just coming in we see John O'Hara Cosgrave, the Sunday editor of the New York World. Near the front sits Helen Westley of the Theatre Guild, and always on the front row is the historical novelist Mary Johnston. Squatting on the floor up front with an Indian blanket around his shoulders is impassive Tony, the full-blooded Indian husband of Mabel Dodge Luhan, and near him, but seated on a chair is the celebrated memoirist herself; she is reputed to have bought one of the $12,000 "shares" of Gurdjieff's Institute. Now arriving is Dr. Louis Berman, the authority on glands, and just behind him waves the handsome beard of the painter Boardman Robinson. It is the sort of crowd you might find on the opening night of Strange Interlude, which is currently playing on Broadway. Some of the men you would see at the luncheons of the Dutch Treat Club; some of the women at the meetings of that advanced exclusive group called "Heterodoxy." A worldly crowd, a 1920-ish crowd, for in retrospect the 1920's seems a period vibrating with intellectual curiosity. Orage comes in a little after nine. Deliberately, he is always a little late, and often he takes a snifter of bootleg gin in Mrs. Draper's kitchen before entering the big room. He is tall, with a strong Yorkshireman's frame, an alert face, an elephantine nose, sensitive mouth, hair still dark. He is a chain-smoker throughout the meeting. He calls for questions. Someone asks about "self-observation," someone wants to know "what this system teaches about death," someone else makes a long speech that terminates in a question about psychoanalysis. After he has five or six questions, Orage begins to talk—and he talks well in lucid sentences often glinting with wit. A graduate student in psychology at Columbia objects to one of his remarks. Orage handles the objection and goes on until a progressive schoolteacher interjects a question. It is like a Socratic dialogue, with Orage elucidating a single topic from all sides. Every question eventually gets back to "the method," and by eleven o'clock he has once again illuminated the method of self-observation with non-identification that appears to be the starting procedure prescribed by Gurdjieff for self-study. Briefly, what Orage has said is that man is a mechanical being. He cannot do anything. He has no will. His organism acts without his concurrent awareness and he identifies himself with various parts of this victim of circumstances, his organism. There is only one thing he can try to do. He can try to observe the physical behavior of his organism while at the same time not identifying his 'I' with it. Later he can attempt to observe his emotions and thoughts. The trouble is that he can only fleetingly observe with non-identification, but he must continue to make the effort. It is claimed that this method differs from introspection. The non-identifying feature differentiates it from an apperception. The man who finally succeeds in developing the power of self-observation is on the path to self-knowledge and the actualizing of a higher state of consciousness. This higher state, which Orage calls "Self-consciousness" or "Individuality," stands to our present waking state as the waking state stands to our state of sleep. This bare summary will not, of course, explain why so many New Yorkers came to hear Orage between 1924 and 1931. Some came only once or twice out of a weak curiosity, like Heywood Broun who listened through one meeting, then asked, "When do we get to sex?" and shuffled off, never to return. Others were fascinated by the charm and keenness of Orage's literary personality and found such epigrams as "H. G. Wells is an ordinary man with a carbuncle of genius" full compensation for the dissertations on psychology they sat through. But the solid core of his group were probably the people who prefer Plato to Aristotle; that is, people who feel that there is some kind of film over reality and respond to the idea that this film can be penetrated. In 1931 Orage faced a personal crisis. He had married an American girl and had an infant son. Gurdjieff, a hard task-maker, wanted him to bring his family to the Château du Prieuré and continue work on the translation into English of the huge book then called Tales of Beelzebub to His Grandson, which Gurdjieff had written partly in Russian and partly in Armenian. Orage neither wanted to leave his family nor to put them in the never-stable environment of Fontainebleau-Avon. He decided to go to London and there founded the New English Weekly. On Guy Fawkes Day [Nov. 5] in 1934, he who had never addressed more than a few thousand readers addressed hundreds of thousands of B.B.C. listeners with a speech on Social Credit, went home, and died before morning. ~ • ~ THE link between Orage and Gurdjieff was originally P. D. Ouspensky, who came to London in 1921 and started groups for the study of the Gurdjieff system. Orage attended these, as did Katherine Mansfield, and both went to the source at Fontainebleau. As explained by Ouspensky, there were three main ways to a higher development of man: the way of the fakir who struggles with the physical body, the way of the monk who subjects all other emotions to the emotion of faith, and the way of the yogi who develops his mind. But these ways produce lopsided men; they produce the "stupid fakir," the "silly saint," the "weak yogi." There is a fourth way, that of Gurdjieff, in which the student continues in his usual life-circumstances but strives for a harmonious development of his physical, emotional and intellectual life—the non-monastic "way of the sly man." The accent was on harmonious, all-around development. Ouspensky was a highly mental type. At his lectures in New York he seemed like a European professor. He was not nervous in manner and he had a peculiar kind of emotional serenity; one felt that it did not matter to him what his listeners thought of him. In his youth he had been fascinated by the problem of the fourth dimension, the nature of time, and the doctrine of recurrence. When only thirty-one, he wrote a book, The Fourth Dimension, which was recognized as a contribution to abstract mathematical theory. He also practiced journalism for a St. Petersburg newspaper. At thirty-four, he completed the book on which his popular fame rests, Tertium Organum. This book had a great influence on the American poet, Hart Crane, an influence Brom Weber has carefully traced in his biography of Crane. But Tertium Organum is a pre-Gurdjieffian work, and much of it has to be reset in a later pattern of Ouspensky's thought, as he implied in a cryptic note inserted after the early editions. Ouspensky also wrote a short book on the tarot cards, which are surmised to contain occult meaning. The young Russian thinker attempted to be practical about his speculative thinking. He made trips to Egypt, India and Ceylon in search of keys to knowledge. He experimented with drugs, fasting and breathing exercises to induced higher states of consciousness. When he met Gurdjieff in Moscow in 1914, he was ripe for a teacher. As the years went on, Ouspensky began to make a distinction between Gurdjieff the man and the ideas conveyed by Gurdjieff. Remaining true to the ideas, he finally decided about 1924 to teach independently of the man Gurdjieff. The last chapter of In Search of the Miraculous, deals with this "break," but it is too reticent to make the "break" understood. Ouspensky held groups in London throughout the 1920's and 1930's, and had a place outside London for his more devoted pupils, some of whom were quite wealthy. When the bombs began to rain on England, he and a number of his English pupils migrated to America and purchased Franklin Farms, a large estate at Mendham, New Jersey. In New York he lectured to shifting groups of sixty or so, while at Mendham his wife supervised the pupils who carried out farm and household tasks as part of their psychological training. Instruction in the Gurdjieff dance movements was also given at Mendham. Ouspensky's later books have included A New Model of the Universe, begun in pre-Gurdjieff days but revised and completed under his influence, and a novel, Strange Life of Ivan Osokin, which has a flavor that reminds one of Gogol. Although Ouspensky has written extensively on relativity, the professional physicists appear to have given him a cold shoulder; at least, he is never mentioned in scientific literature. However, A New Model of the Universe produced a great impression on the novelist J.B. Priestly, who wrote one of his most enthusiastic essays2 about it. ~ • ~ GURDJIEFF was by far the most dramatic of the trio; in fact, Gurdjieff as a pedagogue was mainly an improvising dramatist, a difficult aspect of his character to explain briefly. Most people believe that they can make decisions. They believe that when they say "Yes" or "No" in regard to a course of action, they mean "Yes" or "No." They think they are sincere and can carry out their promises and know their own minds. Gurdjieff did not lecture them on the illusion of free will. Instead, in conversation with a person, he would produce a situation, usually trivial and sometimes absurd, in which that person would hesitate, perhaps say "Yes," then change to "No," become paralyzed between choices like Zeno's famous donkey starving between two equidistant bales of hay, and end full of doubt about any "decision" reached. If the person afterwards looked at the little scene he had been put through, he saw that his usual "Yes" or "No" had no weight; that, in fact, he had drifted as the psychological breezes blew. Often, in his early acquaintance with a person, Gurdjieff would hit upon one or both of two "nerves" which produced agitation. These were the "pocketbook nerve" and the "sex nerve." He would, as our slang goes, "put the bee on somebody for some dough," or he might, as he did with one priest from Greece, egg him on to tell a series or ribald jokes. The event often proved that he didn't need the money he had been begging for. As for the poor priest, when he had outdone himself with an anecdote, Gurdjieff deflated him with the disgusted remark, "Now you are dirty!" and turned away. "I wished to show him he was not true priest," Gurdjieff said afterwards. To go for the "pocketbook nerve" or the "sex nerve" was to take a short cut to a person's psychology; instead of working through the surfaces, Gurdjieff immediately got beneath them. "Nothing shows up people so much," he once said, "as their attitude toward money." There are legends about how Gurdjieff came by the large sums of money he freely spent. It has been rumored that he earned money by hypnotic treatment of rich drug addicts. There used to be a tale that he owned a restaurant, or even a small chain of restaurants, in Paris. His fortunes varied extremely, and there were times when he had little money. He lost his chateau at Fontainebleau-Avon in the early 1930's. His expenses were large and included the support of a score or two of adherents. He tipped on a fabulous scale. Money never stuck to his fingers but he himself did not lead a luxurious life. He joked with his pupils about his financial needs and openly called his money-raising maneuvers "shearing sheep." When the Bolshevik revolution struck Russia, Gurdjieff moved south. He halted at various places, notably at Tiflis, to launch groups, but eventually he and his followers crossed the Caucasian mountains on foot and made their way to Constantinople. Via Germany, he reached France where, as related, Lady Rothermere enabled him to found the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man at the Château du Prieuré. This Institute, Orage once told me, was to have made Bacon's project for an Academy for the Advancement of Learning look like a rustic school. But in 1924, Gurdjieff met with an automobile accident which nearly killed him, and thereafter he turned to the less strenuous activity of writing. The Institute plans were canceled, and he began the tales of Beelzebub as told to his grandson on a ship in interstellar space. This book is a huge parable with chapters on the engulfed civilization of Atlantis, the "law of three" and the "law of seven," objective art, and many riddles of man's history. It purports to be an impartial criticism of the life of man on the planet Earth. In this period Gurdjieff also composed many pieces of music, making original use of ancient scales and rhythms. In the last year or two of his long life, Gurdjieff finished with his writings and intensified his direct contacts with his followers. Movement classes were started in Paris, and several hundred Frenchmen now come more or less regularly to these and other meetings. In England the exposition of Gurdjieff's ideas is carried on by the mathematical physicist, J. G. Bennett3. Bennett is the author of The Crisis in Human Affairs, an introduction to the Gurdjieff system. It is said that Bennett attracts about three hundred to his lectures and that the class in movements numbers nearly two hundred. Gurdjieff spent the winter of 1948–49 in New York, as usual unnoticed by the press. The remnant of the old Orage groups came to him, as did the Ouspenskyites from Mendham and many new people. With Oriental hospitality, he provided supper night after night for seventy and upwards in his big suite at the Hotel Wellington, the supper being punctuated by toasts in armagnac to various kinds of idiots: "health ordinary idiots," "health candidates for idiots," "health squirming idiots," "health compassionate idiots." When Gurdjieff drank water, he always proposed, "health wise man." Prepositions were left out of the toasts; Gurdjieff spoke a simplified English that often required an effort to follow. After the supper, Gurdjieff's writings were read until the small hours of the morning. While he was here, he signed a contract with a New York publisher to bring out in 1950 the English version of the 1000-page tales of Beelzebub, under the title All and Everything. It is also expected that after the book appears, his American pupils will give a public demonstration of the dance movements. Gurdjieff