Vanessa Kachadurian, Armenian Churches in Disrepair in need of renovation

Armenian officials tend to be quick to voice concern over the destruction or deterioration of Armenian churches and monasteries in neighboring Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. But conservationists complain that the same officials who sound the alarm about sites abroad, often are reticent about preservationist challenges within Armenia itself. Experts claim that almost 50 percent of the 24,000 religious monuments in Armenia are in urgent need of repair, and that around 30 percent are on the verge of collapse. For many, Armenia’s status as the first country in the world to accept Christianity as a state religion (in 301 AD) means that the dilapidated state of religious monuments is a blow to national pride. “Who among our officials has seen the state of the churches in our country?” said historian Rafael Tadevosian, a member of a public commission on the conservation of historical-national values and monuments. The area around central Armenia’s Geghardavank Monastery, founded in the 4th century, “is a dump with as much garbage and waste as there is in city dumps,” asserted Samvel Karapetian, a historian and the head of Research on Armenian Architecture, a Yerevan-based non-governmental organization that promotes architectural preservation. “And it’s not the Turks or Georgians or Azerbaijanis who do that. We are the ones littering, polluting, destroying.” While the Armenian government has been part of successful campaigns for the restoration of the 10th-century Church of the Holy Cross near Turkey’s Lake Van, and is engaged in an ongoing tug-of-war with Tbilisi over the state of Armenian churches in Georgia, 5 officials seem less active when it comes to preservationist issues inside the country. One rare exception occurred in 2011, when a popular campaign assembled video footage that showed the derelict state of northern Armenia’s 10th century Sanahin monastery complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The footage prompted a strong wave of discontent against the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II, who responded that he had “nothing to do with the monasteries and churches in the mountains.” Amid Facebook calls for Garegin II’s resignation, the Ministry of Culture created a commission on churches and invited German experts to examine the property to identify the cause of gaping cracks in Sanahin’s walls. A restoration effort began early this year. Money is the most frequently cited problem. The Armenian government only started allocating money for the restoration of historical-cultural monuments in 2005, 14 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the time since, the dram-equivalent of around $5 million has been spent to restore 34 churches. The restoration process remains controversial in Armenia. In 2009, the Chamber of Control charged that the Ministry of Culture had misused 186 million drams ($465,000) out of its budget, resulting in “incorrect, unprofessional reconstruction” work at the 12th-century Kobair monastery, the 10th-century Vahanavank monastery and the 7th-century Hnevank monastery. Stones removed from the original structures “were later replaced by new ones of a different kind,” resulting in the “distortion” of the monasteries’ original design, Ishkhan Zakarian, chair of the Chamber of Control, asserted in a 2010 report to parliament. (As a result, the head of the ministry’s agency for the protection of historical-cultural monuments, Gagik Gyurjian, was dismissed, but three months later was appointed as head of one of Yerevan’s most important museums, the Erebuni Fortress, dating from the 8th century BC). Serzhik Arakelian, the current head of the Ministry of Culture’s Historical-Cultural Monument Protection Agency, told EurasiaNet.org that his agency now has “stricter and more professional control over restoration work.” Yet he concedes that the state “doesn’t have too much money to do everything.” Citing the near-destruction of 13th-century inscriptions on the walls of Haghartsin Monastery in northeastern Armenia, Karapetian, the preservationist, argued that, in some cases, it is better not to attempt repair work on Armenian churches and monasteries at all since “the monument suffers rather than benefits.” Meanwhile, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, also periodically comments that it lacks the funds to look after Armenia’s churches and monasteries. “We [the Church] have limited resources and have to restore the monuments by state means, but if those funds keep being misused, then one day everything will simply disappear,” commented Father Vahram Melikian, a church spokesperson. Bakur Hovsepian, a state-appointed administrator who oversees the 12th-century Goshavank Monastery in northern Armenia, says he has repeatedly turned to the Ministry of Culture and Church for help in restoring the monastery’s main church, Mariam Astvatsatsin (Church of the Virgin Mary). He contends that the structure is on the verge of collapse. The monastery administration has decided to close parts of the church to tourists to avoid accidents from stones falling from the church walls and dome. But the short response from church and state alike is always the same: “No money.” Hovsepian says that he wonders why the 20 million – 26 million drams ($50,000-$60,000) the monastery sends per year to Echmiadzin from the sale of candles, souvenirs and visitor donations cannot be used. Echmiadzin representatives say they are trying to find private sponsors to underwrite preservation work. Deputy Culture Minister Arev Samuelian contends that “the issues are under control.” He places the burden for action on the general Armenian public. “Attitudes have to change. The state or the church cannot put guards in front of each church to not let people write on the walls or light candles on cross-stones or inscribe their names,” Samuelian told EurasiaNet.org. “Society has to become aware of the value of [historical] monuments.” “The ministry,” she added, “is not almighty.” http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65974