had passage booked for America last October but fell gravely ill. An American doctor flew to Paris, had him removed to the American Hospital, and made him comfortable. "Bravo, America!" he said to the doctor. "Now we can have a cup of coffee." Those were his last words. How shall I sum up this strange man? A twentieth century Cagliostro? But the evidence about Cagliostro is conflicting, and the stories you will hear about Gurdjieff are highly conflicting. I can personally vouch for his astonishing capacity for work. Two to four hours' sleep seemed sufficient for him; yet he always appeared to have abundant energy for a day spent in writing, playing an accordion-harmonium, motoring, café conversation, cooking. Those who had to keep up with him were sometimes ready to drop from fatigue, but he seemed inexhaustible after twenty hours and fresh the next morning from a short sleep. He was eighty-three this last winter at the Hotel Wellington. He would retire at three or four in the morning. Around seven the elevator boys would take him down and he would go over to his "office," a Child's restaurant on upper Fifth Avenue. Here, as at a European cafe, he would receive callers all morning. I have sometimes asked myself what our civilization of specialists would make of certain men of the Renaissance—men like Roger Bacon, a forerunner, and Francis Bacon and Paracelsus who came at the height—if they reappeared among us. I think we would find them baffling, and it would be their many-sidedness that would puzzle us. The biographers and historians have never quite known how to take their scandalous unorthodoxy. To me Gurdjieff was an enigma whom I associate with the stranger figures of the Renaissance rather than with religious leaders. He never claimed originality for his ideas but asserted they came from ancient science transmitted in esoteric schools. His humor was Rabelaisian, his roles were dramatic, his impact on people was upsetting. Sentimentalists came, expecting to find in him a resemblance to the pale Christ-figure literature has concocted, and went away swearing that Gurdjieff was a dealer in black magic. Scoffers came, and some remained to wonder if Gurdjieff knew more about relativity than Einstein. "A Pythagorean Greek," Orage called him, thus connecting the prominence given to numbers in the Gurdjieffian system with Gurdjieff's descent from Ionian Greeks who had migrated to Turkey. Perhaps this appellation, "Pythagorean Greek," is as short a way as any to indicate the strangeness of Gurdjieff to our civilization, which has never been compared to Greece in its great period from the sixth to the fourth centuries before Christ. How shall we account for the interest persons of metropolitan culture in the Western world have shown in the Eastern ideas of Gurdjieff and his transmitters, Orage and Ouspensky? One explanation is easy, and it holds for people who seek respite for their personal unhappiness in psychoanalysis, pseudo-religious cults, and the worship of the group (nostrism as manifested in Communism and Fascism). This is the therapeutic interest, and many who have come to the Gurdjieffian meetings have had it. Let us disregard this common interest and ask why Eastern ideas have attracted in these years the interest of sophisticated thinkers like Aldous Huxley who has been remarkable for his typicality. The answer here is that Western culture is in crisis. Ours is a period of two world wars and one world depression. In this period it has been impossible for a thoughtful person not to have been deeply disappointed in his hopes for man. He has seen one effort after another produce an unintended result. World War I made the world unsafe for democracy. The prosperity of the 1920's led to economic drought. World War II turned into cold war. The socialist dream flickered into a totalitarian nightmare. Science becomes an agency of destruction. The doctrine of progress gives place to the feeling the Western man is at a standstill. In a crisis one hopes or one despairs. Gurdjieff, Orage and Ouspensky confirmed the despair but simultaneously raised the hope of Westerners whose mood was disappointment over the resources of their culture. It is said that Aldous Huxley, that modern of moderns, went to a few Ouspensky meetings in London. Eventually Huxley settled for Gerald Heard who draws heavily on Eastern philosophy. In Huxley we may find a symptom of a desperate tendency to turn in our crisis to ideas and teachings that stand outside the stream of Western culture. Orage, Ouspensky and Gurdjieff painted a crisis-picture—in one part as black as any school of Western pessimism, in another part so bright as early Christianity. In this balance-by-contrast of the dark and the light is a principal reason for their appeal to moderns. As of February, 1950. Ed. Published as Chapter 13 in Priestley's Midnight on the Desert (New York) Harper, 1937. Also by Jane Heap from 1936 to 1964 and by Mme Henriette H. Lannes from 1950 to 1980. Ed. Copyright © 1950 Garrett Publications, Inc. By permission of McIntosh & Otis, Inc. Featured: Spring 1998 Issue, Vol. I (3) Revision: May 1, 2000 http://www.gurdjieff.org/munson1.htm

NOVEMBER 11, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PROSPECTS FOR ARMENIAN-TURKISH ECONOMIC RELATIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ARSEN GHAZARYAN, President of the Armenian-Turkish Business Development Committee, General Manager, "Apaven" International Freight Transportation Company No matter how hard people in Turkey try to close their eyes and say that there is an official embargo and that it is impossible to have trade links; these links nonetheless exist. In May 1996, the Black Sea Summit of presidents took place in Istanbul. At that time, the Armenian Union of Manufacturers and the Istanbul Board of Trade decided to create a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that would be able to coordinate Armenian-Turkish economic relations in the absence of official diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. The NGO would attempt to fill the information gap and become the pipeline for the information flow between Armenia and Turkey. It would create a basis for more formal relations in the future. At that time, there was a lot of talk that the issues of the blockade would soon be resolved. Every six months, we expected that railways and roads would soon be opened, and there would be a new phase in our relationships. Three years have passed, but nothing has changed. Each time we organize a business meeting, whether in Armenia or Turkey, journalists ask us when we expect to have more active, tangible relations. Our committee was able to accomplish a lot in three years. First, we were able to break the mold of Turkish public opinion under conditions of very cold, almost hostile (from Turkey's viewpoint), inter-state relationships. We were able to make them aware of our existence, even just as an NGO. No matter how hard people in Turkey try to close their eyes and say that there is an official embargo and that it is impossible to have trade links; these links nonetheless exist. There is a circulation of goods between Armenia and Turkey. The next achievement we attained in the past three years was that we managed to bring in a significant change in Turkey's public opinion about the stereotypes of Armenians, Armenian businesses, and Armenian culture. Our many meetings and wide-ranging press conferences played a significant role. If we had the attention of Turkey's media, we saw that they spoke more seriously about us as a society, state, and nation, than they did three years ago. This modest success was all that could have been achieved in the existing conditions. First, let me explain to you the current state of Armenian-Turkish trade and economic relations, and then speak about their prospects. What are the current relations like? Based on the official prohibition from Turkey, no importing or exporting can be carried out with Armenia. This is done through intermediary countries, mainly Georgia, and sometimes Iran. Despite Turkey's official prohibition of capital flow; the official annual circulation is 200-250 million United States dollars. This is an approximate estimate because the statistics department of Armenia does not have precise information: goods are very often imported from a third country. The information we have is more of an unofficial poll of sorts from the business world, rather than scientific data. In this case, under such conditions, US$ 200-250 million is a large number. This mainly consists of importing Turkish goods into Armenia - food products, certain raw materials, electronics, and consumables. There is also illegal exporting from Armenia to Turkey. A large amount of black scrap metal was once exported to Turkey, but is now suspended. The buyers were mainly German, French, and Dutch companies that redirected it to Turkish factories in and around Samsun, Izmir, and Istanbul. Having studied the current situation, we have concluded that Turkey's economy is ahead of Iran's. The quality and service of Turkish goods has gradually pushed Iranian goods out of our market. I am not familiar with Iran. I personally do not work in that region, but I am convinced that the Turks surpass the Iranians in this respect. Perhaps, a major role here was played by the contacts between Armenian and Turkish businesspersons: we understand them more quickly and easily than we understand a society governed by religious rules and ideology. Turkey, regardless of what it is, is nonetheless a civilized country. I venture to say, perhaps incorrectly, that the similarity of lifestyles and cultures between Armenian and Turkish businesspersons makes our understanding of one another easier than in the case for Iran. Furthermore, the quality of Turkish goods matches the needs of the middle economic stratum of our society. They are gradually pushing Iranian goods out of the Armenian market. This is the current situation. Very few Turkish enterprises needed or dared officially to declare their operations in Armenia to be operations of a Turkish company. Very few understood that Armenia imposes no legal or political boundaries in this regard. On the contrary, our state has consistently carried out an open-doors policy. A good example of what I have just explained is the activities of the "Cultrade" corporation. In 1997, in an public communiqué, they declared that they use Turkish, rather than Swiss capital, and that they represent one of the richest private families in Trabizond that has established, and is developing, a business in Armenia. Perhaps they periodically have cycles of difficulties and successes; nonetheless, they are still in business. We have the experience of many Turkish businesses coming into Armenia under the guise of European or American organizations so as to avoid political harassment in their country. Often they are afraid to declare that their capital in Armenia is Turkish. In the past three years, on four or five occasions, we have brought here representatives of large Turkish businesses. They studied our industry, the branches of our economy, and our legislation, and returned amazed at our projections for the future. That was all. The market remained in the hands of small and medium businesses, and did not go further than simple trade links. The first reason for this is the strict regulation of business activity by the Turkish government. In 1998, we were planning, together with the Istanbul Board of Trade, to hold an exhibition-sale of Armenian-Turkish goods in Armenia. Everything was arranged. About 150 Turkish companies were registered to participate. Cars and cargo boxes were loaded and waiting. At the last moment, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Turkey suspended this event for an indefinite amount of time. While it is true that they were very polite in their official denial (they were currently celebrating the anniversary of the Turkish republic, the country was busy, we should postpone it until the fall, spring, etc), there was a different reason. When our president spoke from the UN podium for the first time, and for the first time ever, spoke officially about the 1915 Genocide, Turkish society was confused, bothered, and shocked. The suspensions immediately followed. This was the real reason. Unless we have official diplomatic relations, unless our states try to take the first step in recognizing the other as a state, Turkey cannot value the one-sided readiness of Armenia. The late Prime Minister, Vazgen Sarkeessyan, after returning from meetings in Washington, said that unless there is a political solution to the issue, it is useless to talk about large economical projects. Unfortunately, this is the situation. What is the reason? Why is the development of Armenian-Turkish economic relations impossible either now or in the future -- unless the situation changes? I do not want to stop on this pessimistic note. Let us rather say what would happen if these relations were put on the right track in a month, a year, or ten years. What are the prospects? In fact, we speak so much about it; the public has so many perceived desires for and expectations about these relations! Ultimately, what will happen? Is it worthwhile to think about, plan, and work in this direction? What will the lifting of the blockade give us? Can we expect a qualitative jump, or will this become another casual neighbor for us - just like Georgia, which is not a significant trading partner; other than using its ports for transit purposes. Let me brief you on the results of the analysis that our committee has made. Having studied Turkey for the past three years, we have learned to rid ourselves of many complexes. We had old visions of Turkish society consisting of Medieval Turks with swords and turbans who knew no better than to abuse, terrorize, and kill Armenians. It is a fact, however, that Turkey is industrially and economically the most developed country in this region. The proof of this is that all the large transnational corporations, including those of America, Japan, and Europe, enter the Caucasus region and Central Asia through offices in Istanbul and Ankara. This is the case for Phillips or Sony in the field of electronics, or other gigantic machinery companies. This is because Turkey is more advanced than all the CIS countries and Iran, which is 20 years behind. Turkey is integrating European cultural values, economic structures, and infrastructures. No matter how people try to block Turkey's efforts at becoming a full member of the European Community, it currently stands closer to it than anyone else. The development of Turkey's economy in the past 25 years, and its current state, show us that beyond Ararat, we have a neighbor that is much more powerful than we are. In discussions, some often people say that it may have been a blessing in disguise that Turkey imposed a blockade in the summer of 1993. Perhaps it was good that we had no open borders with Turkey at the dawn of our independence. Turkish capital could have turned us, very politely and democratically, into hired hands. The Iranians did not succeed in doing this because the companies that came here from Iran were not its larger ones; they came through intermediaries. Besides, Iran remains Iran because of its social lifestyle. Perhaps this was the better course of development of events. Perhaps time will show this after we have performed a deeper and more informed analysis. What will we gain from making our relationships with Turkey official? First, it will be the restoration of Armenia's historic role as a crossroads. Currently, we are an impediment. No matter how much we say that Armenia is participating, through TRACECA, in the "Silk Road", it is false and imaginary. We are currently a railway dead end, with limited volumes. If nothing changes, we will be of no value for our neighbors. If, God forbid, someday Georgia decides for political reasons, to close its ports for a couple of months, it will have no affect on their economy, but we will be destroyed, since we will be the only ones affected by it. If the borders were opened, our railway, which runs from Akhooreek to Doukap, will give everyone the opportunity to use the least-cost, shortest, and most developed and practical way to reach the Mediterranean Sea. This means that freight circulation will become much cheaper, even for Central Asia, by going using the Baku-Tbilissi-Gyoomree-Ghars route to the Mediterranean Sea, and return. We inherited, from Soviet times, the transition point in the Akhooreek station. It is a railway exchange system and is in good working condition. It is capable of servicing the volumes of the past. This is the first advantage that we will gain: we will become a transit country with a freight volume that will make our railways profitable. Nevertheless, if we continue like this, in three to four years we will not be able to afford to keep our railways because expenses exceed revenues. The opening of the border will sharply change our political and geographic importance. The second thing which the opening of the roads will give us is the development of some of the branches of our economy which, because of high transport costs, are currently not functioning. We will be able to deliver our products to the nearest consumers at the lowest possible costs. First, this is Turkey; second, the Near East. Cheaper and quicker freight transportation through Turkish ports will improve our current performance through Poti and Batumi. Let me mention the example of cement production, which has been widely discussed. Our plants have high capacities, and can produce great volumes even now, but they do not have a consumer market because they were created for the market in the Soviet Union by using illogical transportation cost calculations. If we export cement, we can only do it through Turkey and for Turkey. In other cases, no matter how we calculate things, our cement will cost more than the international market. It is a fact that Turkey's economy needs our cement and that it is worthwhile to talk about a high level of exports. If this subject were presented to you by a Turkish state minister -- rather than by me -- he would have presented, in a much more convincing way, the losses that Turkey has endured in the past six years due to the one-way blockade. The next thing is energy. Although I praise Turkey very highly by saying that it is a developed country, I must admit that it has not wanted, or has not been able to provide, an adequate level of energy supply for its eastern regions. This is logical because the coastal areas have developed more. Production capacity has been concentrated around the Black and Mediterranean seas. The situation in the eastern region is quite sad, particularly in terms of energy. Even at current levels, Armenia has a surplus of energy production, and there are some difficulties related to the sale of it. The only consumer is Georgia, which is not able to pay for it. Moreover, Georgia buys energy from us and sells it to Turkey for several more drums (The Armenian currency is the drum - ed.). We do not object to their mediating in such a way and protecting their interests. We are capable of having profitable energy exports to Turkey. If this subject were presented to you by a Turkish state minister -- rather than by me -- he would have presented, in a much more convincing way, the losses that Turkey has endured in the past six years due to the one-way blockade. The third branch related to transit, which will be profitable and a good prospect for us, is the export of gas through Armenia. All that needs to be done is the building of 60-70 km of gas pipeline to connect our grid with Turkey's in order to export gas from Russia. We will have the same kind of benefits that Georgia and Azerbaijan currently enjoy in relation to the export of oil through their territory. By exporting electricity and gas to an unfriendly neighboring country, we may have an important advantage in international politics. These are the three major directions that can be considered the cornerstones of Armenian-Turkish economic prospects. Other fields of service infrastructure may be created and developed around these three. As for production cooperation, all know that we have a large inheritance from Soviet times in heavy and light industry. It is currently estimated that if we can restore just 25% of this capacity, we will be considered a heroic generation! This can easily be achieved if we simply learn to cooperate with our closest neighbor, Turkey, which lacks this production capacity. First, I am referring to machinery building, textile and hosiery production, because Turkey does not currently produce enough to satisfy its export demand. Turkey makes clever use of its cheap labor force and its re-equipped plants to cover Europe and the United States with its quality goods. In fact, Turkey cannot satisfy all of the demand that comes from these countries. This is not our opinion: it is the consideration of the Turkish Textile Producers' Association that, in 1998, visited our plants in Gyoomree and Vanadzor. Turkey looks to Armenia as a means of organizing export to the USA. They are currently doing this through Israel. Israel, just like Armenia, does not have export quotas to the USA. This means that we, as a developing country, and they, being Israel, can sell to the US as much as can be produced. Turkey has limits on this. Production can be exported as unfinished goods or raw materials with a tag saying "Made in Armenia". This would provide large returns. At least in the first phase, this can be a good opportunity for us to create new jobs. Another important field is metallurgy. The new government is currently developing a policy to restore this branch or completely rebuild it. We have adequate sources for the supply of raw materials, but simply selling them is not enough. There is highly developed metallurgy in large centers of Turkey such as Caesaria, Samsun, and Izmir. If the roads were opened, we would be able to export our mineral resources to those places, rather than to Europe as we are currently doing. Consequently, we will have a 10-20% increase in profitability. This is as far as prospects go, but I would like to conclude my speech with the following assessment: there are realistic prospects, we can speak about good economic relationships if we understand that these are secondary to politics. In this case, classical Marxism does not apply (the base does not define the construction). It is only necessary to maintain relations at the small- and medium- business levels. So far, this has succeeded. We must provide an adequate level of information exchange, to know each other better, and to wait for politically supportive conditions for global integration. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS -You mentioned that in the current covert conditions, the annual circulation with Turkey is $200-250 million. If diplomatic relations were to be established or if the border were opened, what is your estimate of the possible increase in volumes? What are the expectations? - Numbers may be very tentative because they are theoretical. However, we can expect an increase of four or five times the current amount in the next three to four years. - You mentioned several branches. I would like to know whether the integration of agricultural production has any prospects. - It is more likely that we will become competitors with Turkey because our climate zone and the Ararat valley have very high yields and similar qualitative characteristics. However, I do not think that there will be much integration because we solve our problems in this area independently anyway. If Armenia continues to implement agricultural projects at the current pace, this branch may be among the first to be restored in the next three to four years. Naturally, there will be some integration. I did not mention the areas of the production, processing, and packaging of toxic chemicals. There are many other such branches. - Normally, economic institutions dictate politics. Turkish businesspeople have often declared the importance of economic relations and the opening of the border, primarily in favor of Turkey. Is the political pressure from Turkish businesspeople weak? Are they doing any lobbying? - As I said, although we are Christians and they are Muslims, we are very similar in certain cultural aspects and in our lifestyles. We are also very similar in terms of public institutions and the exercising of political authority within the state. Turkey, being a stable and sovereign country that is 600 years old, nonetheless has a very unstable political field. They also have a tradition of changing their government every six months. In Turkey, the army possesses the main levers of political authority. Having neighbors such as Russia, Iran, Syria, and now Armenia and Greece, Turkey is forced to have a qualitatively and quantitatively powerful army in the region. Being a member of NATO, Turkey has tense relations with Greece, and it is natural that in such conditions, the army and its generals play a decisive role, and civil power is dependent on their will. It is simply that in a country like Turkey, it is done in a mild, unseen way. Even in meetings with ministers and heads of large agencies, they say that they understand their benefits. If this subject were presented to you by a Turkish state minister -- rather than by me -- he would have presented, in a much more convincing way, the losses that Turkey has endured in the past six years due to the one-way blockade. However, the dominance of the national interest and the highly developed legal consciousness in Turkey make these people accept reality and wait for their government to decide. - You said that Turkish companies are currently working successfully in Armenia. It is known that "Cultrade," for example, has certain problems with flour imports, however. - Don't Armenian companies have such problems themselves? Every businessperson has these problems in our current legal and tax fields. They have no political or national basis. We all feel the pressure from the tax administration. We all try to protect our interests in our relationships with the state, inasmuch as we work in newly - established economic conditions. The company you mentioned has the same problems that any business in Armenia would have. - You spoke about the hidden economic relations with Turkey. People sometimes talk about hidden economic relations with Azerbaijan. Do you have any information on this? - Many people in Armenia know the Azerbaijani economy and nation. These people continue to deal with Azeris in Russia, and they understand that, after political decisions have been made, our psychological rehabilitation will not take long. Throughout our history, we often faced this kind of situation: massacres, followed by a normal course of work and co-habitation, followed by more massacres and then a return to more normal circumstances. The current economic relations with Azerbaijan are very simple and limited. There are some large transactions that are done through the Georgians; however, I will not talk about these. I will, however, present to you an obvious example. During the worst years of the Nagorno-Karabagh war, fuel from Azerbaijan was used to re-fuel our tanks in Sadakhlo: even in such circumstances, the interests of certain Azeri companies prevailed. However, the relationships are currently so tense that it would be naïve to say that economic interests would lead to political decisions. Our countries are too young to understand that. - The prospects for the development of Armenian-Turkish trade and economic relations are clear. Do you think, however, that Armenian society is ready to acknowledge the significance of economic relations (at least) with Turkey? - Armenian society does acknowledge it, because we, being less developed and having a larger need for this than the Turks, realize the necessity for it. It is perhaps because we, militarily being the winner in this relationship, do not have an inferiority complex about that relationship, while the Turks and the Azeris do. This is why we say in a very liberal manner: you are welcome, we are opening a one-way transit for Azerbaijan and Central Asia; but they refuse to accept our proposal. As for business, we do not have such problems at this level because we have overcome them long ago. What we need are interstate relations for business to grow and turn out serious economic projects. - You made some arguments and said that perhaps it was better that there was no inflow of Turkish capital into Armenia during the first years following independence. Do you think that it is inappropriate to have this kind of fear now? - I think not, because we were simply reconstruction cooperatives during the first few years following independence. In the last six or seven years, we have already attempted to form factories based on private businesses. In Armenia, we currently have more or less good economic foundations and financial-economic institutions that know the language of the West; they are experienced and can stand up to the competition. I think we are currently ready for that. - In the past three years, what have the dynamics of goods circulation been like? - It has decreased a little because we have now learned to work skillfully in Europe. Several years ago, we had to fill our demand for goods with low-quality, top priority food products, which we imported from Turkey and Iran. Currently, we import better quality products, at a higher price, from European countries such as France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium. The spectrum has changed a bit in this sense. - What is the technical condition of the railway that connects Armenia with Turkey? Is it currently usable? - The line is in working condition. The rail ties need a very small amount of repair work. In a month, it will already be possible to accept railway cars. http://www.aua.am/aua/extens/lectures/32_e.htm

Rev. Giragos H. Chopourian Ph.D., was born in Adana, Cilicia in 1914. In June 1945 he received simultaneously a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the American University of Beirut and a diploma in religious education with distinction from the Near East School of Theology. He received his Master of Religious Education degree from Andover Newton Theological School and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Temple University of Philadelpia in 1971. Rev. Chopourian has served as pastor of a number of Armenian Evangelical Churches. He is the past Executive Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America and holds the title of Honorary Executive Director of that organization. On the occasion of the 140th Anniversary of the Armenian Evangelical Movement, the Armenian Missionary Association of America presented a booklet, written by Rev. Chopourian, to our Churches and the Armenian Communities in North America as a ministry of evangelism and teaching. The text of that booklet is below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fundamental Armenian Evangelical Teachings Rev. G.H. Chopourian, Ph.D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All religions, or parts of them, such as denominations, have a way of deteriorating. It happens when followers gradually distance themselves from the essential and fundamental truths and teachings of the founder. This is true whether it is Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism or Judaism. Unfortunately, it has been true in the case of Christianity as well. Superstition, tradition, dogmatism and extraneous practices have and do make their entry. One natural consequence of such deteriorating trends has been a call for return to the teachings of the founder - a call for reform! The Reverend Roger Minassian, a colleague in Christian ministry serving in the Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church of Fresno, wrote: “Recently I and my congregation have become quite excited by a historical discovery, which many of you may already know about. In reading Leon Arpeés, A Century of Armenian Protestantism and G.H. Chopourian’s, The Armenian Evangelical Reformation: Causes and Effects, (both available through the AMAA) I was impressed with the biblically-sound confession of faith which launched our movement as a separate church on July 1, 1846. By preaching a series of sermons on this confession, I have also discovered the following: A. Our Armenian Evangelical appreciate gaining a stronger Theological identity as to who they are and what they are to believe. B. Our Reformation began on a firm biblical foundation, which foundation has been less than clear to our people in the Armenian-American experience. C. The placing of this confession in our people’s hands is often revolutionary. “While preparing for these sermons, I became interested in the beliefs of the Armenian Apostolic Church as well. Most Armenians I know here in Protestant America assume that Apostolics and Evangelicals believe about the same, but differ in worship forms. This assumption, I am discovering, is due to ignorance on both sides. Although fairly clear on who Jesus Christ is, we both have been less than clear to our people when it comes to the important questions of salvation, faith and works, the Sacraments, the Priesthood, the Holy Scriptures, Worship, Eternal Life, and Missions.” The Rev. Minassian’s emphasis on the rediscovery brings to mind the story of an ascetic. Having withdrawn to the desert and pitched a tent, he discovered his prayers and devotions were interrupted by desert rats. He asked a friend to find a cat for him. He had not requested a cat with special features so he readily and happily accepted the pitch black cat his friend brought to him. Two generations later, there were many more tents in the desert area the ascetic had first settled. They had been attracted there as a result of the quality of Christian devotion the Founder had. Each ascetic had a pitch black cat tied to the tent like the Founder had done. But the ascetics did not know why they had a cat tied to the post of the tent. neither were there lives like that of the Founder. Life is too important for God’s creatures to be ignorant of truth, especially, of Christian truths of redeeming nature. Armenians in general are ignorant of the occurrence of Reform Movements among Armenians. Most of those who are aware, are prejudiciously informed about one Reform Movement, the one that occurred in 1846 when the Evangelical Church of Armenia (Hayastaniatz Avedaranagan Yegeghetzee) was founded. “Prejudiciously” informed because the criticisms that are directed against the Movement are unfounded (one can’t respond to those criticisms because they need to be treated as a separate chapter). Few, for instance, realize that there were other Armenian Evangelical Reform efforts in the Seventh and Ninth Centuries each lasting two centuries and which some writers believe were the harbingers (forerunners) of the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther in Germany. The Evangelical Reform efforts referred to are the (1) Paulician Movement from the Seventh to the Ninth centuries and (2) the Tonrakian from the Ninth to the Eleventh. But first, a definition of the word EVANGELICAL. Evangelism is derived from the New Testament Greek word “Evangelistis,” viz., a proclaimer of the “Evangelion” or Gospel. In the New Testament the word is used three times of a traveling missionary. 1. In Acts 21:8: “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came into Casesaria: and we entered into the House of Philip the EVANGELIST....” 2. Ephesians 4:11: “And he gave some, Apostles; and some Prophets; and some, EVANGELISTS; and some Pastors and Teachers.” 3. II Timothy 4:5: “But watch Thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an EVANGELIST....” The Evangelist therefore is one who reveals the Gospel by broadcasting the Evangelion (the Gospel of Christ). In a wider sense the term “Evangelical” has been applied since the Reformation (1517) to “the Protestant Churches by reason of their claim to base their teaching preeminently on the ‘Gospel’.” The term has been in long use in Germany (Evangelische Kirche); Switzerland; England; and the United States, which received all forms of it from immigrants from Europe and England. Theologically, Evangelicals have held these beliefs: (1) The verbal inspiration of the Bible; (2) The Scriptures the sole binding authority over the Christian (not the Church or Church tradition); (3) The near return of Christ to redeem His elect; (4) The supreme importance of “Kyrigma;” (5) Justification comes by faith alone; (6) Rejection of five of the seven Sacraments and acceptance of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the two valid Sacraments; (8) Depravity of man; (9) God, Christ and the Holy Spirit as a Unified Trinity. Let us get back to the early Evangelical Reform Movements among Armenians. The first organized and strong resistance against the established Armenian Church came from the Paulician-Tonrakian Movement which showed Adoptionist-Unitarian strain of the so-called Monarchian type that some have suggested was evident among Armenians in the first three centuries. (The Adoptionist view, considered to be heretical, originated in Spain in the Eighth Century according to which Christ was considered to be in His Humanity, not the true, but only adoptive Son of God. In other words, Christ was Son only metaphorically. The Unitarian view, on the other hand, rejects the doctrine of the Trinity of Christ in favor of the Uni-personality of God. The unfortunate thing about the Paulician-Tonrakian Movement was this particular Adoptionist-Unitarian emphasis which gave the conservatives cause to suppress it). The movement extended in time from the middle of the Seventh to the middle of the Ninth Century for the Paulician portion, and from the middle of the Ninth to the middle of the Eleventh for the Tonramian portion. It was almost after complete annihilation that the sect showed itself active again under Smbat in the village of Tonrak, from where they received the last-stated name. Joining the Great Exodus at the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, many Tonrakians settled in Russian-Armenia. In the period between 1837-1945 the Synod of Etchmiadzin held an inquest into the tenets and usage of the sect at which time a manuscript volume was seized from the secretaries, The Key of Truth. This Armenian text turned out to be “a copy of a copy” made in 1782 from a lost sample by a certain John Vartabedian. Conybeare published the text in 1898 with an introduction and translation. The “Key,” suggesting their roots might be in Paul of Samosota, makes it clear that the Paulicians and the subsequent Tonrakians were Unitarian-Anabaptists (we might define Anabaptists to be Rebaptizers since they rejected that infant baptism was true baptism) believing Christ to have become the head of a new creation by wroth and by obtaining adult baptism. Arpee and Conybeare both demonstrate that the beliefs of the Paulician sect were diametrically opposed to the traditions and beliefs of the Armenian Church. The Paulicians held to the following doctrines which contain important Evangelical teachings. 1. They held against the beliefs of the Church that Mary was a perpetual virgin. They maintained Mary bore other children after Jesus. (This is an opinion that is held to be true by all Evangelicals today). 2. The Paulicians also rejected the intercession of the saints believing that because of Christ individuals have direct access to God through Christ. 3. They condemned the veneration of the Cross on the grounds that there was no biblical authority for it and that the practice only made ignorant Christians. 4. They denounced the hierarchy of church as unscriptural. 5. They challenged the Scriptural basis of the liturgical aspects of worship and rejected the concept of Seven Sacraments, accepting only the spiritual intent of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. By “Spiritual Intent” they meant that it was a matter of commitment and remembrance. For such beliefs and others these believers endured “Scourgings, Imprisonments, Tortures, Reproaches, Sufferings and al the tribulations of the world” (Conybeare). The Paulician-Tonrakian Movement was crushed in its effectiveness by the combined strength of the state and the church between the Seventh and Eleventh Centuries. However, resistance to the “Errors” of the Armenian Church showed itself again in the Eighteenth Century with the criticism of Priest Dibajian. A prominent Armenian historian wrote the following about him: “But long before the coming of the Protestant Missionaries of the East, an Armenian Priest in 1760 had raised a voice regarding the Reformation of the Armenian Church.” (Y. Kassouny) Priest Dibajian is given the honor of being the first in modern times to attempt the reformation of the Armenian Church. In an unpublished book, he had exposed the glaring errors of his church, the inconsistencies in faith, practice and conduct of the priests and bishops, and the superstition of the people. He had tested every principle and ceremony against the high standard of the Bible, with the exception of the doctrine of justification by faith to which he had made no allusion. Priest Dibajian raised his voice while at Samatia quarter of Constantinople and hand-written copies of his book found circulation until 1820. Dibajian’s reflections about the past showed evidences that the Fourth and early mid-Fifth Century Armenian Church had a simple, apostolic form of worship, and was considered to be “A fellowship of believers” and not a hierarchy of priests. We have taken a long, circuitous route to come to the current Armenian Evangelical Church (The Evangelical Church of Armenia) and to the tenets, but better, to the teachings it holds. Does the Armenian Evangelical Church have a formulated updated Creed to which one can go for instruction? Technically speaking, the answer has to be in the negative. No Theologian has written on the Theology of the Armenian Evangelical Church. We have no specifically formulated, researched and written creed. That is because the Armenian Evangelical is satisfied by his ability to refer to The Book; and by the facility by which he can refer to the general prevailing Evangelical tenets of the main Protestant Denominations and the Lutheran Reformation. The Evangelicals do have, however, the confession of faith that the forty members of the first constituted church accepted. All the important Evangelical beliefs are contained therein, a summary of which follows: 1. GOD A. God exists as creator, sustainer and governor of the universe and is the only worthy object of worship. B. God’s nature is accepted as omnipotent, self-existent and infinite in wisdom, benevolence, holiness, justice, mercy and truth. C. God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost and the three are one. Besides God, no other being is to be worshipped and adored - no golden calf, no mammon (wealth), no philosophy, no prestige, no status - nothing, absolutely nothing, is to replace the living God. 2. THE BIBLE Where does a Christian go for final authority on questions of belief and conduct? Does he go to a Priest, Monister, Bishop, Pope? Does he rely on tradition, dogma, creed? The Evangelical Armenian has been taught, and hopefully he has learned, that final authority is in the Bible. All are called to submit to the Bible as the final authority - Popes and Catholici, Patriarchs and Priests, Emperors and Eminent laymen - because the Scriptures are the inspired revelation of God. The Bible records the revelation of the Will and character of God. Christ, through His life teachings, death and resurrection, clarified God’s Will for all men to understand, practice and become perfect and holy. Thus, the Bible is the source of final authority for religious life and moral conduct. Because of this profound nature of the Bible, it is a Holy Book. The Result of this understanding has led the Evangelical to be a daily student of the Bible and to carry the burden of putting a copy in every hand and in every home. 3. JESUS CHRIST A. Christ is the only savior, mediator and intercessor between God and man. No other mediation is acceptable. Relics, pictures, crosses, images confession, forgiveness (absolution) uttered by priests in the name of Christ are worthless efforts for salvation. Only a personal response to, a close relationship with Christ, are acceptable avenues of salvation. B. How can one be saved? Is it by good works? Fastings? Alms? Penance? Confession? The New Testament is absolutely clear on this point: No externals, such as observances of works, can save because justification is through faith only. Has good works no place/ Not if it is practiced for the purpose of achieving salvation. Good works are valid as the fruit of salvation. A Christian is saved to serve not to serve to be saved. Those who enter the circle of faith are sharpened with a sense of responsibility: To achieve holiness of life; to discharge our duties to God, fellowmen and ourselves. To engage in works just as the source of a rich spring of water that rushes down to refresh thirsty souls. That will save, not pietistic practices for the purpose of earning salvation. 4. CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS A. The Orthodox and Catholic Churches accept and practice Seven Sacraments and consider a Church is a Church when unbroken grace is transferred by the laying of hands on the servant of the Church. Evangelicals are not threatened by the continuity concept of grace. They believe where Christ is present with his Holy Spirit, there is the Church. They reject assigning any intrinsic or inherent value to the laying of hands. Ordination is seen as full commitment to serve Christ. B. According to the teachings of the ancient churches, Christian faith and life are achieved by the intrinsic power contained within the “Sacraments.” The Sacraments, as though by inoculative power in them, make every participant a believer. For the Evangelical, Creed, Baptism, Sacraments are only external “Signs” of an inner “Experience.” In other words, the Christian faith is a matter of “New Birth” rather than a process of “Naturalization,” or inherited through church procedures. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom” (John 3:3). The unscriptural concept of inherited faith is due to the misconception that the repository of the Christian Sacraments, namely, Confirmation or Holy Unction, Communion, Penance or Confession, Ordination or Holy Order, Matrimony and Extreme Unction (The latter is not practiced in the Armenian Church) mediates between God and man the sinner through the Sacraments in the belief that divine grace dwells in the Sacraments. The priest as mediator, therefore, is invested with authority to grant absolution. When the priest, the wine, and the water to celebrate the Mass are present, the elements through transubstantiation represent the physical presence of Christ. The partakers become Christians, the administrators, the “Priestly order,” different from other men. It should be observed then that when the priest baptizes a newborn babe, the child becomes Christian; when he pronounces absolution, the sinner receives forgiveness; when he serves communion, the wine and bread change into the actual flesh and blood of Christ and the participant becomes cleansed and justified as a believer. The Evangelical is concerned that the practice of the Apostolic Churches belittles personal faith, conversion and covenanting with God. The Evangelical Church emphasizes the fellowship of the believers who are reborn through personal faith in Christ. Baptism and Communion do not possess efficacy in themselves. They are the visible signs of an invisible experience. The preacher has no power over the life of the believer. Only the ministry of the word has virtue, power and authority over his destiny. The penitent is free to come to Christ directly for He is the only mediator and intercessor. Every believer is his own priest. 5. PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL Finally, the Evangelical believes that the Gospel is the appointed instrument of Christ for the conversion and edification of humanity. That is because wickedness prevails in the world and all are destitute of holiness. Christians are expected to obey Christ’s command: “Go Ye Into All The World, and Preach the Gospel to Every Creature.” In conclusion let us summarize the most fundamental truths revealed in the Scriptures: 1. Evangelicals believe in the priesthood of all believers: Spiritual life is based on personal relationship with and discipleship to Christ, and all believers are priests; 2. Final authority for Christian life and conduct is the Bible, God’s revealed word; 3. Justification is by faith alone, and not by any other external means: “Lord, I believe” is the key for entry into God’s presence; 4. The true Christian knows he is an Apostle, sent out to practice the spirit of loving service on God’s creatures everywhere but specially to our Armenian nation and the dispersed communities. Life is too precious to be lived haphazardly, carelessly or ignorantly. “What doth it profit a man if he were to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” http://www.cacc-sf.org/c-faetGHC.html [ February 25, 2001: Message edited by: MJ ]

Turkey, IMF try to ease crisis BY HARMONIE TOROS Associated Press Published Saturday, February 24, 2001, in the Miami Herald ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkish officials met with international lenders Friday to discuss ways to shore up the economy amid worries over a political and economic crisis that saw the nation's currency plunge in value. Carlo Cottarelli, the International Monetary Fund's Turkey chief, met with Finance Minister Sumer Oral a day after Turkey decided to drop currency exchange rate controls, allowing the value of the lira to plummet against the dollar. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the decision to float the currency -- which contributed to a 36 percent devaluation over two days -- would be good for the economy in the long term. Currency controls were abandoned after a dispute between Ecevit and the President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who had criticized the government for failing to fight corruption. Turkey, a NATO member and U.S. ally, launched a stabilization program in January 2000 to cut the deficit and bring inflation down to a one-digit figure in 2002. The government insists that the broad aims of its anti-inflation program, backed by $11 billion in IMF funds, remain unchanged although targets will have to be revised. There have been concerns that Turkey's economic crisis could spread to other emerging markets. International bankers and economists hope the decision to float the currency will help prevent a repeat of the Russian and Asian financial crises of the 1990s, when investors fled developing markets worldwide, triggering major financial crises. Banks continued to hold back from trading in the currency market on Friday and there was little trade in Istanbul's exchange bureaus, where rates varied widely. ``The Turkish government is learning from the mistakes other emerging markets made in the past,'' said Sonja Gibbs, chief economist Nomura International in London. ``They were quick to allow devaluation instead of trying to stave it off. The hit was quick and sharp instead of long and drawn-out.'' Overnight interest rates fell to 1,335 percent, compared to Thursday's average of 2,700 percent. The Istanbul stock market gained close to 6 percent Friday. In Washington, President Bush ``expressed his ongoing support for Turkey's economic policy,'' in a five-minute telephone call with Ecevit, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said. Bush urged Ecevit to cooperate with the IMF Fund and to continue economic reforms, said Mary Ellen Countryman, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. In a fresh blow to the government, the Constitutional Court on Friday annulled certain articles of Turkey's new pension reform design to curb the deficit in the debt-ridden social security system. The reform increased minimum retirement age for men from 50 to 60 and from 45 to 60 for women. The court ruled that a gradual increase in retirement age for people who joined the social security scheme before the law passed September 1999, was unconstitutional. Analysts say the ruling could cost the state hundreds of million of dollars. The government can appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, Turks awoke Friday to a new reality: The sudden devaluation had wiped out savings and slashed the value of their wages. The move has left citizens dazed and angry, and many were pointing the finger Friday at their leaders. ``Life stopped,'' said shopkeeper Yalcin Nergis, standing outside an exchange bureau checking the lira exchange rate. ``We're bewildered and we don't know what to do.''

Leading articlef: Edgy days in Ankara: The problems are not just economic The Guardian - United Kingdom; Feb 23, 2001 The swift, sudden onset of the financial crisis now gripping Turkey has cruelly exposed to public gaze the fragility of its democratic institutions. Problems posed by rampant sleaze triggered the row between Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Mr Ecevit was certainly unwise to blow his top so alarmingly and may yet pay a heavy political price. But many if not most countries suffer corruption scandals. Just look at the Dumas trial in Paris, the Kohl affair in Germany, or Bill Clinton's present unedifying travails. Turks face undoubted difficulties arising from their government's IMF-backed economic reforms. Only last December, an emergency Dollars 10bn infusion was required (and supplied). But Mr Ecevit's unlikely coalition of nationalists, social democrats and conservatives has made real progress since 1999 in cutting inflation, reducing the deficit and advancing deregulation and privatisation. Lots of other countries have suffered similarly painful adjustments. In similar vein, the floating of the lira is likely to reignite price inflation in the short term and will increase pressure on public sector wages. But if reassuring statements from the IMF and the US Treasury yesterday are to be believed, the crisis need not spell an end to Turkey's economic reformation nor will it necessarily spawn an Asian-style international market meltdown. What makes this Turkish crisis different, and potentially dangerous, is the way it has dramatised the public's deep-seated lack of confidence in the way their country is run. While the French or the Germans can be reasonably sure that official sleaze will be eventually be exposed if not punished, Turks have no such assurance. While IMF belt-tightening may work elsewhere, Turks worry that in Turkey, "reform" will somehow end up favouring the wealthy elite, as has always been the way in the past. This lack of confidence feeds in turn on more fundamental concerns that the Turkish state has yet to establish a credible system of democratic governance that responds to the wishes of ordinary people, respects the rights of of ethnic and religious minorities like the Kurds and the Armenians, and is secure enough in its pro-western, secular credo to allow Islamists and leftists (and the media) to follow their beliefs and freely express their views. The fount of all this distrust is the Turkish military. The author of three coups since 1960 and the silent nemesis of Islamist prime minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1997, the army continues to wield decisive, unaccountable, menacing influence. This institutional weakness handicaps Turkey now, as it wrestles with its plunging currency. It handicaps its broader, future hopes of becoming a modern, prosperous, civil society. This democratic deficit also continues to undermine its key aspiration to join the EU. How Turkey's real rulers behave during the coming days will be closely watched.

I am opening this thread with an invitation to study jointly the history of Armenian involvement in the Crusades, and to analyze its implications.

"..., rather than the Paulicians, who owned property, married, and fought as warriors." Hamilton, Bernard, Monastic Reform, Catharism and the Crusades (900-1300), Variorum Reprints (London 1979),pp. 115-124. http://www.shroud.com/markward.htm

THE INCREDIBLE HISTORY OF GOD'S TRUE CHURCH by Ivor C. Fletcher CHAPTER EIGHT -- THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS During the long dark night of the Middle Ages, God's true Church, as prophesied, "fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God..." (Rev. 12:6). For 1260 years the church of God was driven by the persecuting power of the "Holy Roman Empire" into the remote mountains and valleys of Europe, there to preserve the purity of the true faith. A variety of names were applied to God's people during this period; "Paulicians," "Publicans," "Puritans," "Waldenses," "Vaudois" (meaning "Valley Dwellers"), "Henricians," "Bogomils" ("Friends of God") and several others. Names such as these, however, were generally used by those outside of the Church. In their own writings church members normally employed the title "Church of God." Church historians have been able to demonstrate that regardless of the differing names used, "These branches, however, sprang from one common stock, and were animated by the same religious and moral principles."1 "Indeed, from the borders of Spain, throughout the greatest part of the south of France, among and below the Alps, along the Rhine, and even to Bohemia, thousands of the disciples of Christ, as will hereafter be shown, were found, even in the very worst of times, preserving the faith in its purity, adhering to the simplicity of Christian worship, patiently bearing the cross after Christ, men distinguished by their fear of God and obedience to His will, and persecuted only for righteousness' sake."2 As the earlier "Smyrna" (Rev. 2:8-11) era of the true church had been classified by the world as "Ebionites," so the members of the "Pergamos" (Rev. 2:12-17) era came to be known as "Paulicians" ("the followers of the Apostle Paul"). This group of Christians became very numerous during the seventh century and were distinguished by their zeal, knowledge and the simplicity of their lives. About A.D. 650 a well educated man named Constantine of Mananali began to study portions of the Bible that he had received as a gift. Amazed by the truth which he found revealed he began preaching in the regions of Cappadocia and Armenia. Several evangelists were trained to assist him in the ministry and soon tens of thousands were being converted to the truth. Constantine plainly taught that the Pope was not the representative of God, and perhaps because of this and other reasons, he was martyred in A.D. 684. Simeon, an officer sent by the Emperor at Constantinople to destroy Constantine and other church leaders, was so impressed by the faith and courage displayed by Constantine and several of the other martyrs, that he became convinced that these were truly God's people. Three years later, his service to the Emperor completed, he returned to the area and was placed by Christ into the office of an apostle, vacated by the death of Constantine. Following a three-year ministry Simeon was burned at the stake. A third great leader, Sergius, was later raised up by God to lead the church. Paulician doctrines, along with those of other groups, are described in a work entitled The Key of Truth, which was translated into English by Fred C. Conybeare. They preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God, baptized believers by immersion, practised the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Spirit, and observed the Sabbath, the Passover on the fourteenth day of Nisan and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This era of the Church was not without its problems. A trend towards spiritual and moral decline set in early; many who associated with the Church were not really converted but simply cleaved to the true Christians with flatteries (Dan. 11:34). Others held to the "doctrine of Balaam" (Rev. 2:14), that one could commit spiritual "fornication" and coexist with sin and false doctrine. When these people were permitted to fellowship with local church congregations, the corruption only spread to many more members. In an attempt to correct His people, Christ allowed severe persecution to afflict them -- multitudes perished but few repented. "During a period of one hundred and fifty years, these Christian churches seem to have been almost incessantly subjected to persecution, which they supported with Christian meekness and patience; and if the acts of their martyrdom, their preaching, and their lives were distinctly recorded, I see no reason to doubt that we should find in them the genuine successors of the Christians of the first two centuries. And in this, as well as former instances the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. "A succession of teachers and churches arose: and a person named Sergius, who had labored among them in the ministry of the gospel thirty-seven years, is acknowledged, even by their vilest calumniators, to have been a most exemplary Christian. The persecution had, however, some intermissions, until at length Theodore, the Greek empress, exerted herself against them beyond all her predecessors. She sent inquisitors throughout all Asia Minor in search of these sectaries, and is computed to have killed by the gibbet, by fire, and by the sword, a hundred thousand persons."3 Paulician leaders including Sergius and Sambat taught that the same Holy Spirit was in them, and other true Christians, that was in Jesus Christ. Their persecutors, seemingly unable to grasp this point, charged that these Paulician teachers called themselves "Christs," as if this were a matter of blasphemy. The Paulicians claimed that they were the "holy universal and apostolic church" and as such represented a direct continuation of the first century church established by Jesus Christ. They urged that all Christians, ministers and laymen, should study the Scriptures and that priests who prevented the people from studying were in error and were in fact hiding the truth of God. Biblical church offices (Eph. 4:11) were held by Paulician ministers and leaders. Those of highest rank were termed "apostles" and "prophets," others who held office were called "evangelists," pastors" or "teachers." They exercised the power of "binding and loosing" (Matt. 18:17-18). "Elders ...rulers" and "readers" are also mentioned. "Teachers" were responsible for hand-copying the Holy Scriptures. Ministers were expected to be married men, not celibate priests. Ordinations were conducted by the laying on of hands. Apostles were inducted into office by the direct inspiration and selection of Jesus Christ. The Paulician faith eventually came to dominate large areas of Armenia and Albania but with many this was nothing more than an outward "form" of religion; truly converted members were never numerous. Many reached a state of compromise with the dominant Catholic state religion. They conformed externally but followed Paulician teachings in secret. In time the alternatives narrowed to apostasy or martyrdom. By the ninth century most had drifted so far from the true doctrines that they were drawn to seek political or military solutions to their persecution problems. Anatolia, one of the earliest Paulician homelands, became a desolation and wilderness ravaged by decades of warfare; thus the "Pergamos" era of the true Church came to its inglorious conclusion. The next era of the Church of God -- "Thyatira" (Rev. 2:18-29) -- began to conduct a work of some significance around A.D. 1000. Although having its headquarters and centre of operations located in the mountains and valleys of northern Italy and southern France, the work rapidly spread through large areas of Europe and even into Britain. The names most commonly applied to these people were "Vaudois," or "Waldensians." "The Waldensians," says Popliner, "spread not only through France, but also through nearly all the European coasts, and appeared in Gaul, Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Saxony, Poland and Lithuania." Crosby records that: "For in the time of William the Conquerer (A.D. 1070) and his son William Rufus, it appears that the Waldenses and their disciples out of France, Germany and Holland, had their frequent recourse, and did abound in England. The Berlingarian, or Waldensian heresy, as the chronologer calls it, had, about A.D. 1080, generally corrupted all France, Italy, and England."4 A wide variation of opinion exists concerning the precise origin of the Waldenses. Some have traced their roots back to apostolic times. "From among many testimonies I quote that of Henry Arnold, who superintended the `glorious return' of the Waldenses to their valleys in 1689. He says: `The Vaudois are, in fact, descended from those refugees from Italy: who, after St. Paul had there preached the Gospel, abandoned their beautiful country; and fled, like the woman mentioned in the Apocalypse, to these wild mountains, where they have, to this day, handed down the Gospel, from father to son, in the same purity and simplicity as it was preached by St. Paul.'"5 Several authorities, including Reimer, trace them back to the fourth century, but Reinerius Saccho, an inquisitor and implacable enemy, admits that they flourished about A.D. 600. There seems to be general agreement amongst almost all non-Catholic writers that the Waldensians represented a continuation of the true Church of God. Even Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, recognised the true status of this group. He employed the diplomatic channels available to him in an attempt to bring an end to the persecution of the Waldensians. In a letter sent to the Lords of the United Provinces in 1655, Cromwell points out: "But if, on the other hand, he shall continue firmly resolved utterly to destroy and to drive to a state of distraction those men, among whom our religion was either planted by the first preachers of the gospel, and so maintained in its purity from age to age, or else reformed and restored to its primitive purity more early than among many other nations, we hereby declare ourselves ready to advise, in common with you, and the rest of our brethren and allies of the reformed religion, by what means we may most conveniently provide for the preservation and comfort of these distressed people."6 The Waldenses possessed a version of the Bible in their own language and stressed obedience to the commandments, including the observance of the seventh day Sabbath. They also baptized by immersion repentant believers, and kept the Passover or Lord's Supper once a year in the first month. The lifestyle of these people tended to be simple but industrious. They raised cattle and sheep and had considerable success in the cultivation of olives, figs and grapes. Visitors to their pleasant and well kept villages and hamlets noted the happiness of the people and merry voices of the children at play. Waldensian doctrines were based on "the doctrine contained in the Old and New Testaments and comprehended in the Apostles' Creed, and admitted the sacraments instituted by Christ, and the ten commandments... They said they had received this doctrine from their ancestors, and that if they were in any error they were ready to receive instruction from the Word of God."7 High moral standards were a part of the Waldensian way of life and like a bright light shining in a dark place these people set a fine example to all who came into contact with them. "Claudius Seisselius, archbishop of Turin, is pleased to say, that `their heresy excepted, they generally live a purer life than other Christians. They never swear but by compulsion, they fulfill their promises with punctuality; and living for the most part in poverty, they profess to live the apostolic life and doctrine. "`They also profess it to be their desire to overcome only by the simplicity of faith, by purity of conscience, and integrity of life; not by philosophical niceties and theological subtleties.' And he very candidly admits that `in their lives and morals they were perfect, irreprehensible, and without reproach among men, addicting themselves with all their might to observe the commands of God.'"8 The Paulician and Bogomil evangelization of the Alpine region led to a fruitful harvest of conversions; so much so, in fact, that the Pope in 1096 described the Valley Louise in Dauphiny, France, as being infested with "heresy." It was in this region, at Embrun, that Peter of Bruys, about 1104, began to preach a message of repentance from sin. This work spread throughout Languedoc and Provence. Peter rejected infant baptism; only persons old and mature enough to understand the importance of the step that they were taking were baptized, and that only after real repentance. The Catholic teaching that the priest in the Mass was able to produce the literal flesh of Christ was also rejected, along with purgatory, prayers for the dead, reverence for crosses, and several other Catholic precepts. Peter's preaching, which lasted for "nearly twenty years," was highly successful. Many during this period were led by the Holy Spirit to conversion. The true gospel of the kingdom was spread in the south of France. After Peter was seized and burned at the stake, his disciple, Henry, took over his position as an apostle, and continued the work. They were charged by the Catholic church with remaining faithful to the whole law of God, including the observance of the Sabbath. The historian, Mosheim, adds that they abstained from eating meats which were prohibited under the Mosaic economy, and refused to accept the "Trinity" doctrine. They seemed to have understood that God is a family, which converted Christians may join at the return of Christ. Peter was martyred by burning at a town called St. Giles in 1126. Henry was burned at Toulouse in 1147; some; sources, however, state that he died in prison in 1149.9 "So zealous were the Inquisitors in destroying the writings of Bruis (Peter of Bruys) and Henry, that we scarcely know anything of their tenets save what we can learn from... an Abbot of Clugny."10 The "heretical" teachings of Peter and Henry were summarized by the Abbot as follows: "(1) They rejected infant baptism and held that it was the faith of the individual candidate, which along with baptism saved him. One cannot be saved by the faith of another. (2) Church buildings are not necessary, worship can take place anywhere by those who are close to God. (3) Crucifixes should not be employed as a part of worship. (4) The bread and wine of the Passover or Communion service are only symbolic -- they do not change into the literal body and blood of Christ. (5) They denied that any prayers, alms or other sacrifices by the living could assist the dead."11 The followers of Peter were said by the Abbot to have gathered up as many crucifixes as they could find on a certain Good Friday and made a large fire of them upon which they roasted some meat and had a good meal. This story seems highly improbable and could have been mere propaganda. Peter is said to have made the remark that "churches are vainly built, since the Church of God consists, not in a mass of coherent stones, but in the unity of the congregated faithful."12 Henry, Peter's disciple, spoke out against chanting and other forms of repetitious prayer. During the ministry of Peter of Bruys the people of God were nicknamed "Petrobrusians." They later became known as "Henricians" after Henry. The people themselves, however, used the name "Church of God." Speaking of the work carried out by Henry, Monastier records that "his preaching made a powerful impression on his hearers. The people were fascinated."13 Two views which were promulgated by Peter and Henry, which almost certainly contributed to the persecution which they suffered, were: "That the priests and monks ought to marry, rather than be the prey of lust, or give themselves to impurity"; and "That God is mocked by the chants which the priests and monks repeat in the temples; that God cannot be appeased by monkish melodies."14 These ministers could clearly see the need for sincere prayer which was from the heart. Several of the Vaudois concepts were committed to writing during this period. Examples of their works include "The Noble Lesson" written in 1100, "Treatise on Antichrist" (1120), and "Treatise on Purgatory" (1126). Shortly after the death of Henry the work spread from France into England. "From Provence they passed into Languedoc and Gascogne, whence their so-called heresy penetrated into Spain and England."15 William of Newbury mentions that about the year 1160, "In the same days, certain vagabonds came into England, of the race (it is believed) of those whom they commonly denominate Publicans." Other sources classify these people as Waldenses or "Thirteen Valdensian families." "These formerly emigrated from Gascony" and "they seemed to be multiplied beyond the sand of the sea." They were accused of "seducing the simple under a pretended display of piety." "At that time (during the reign of Henry the Second), however, somewhat more than thirty individuals, as well men as women, dissembling their error, entered here, as it were peacefully, for the sake of propagating their pestilence; a certain Gerard being their leader."16 They seemed to have spread their doctrine in England for only a short time before being arrested, and put into prison. The king directed that they be tried by a council of bishops at Oxford. At their trial they claimed to be Christians, following the doctrines of the Apostles and rejected several points of Catholic belief. The group was sentenced to be branded on the foreheads, whipped and driven from the city. After receiving this punishment they were "ejected from the city, through the intolerance of the cold (for the season was winter) no one showing to them even the slightest degree of mercy, they miserably perished."17 Another authority on this era (Authentic Details of the Valdenses, written in 1827) mentions that others were burned at the stake, also at Oxford. Bale in his Old Chronical of London records "one burnt to death tainted with the faith of the Valdenses" in the year 1210. Some, fleeing from persecution in various parts of Europe, reached England to face what must have been an uncertain future. A treatise dating to about 1160 speaks of "many well disposed persons devoting themselves to the preaching of the Gospel, notwithstanding the persecution which had been set on foot against the members of Christ."18 This period marks the beginning of one of the most important phases of God's work during this era. The later works of this "Thyatira" Church were "to be more than the first (Rev. 2:19). It was at about this point in history that Peter Waldo, perhaps the most important leader in this Church era, began to preach. A successful and wealthy merchant of Lyons, France, Waldo was shocked by the sudden death of one of his friends. This traumatic experience prompted the question, "If I had died what would have become of my soul?" Being a Catholic, Waldo asked a theologian, "What is the perfect way?" The reply, quoted from Scripture, was, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come take up thy cross and follow me." Waldo gave his wealth to the poor, but also used a part of it to produce a translation of the Scriptures. His personal study of these led him to the command to the apostles to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. Bringing an intelligent and orderly mind to the study of God's Word, Waldo's understanding of the truth increased rapidly. After a time Waldo began to preach and share his newly discovered truths with others. A group of helpers or "co-workers" began to assist in this work as the "Poor Men of Lyons." The education and business expertise that Peter Waldo brought to the work of God was soon to lead to significant and steady growth. The bold and determined stand that Waldo took, based on teachings which he found revealed in Scripture, was to lead to major personal problems within his own family. His Catholic wife and two daughters supposed that he had lost his mind, and as a result of this they separated themselves from him; one of his daughters entered a convent. There are some indications, however, that his wife later became reconciled to him and provided financial assistance from the money which he had given to her. Little is known of the early stages of Waldo's ministry, but he is known to have gone, along with a group of his followers to Picardy, in northern France. After suffering persecution in that area they moved into Flanders and the Netherlands. By 1182 many converts from those regions had joined their cause. Everywhere they went, the Waldenses took their translation of the Bible with them. In about 1176 the archbishop of Lyons forbade Waldo and his followers to preach. "We must obey God rather than man" was the reply which they gave, and when they persisted in spreading their message they were ordered to appear before Pope Alexander III. Peter Waldo went boldly to Rome in 1178 where he urged that the Provencal translation of the Bible, which could be understood by the people of southern France, and by those in parts of Spain and Italy, be made available to the people. A decision on the matter was left to the Lateran Council, which in 1179 stated that Waldo and his followers could only preach at the invitation of local priests. The response to this decision was that Christ had sent them to preach and that this was what they would continue to do. Several years of persecution were to follow, during which period they were eventually driven from Lyons. A group of Waldenses became established in Italy. The courage displayed by Waldo in defending the true doctrine is further described by Townsend. "About 1160, the doctrine of transubstantiation was required by the court of Rome to be acknowledged by all men. This led to idolatry. Men fell down before the consecrated host and worshipped it as God. The impiety of this abomination shocked the minds of all men who were not dead to a sense of true religion. The mind of Peter Waldo was aroused to oppose the abomination, and to strive for a reformation. A fear of God, in union with an alarming sense of the wickedness of the times, led him to conduct with courage in opposing the dangerous corruption's of the hierarchy. "As Waldo grew more acquainted with the Scriptures, he saw that the general practice of nominal Christians was totally abhorrent from the doctrines of the New Testament: and in particular, that a number of customs, which all the world regarded with reverence, had not only no foundation in the divine oracles, but were even condemned by them. Influenced with equal zeal and charity, he boldly condemned the reigning vices, and the arrogance of the Pope. He did more: as he advanced in the knowledge of the true faith and love of Christ, he taught his neighbours the principles of practical godliness, and encouraged them to seek salvation by Jesus Christ. "John de Bekos Mayons, archbishop of Lyons, a distinguished member of the corrupt system, forbade the new reformer to teach anymore, on pain of excommunication, and of being proceeded against as an heretic." Although Waldo continued to preach, God it seems took steps to protect His courageous servant. "All things operated so strongly in his favor, that he lived concealed at Lyons three years. "Waldo fled from Lyons, and his disciples followed him. By this dispersion, the doctrine of Waldo was widely disseminated throughout Europe .... Persecuted from place to place, he retired into Picardy. Success attended his labors; and the doctrines which he preached appear to have so harmonized with those of the Vaudois, that they and his people were henceforth considered as the same." Phillip Augustus, a prince of France, attacked the Waldenses and destroyed much of their property. He drove many of them into Flanders. "Not content with this, he pursued them thither, and caused many of them to be burned. It appears that, at this time, Waldo fled into Germany, and at last settled in Bohemia, where he ended his-days about the year 1179. He appears to have been one of whom the world was not worthy, and to have turned many unto righteousness. The word of God then grew and multiplied."19 A school or college was established for the training of qualified ministers and other labourers in the expanding work of God. It consisted of three small stone buildings and was located in the Angrogna Valley of the Cottian Alps. The college and town of La Torre became the new headquarters of the Church of God. Articles and small booklets were written and copied by hand and provided free of charge to those who were interested in them. Tithes and offerings from many countries were used to finance the operating costs of the college and, as the work spread, translations of the Bible were produced in various languages. "Their pastors were named barba, the Vaudois term for uncle. It was in the almost inaccessible solitude of the Pra-del-Tor, a deep gorge... that their school was situated." "There they learned by heart the gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, the catholic epistles, and a portion of those of St. Paul. They were instructed, further, in Latin, Romane (old French) and Italian. After this they passed several years in retirement, and they were then consecrated ministers by the administration of the sacrament and imposition of hands."20 Ministers were mature and well qualified men. Because of long evangelistic journeys and the extreme personal danger that such trips sometimes produced, few of these men married; this was based on practical rather than religious grounds. They condemned priestly celibacy for scriptural reasons (I Tim. 4:1-3). Biblical offices were restored for the ministry. Evangelists, pastors, elders and deacons were ordained. Peter Waldo, according to his fruits, was an apostle but called himself "chief elder." "They were supported by the voluntary contributions of the people, distributed among them annually in a general synod. A third of these contributions was given to the ministers, a third to the poor, and a third was reserved for the missionaries of the church." "These missionaries traveled in pairs, a young man and an old man. They traversed all Italy, where they had fixed stations at different points, and in almost all the towns adherents. "The younger men thus became initiated in the delicate duties of evangelization, each being under the experienced conduct of an elder whom discipline established as his superior, and whom he obeyed in all things, alike from duty and from deference. The old man, on his part, thus prepared himself for his repose, by forming for the church successors worthy of it and himself."21 They visited the sick and sang hymns and believed in "free salvation by Jesus Christ -- and above all, faith working by charity." "They recommended fasting, whereby men humble themselves; but fasting without charity is as a lamp without oil: it smokes, but shines not. Prayer is, with them, inherent in love; patience is the support; gentleness, resignation, charity, the seal of a Christian." "They deny that the Christian should ever take an oath."22 Ministers were encouraged to learn a trade in order to be able, if necessary, to earn their own living. Many received special training in the laws of physical health and dietary matters. A system of elementary schools was established for children. Even young children learned to memorize and recite entire chapters of Scripture. Waldenses observed not only the weekly Sabbath and Passover, but also assembled once a year in September or October for a conference or synod. Some believe that this was in fact the Biblical "Feast of Tabernacles." Special ministerial conferences were also held from time to time. On one occasion 143 pastors met together -- they came from several different countries. "They also had extraordinary meetings by deputies from all parts of Europe, where Vaudois churches existed."23 The first Waldenses prohibited participation in wars and even avoided taking military action in self-defense, they also refused to take oaths of any kind. Later generations of Waldenses, however, began to reject these views. They "instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the commandments of God."24 "In like manner, also, their women are modest, avoiding backbiting, foolish jesting, and levity of speech, especially abstaining from lies or swearing, not so much as making use of the common asseveration, `in truth,' `for certain,' or the like, because they regard these as oaths, contenting themselves with simply answering `yes' or `no.'"25 Some 80,000 Waldenses were said to have lived in the Austrian Empire during the fourteenth century. In 1315 Walter the Lollard, a leading Waldensian minister, along with his brother, Raymond, carried the true gospel into England. His work seemed to have been highly successful as it was said that he spread the Waldensian doctrine all over England. This zealous leader in God's work also preached in other parts of Europe. "It is known that the celebrated Lollard who laboured with such zeal to diffuse the Vaudois doctrines in England, was not only a native of our valleys (Alpine valleys of northern Italy), but preached in them for a length of time with great success."26 The name "Lollard" came from the Flemish word "Lollen" or "Lullen," meaning to mumble or speak softly. Waldenses were thought to mumble to themselves, or at least this was the impression gained by outsiders as a result of the habit which they practised of memorizing and repeating to themselves, or others, passages from the Scriptures. Walter Lollard was seized and burned at Cologne, Germany, in 1322. His death, according to one authority, was "highly detrimental" to the cause of his followers, but in England the movement seems to have prospered. Later, during the second half of the fourteenth century, the name "Lollard" was also applied to the followers of John Wycliffe, the eminent Oxford theologian and Bible translator. Because of this confusion, the later history of the original Lollards becomes somewhat obscure. A large number of sympathizers joined themselves to the Lollard cause, but it would appear that the objective of most of these people was to introduce reforms into the Catholic church, rather than to come to personal repentance and to assist in the preaching of the true gospel. In 1401 a law was introduced which forbade the teaching of "new doctrines" by the Lollards. Faced with fines, imprisonment or the ultimate penalty of being burned to death, many recanted and made their peace with the Catholic church. The true Lollards remained faithful to the Church of God, however, and several were hunted down and martyred. As late as 1494 a group of thirty people known as "the Lollards of Kyle" were tried for "heresy" in Scotland. They were fortunate in that they escaped execution. The "Thyatira" era of the Church had major internal problems relating to compromise with false doctrine (Rev. 2:20). In the ancient Waldensian "Book of Antichrist" we read that the "Jezebel" of Bible prophecy was equated with the Roman papacy. The Roman church during the Middle Ages used various means, including the threat of persecution, to induce the Waldenses to participate in Sunday services and the Catholic mass. Many allowed themselves to compromise and commit spiritual "fornication," some even allowed Catholic priests to "baptize" their infant children. Generations of coexistence with sin led the Thyatira Church to gradually depart from its doctrines. By 1380 many members no longer had the faith to rely on God for protection and began to use military force to resist their persecutors. This was in spite of the fact that God, on several occasions, had caused a wall of dense fog to separate the Waldenses from their enemies. The probable justification for using military action against their enemies, rather than to follow Christ's instructions to flee from persecution, was that the ancient Israelites had used military might, along with God's assistance to defeat their enemies, and as the Waldenses looked upon themselves as "Israel of the Alps," why should not they do likewise? Most, by the fifteenth century, had forgotten that the Church of God is a holy and spiritual nation, using spiritual rather than carnal weapons (I Pet. 2:9). Although the first Waldenses had obeyed the command of Christ to "swear not at all" (Matt. 5:34-37), by the time of the Synod of Angrogna in 1532 they had departed so far from their earlier true doctrines that they now held "that a Christian may swear by the name of God." The Sabbath seems to have been rejected by the Waldenses at about this date, or perhaps even earlier. One of the seventeen articles of their faith written in 1532 states "that on Sundays we ought to cease from our earthly labours."27 At the Synod of Angrogna the Waldenses declared their solidarity with the Swiss Calvinists and the Protestant Reformation. From this time they copied more and more of the ways of the Protestant churches. The later history of the Waldensian movement is dominated by persecution. This period must be ranked as one of the blackest episodes in the entire history of man's inhumanity to his fellow human beings. God appears to have permitted the mass slaughter of multitudes of these people, perhaps in order to induce them, by means of these severe trials, to repent and return to their former true doctrines and godly way of life. As the centuries of persecution progressed to a grisly climax, entire villages and communities of these unfortunate people were butchered until it was said that the valleys ran red with the blood of men, women and children. "Children, cruelly torn from their mother's breast, were seized by the feet, and dashed and crushed against the rocks or walls... their bodies were cast away on common heaps. "The valleys resounded with such mournful echoes of the lamentable cries of the wretched victims, and the shrieks wrung from them in their agonies, that you might have imagined the rocks were moved with compassion, while the barbarous perpetrators of these atrocious cruelties remained absolutely insensible."28 On one occasion fires were lit at the mouth of a cavern where a group of Vaudois were hiding. "When the cavern was afterwards examined there were found in it four hundred infants suffocated in their cradles, or in the arms of their dead mothers. Altogether there perished in this cavern more than 3,000 Vaudois...."29 One young man was tied to an olive tree and used as target practice by the soldiers, until the fifth bullet terminated his sufferings. "Daniel Revelli had his mouth filled with gunpowder, which, being lighted, blew his head to pieces. "Another martyr, Mazzone, was stripped naked, his body shredded with iron whips, and the mangled frame then beaten to death with lighted brands."30 Many villages were burned to the ground. In one such incident, "Some women having been surprised in the church, they were stripped naked, subjected to indescribable outrages, and then compelled to hold each other by the hand, as in a dance, were urged, at the pike's point, up the castlerock, whence, already severely wounded and suffering, they were precipitated, one after the other into the abyss beneath."31 Men were sometimes sold to ship owners as galley slaves and women and girls who survived the horrors of those days often were sold to the highest bidder. "I speak not of the young women and girls who were seized and taken into these dens of iniquity; the atrocious outrages to which they were subjected may not be described."32 Some women, unable to contemplate an obscene and violent death, or survival under such unthinkable conditions, took their own lives. Houses were burnt and goods plundered, thousands were forced to flee into the mountains where many perished of cold and hunger. "So monstrous were the cruelties with which the extermination was accompanied, that several even of the officers who had been appointed to "execute it were struck with horror, and resigned their commands, rather than fulfill their orders."33 When the persecutions ended in 1686, a French officer observed that "All the valleys are wasted, all the inhabitants killed, hanged or massacred."34 As we read of this very sobering aspect of church history, it is good to remember that history does indeed repeat itself. A time, yet future is predicted, when the final era of God's Church, the Laodicean era, will also be exposed to the wrath of Satan, and those human instruments that he can influence. Is it not far better to learn the lesson that the Waldenses failed to heed, and to stay close enough to God that we are counted worthy to receive His protection (Rev. 3:7-13)? FOOTNOTES -- Chapter 8 1. Jones' Church History, page 238. 2. Ibid., page 187. 3. Jones' Church History, page 187. 4. History of the Sabbath, J.N. Andrews. 5. The True Ecclesia, D.H. Macmillan, page 23. 6. Jones' Church History, page 380, ed. 1837. 7. Ibid., page 355, ed. 1837. 8. Idem., page 259. 9. See The Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses, page 163, G.S. Faber. 10. Idem., page 163. 11. Ibid., pages 169-172. 12. Ibid., page 181. 13. The Vaudois Church, Monastier, page 40. 14. Ibid., page 45. 15. The Vaudois Church, Monastier, page 38. 16. The Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses, G.S. Faber, pages 204-205. 17. Ibid., page 208. 18. Ibid., page 374. 19. Townsend's Abridgment, pages 405-409. 20. Israel of the Alps, A. Muston, page 3. 21. Ibid., page 4. 22. Ibid., pages 4-7. 23. The Vaudois Church, Monastier, page 93. 24. Jones' Church History, page 260. 25. Ibid., page 259. 26. Authentic Details of the Valdenses, ed. 1827. 27. The Vaudois Church, Monastier, page 146. 28. The Vaudois Church, Monastier, pages 270-1. 29. Israel of the Alps, A. Muston, page 20. 30. Ibid., page 45. 31. Ibid., page 34. 32. Ibid., page 74. 33. Ibid., page 141. 34.Ibid., page 204. http://www.giveshare.org/churchhistory/fle...r/chapter8.html

Gayane, Are you telling us that the "nazankov u yerazankov" dance of Armenian women is reflection of the artistic beauty of women's body and its plasticity, or is it a reflection of her intellectuality and philosophical orientation? Similarly for men. On a more serious note, I still think dance is about sex. I am not saying that the dancer is on the stage to sexually and explicitly market himself/herself. And I am not talking about the Academic Dance (like ballet), either. The dance duets I think are sort of ritualized preludes of sex. I am not implying this as a practical matter, but as a matter somewhere deep in the subconsciousness. The solo dances sort of says: "Here I am," and perhaps also subconsciously. Now, the "shurdjbar" has still to be understood from this perspective. It may still be about sex, but perhaps not sex as passion or pleasure, but a duty of continuation of the race. I don't know. I am just thinking loudly. Aristakes Lastivertsi, an Armenian historian of the 11th century, attest to the fact that the Armenian attitude towards sex in that era at least, has been quite casual. He attests that Armenian women have had the reputation of the most beautiful women in the region, and their behavior has been quite “emancipated.” This phenomenon is reflected even in the medieval Armenian poetry, most explicitly in the “Hayrens” of Nahabed Quchak. Interestingly enough, even the ordained monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Quchak has been, has found hard to resist the beauty and playfulness of Armenian women. It has been the era of Armenian early post-renaissance, and an era of large-scale immigration (bandkhtutiun) of Armenian men, which perhaps has created a climate of emancipation of women. In some ways this “opening” might’ve even been resulted from the exile and migration of Paulicians - just a thought. In the opinion of Lativertsi, the troubles of Armenia in his era have primarily been due to the behavior and the beauty of the Armenian women – the foreign invaders have been motivated by the desire to poses them. This is an opinion of a “Vardabet,” however, and has perhaps to be discounted from the point of view of a political and geopolitical conceptualization of the processes of the era. As in other Christian countries, in Armenia too, the sexual relationship has become quite casual in the post-renaissance era. I think the backwardation of the role and the dimishing of the freedoms of the Armenian women, subsequently, is indeed a result of the centuries old Islamic dominance. As to the subject of dance and spirituality ... spirituality is a reflection of men’s/woman’s search for God, and the path to eternal life. At least it is a manifestation of a search for the most fundamental question of human curiosity: “Why am I.” And in this sense, I can not possibly find any evidence of such search watching the Armenian dance, or any other dance, whatsoever. And, clearly, in the light of this argument, the feeling of “menk enk mer sare@” has not much to do with spirituality. [ February 24, 2001: Message edited by: MJ ]

I am sure Armenians have thought of death, and have even experienced it. I am also not aware of any attempts of capturing the subject of death through the portrayal of a skull neither in Armenian miniatures, nor on the stone. I think in the post-Christian era its absence is not surprising, however, I don't have explanations for the pre-Christian era.

Steve, I certainly don't know who have you spoken to in AGBU, but perhaps it makes a lot of difference. If you are still interested in the movie, I may be able to trace who the right person to talk to would be. As a disclaimer, I have to also add that I have no direct relationship with them.

Let me also introduce a thought, which might be related to the subject of Armenian perception of or taboo on sex, and let's see if we can explore it. Dancing is an artistic form of communication or a form of a ritual. It is likely that it has started from the ritual. From ancient times, people have danced to perform a ritual making it rain, for example, to inspire others to start a war, etc, or it has been an expression of human sexuality. Outside its ritualistic context, I think that the dancing is entirely an expression of human sexuality and desire. Only some forms of it are more explicit about it, and others are less explicit. Now, I think that one thing that we can observe is the lack of dancing between individual partners in Armenian national dance forms. It is always a group dance -"shurdjbar." Any theories explaining this phenomenon, and how does it explain the traditional attitude of Armenians towards sex? What can we read about the Armenian attitude towards sex looking at the Armenian dance? I am not trying to make an impression that I know the answer. I don't. But I sense with my spinal chord that there is a connection.

Dear Ali, I am anxiously waiting for the rest of the material. I feel like it is better for me not to make any comments at this time, so that not to disrupt your writing process and force you to respond to my comments. We can discuss the relevant arguments after you finish the material.

I don't know of a pre-Paulician reference to any Armenian connection, as far as the skull and the cross-bones are concerned. That there would not be anything of the kind in a post-Paulician era - I am not surprised.