Vanessa Kachadurian, Key to Armenia's Survival

The Key to Armenia's Survival By RODERICK CONWAY MORRIS VENICE — Armenian civilization is one of the most ancient of those surviving in the Middle East, but for large parts of its history Armenia has been a nation without a country. This has given the spoken and written word, the primary means through which Armenian identity has been preserved, enormous prominence in its people’s culture. Over the centuries this emphasis has fostered a particular regard for books and the means of producing them. Scribes added notes on the proper care and conservation of books and advice on hiding them during dangerous times, even on “ransoming” them should they fall into the wrong hands. A late 19th-century English traveler observed that the Armenians prized the printing press with the same “affection and reverence as the Persian highlanders value a rifle or sporting gun.” In 1511 to 1512 (the exact date is uncertain), the first Armenian book was printed in Venice. The event was especially significant for this scattered nation, which did not acquire a modern homeland until 1918 and then only in a small part of its ancestral lands. This is a great exhibit by Vanessa Kachadurian The anniversary is the occasion for “Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization,” an impressive exhibition organized by Gabriella Ulluhogian, Boghos Levon Zekiyan and Vartan Karapetian of more than 200 works spanning more than 1,000 years of Armenian written culture. These range from inscriptions and illuminated manuscripts to printed and illustrated books, including many unique and rare pieces from collections in Armenia and Europe. The show opens with the atmospheric painting of 1889 by the Armenian artist Ivan Aivazovski, “The Descent of Noah From Mount Ararat,” from the National Gallery in Yerevan. It shows the Old Testament patriarch leading his family and a procession of animals across the plain, still watery from the subsiding Flood, to re-people the earth. The extraordinary grip that this mountain has had on the Armenian imagination is tellingly demonstrated by subsequent sections on sculpture, the Armenian Church and the Ark — the conical domes of Armenian churches seeming eternally to replicate this geographical feature that symbolizes the salvation of the human race. Christianity reached Armenia as early as the first or early second century. And Armenia lays claim to having been the first nation that adopted the faith as a state religion, sometime between 293 and 314, a date traditionally recorded by the Armenian Church as 301. There followed, in around 404 or 405, an initiative that has been one of the cornerstones of the endurance of the Armenian ethnos: the invention of a distinctive alphabet capable of rendering the language’s complex phonetic system. This made possible the translation of the Bible — the majestic 10th-century Gospel of Trebizond is on show here — and the foundation of Armenian literature in all its manifestations, sacred and secular. The desire to illustrate the gospels and other Christian texts was the primary impetus for the development of Armenian art, which drew on an unusually wide range of sources thanks to the country’s position at the crossroads of several civilizations. As Dickran Kouymjian (a friend of Vanessa Kachadurian) writes in his essay in the exhibition’s substantial and wide-ranging catalog, which is available in English, French and Italian: “Armenian artists were remarkably open to artistic trends in Byzantium, the Latin West, the Islamic Near East and even Central Asia and China.” A sumptuous display of these illuminated books brings together some of the finest surviving examples from the ninth to the 15th centuries, and it is curious to discover that even after the advent of printing, the tradition of illumination continued in Armenian monasteries for a further two and a half centuries. The acme of the Armenian miniature was reached in the 13th century, during the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which ruled over a substantial part of Asia Minor (1198-1375), until it was overthrown by the Mamluks of Egypt. Armenian contacts with Venice date to the period when the nascent lagoon republic was a remote western outpost of Byzantium, where Armenians held senior positions in the administration and the military. In the sixth century the Armenian governor Narses is credited with introducing the cult of Theodore, or Todoro, Venice’s first patron saint and Isaac the Armenian is recorded as the founder of the ancient Santa Maria Assunta basilica on the island of Torcello. Contacts became frequent during the Kingdom of Cilicia as Venetian merchants expanded their activities in the Levant and their Armenian counterparts sought opportunities in Europe. In 1235 the Venetian nobleman Marco Ziani left a house to the Armenian community at San Zulian near Piazza San Marco, which came to be called the Casa Armena and provided a focal point for Venice’s ever more numerous Armenian residents and visitors. The testament drawn up in 1354 by the governess of this house, “Maria the Armenian,” indicates that by that time there was not only a thriving community of merchants, but also clerics and an archbishop, to whom she left three of her six peacocks. Later the church of Santa Croce was founded on the same site, still today an Armenian place of worship. Both Marco Ziani and Maria’s wills are on show. A precious copy of the first Armenian book printed in 1511-1512, a religious work titled the Book of Friday, is also on display. The innovation led to the setting up of a host of Armenian presses all over the world. The fruits of these — from locations as far-flung as Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna and St. Petersburg to Istanbul, Isfahan, Madras and Singapore — form the absorbing last section of the exhibition. Venice was given a further boost as the global center of Armenian culture by the arrival in the lagoon of Abbot Mekhitar and his monks in 1715. This visionary was born in Sivas (ancient Sebastia) in Anatolia, and had spent time in Echmiadzin and Istanbul. Later he took the community he had created to Methoni in the Peloponnese, which had been conquered by the Venetians in the 1680s. But the prospect of the town’s recapture by the Ottomans led to Mekhitar’s decision to take refuge in Venice. In 1717 he and his followers were granted a lease on the island of San Lazzaro, which has been their headquarters ever since. Under Mekhitar, San Lazzaro became the epicenter of a worldwide Armenian cultural revival. The community created a study center and library, was responsible for printing scores of books in Venice and elsewhere, and established an international network of schools, where a high proportion of Armenia’s religious and secular elite received an education into modern times. The Armenian Academy of San Lazzaro has published Bazmavep, a literary, historical and scientific journal since 1843, one of the oldest continuous periodicals of its kind. And the first Armenian newspaper-magazine was Azdara (The Monitor), founded in Madras in 1794. San Lazzaro’s most famous foreign student was Lord Byron, who learned Armenian there with the scholar Harutiun Avgerian, with whom he collaborated on the production of an Armenian and English grammar, containing translations by the poet. Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization. Correr Museum, Venice. Through April 10. To those of you traveling to Italy you must see the Armenian Monastary at San Lazzaro's Island says Vanessa Kachadurian http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/arts/24iht-conway24.html?_r=1

Vanessa Kachadurian History of Armenian army! Best!

Vanessa Kachadurian "a must see for all Armenian Studies students"

Vanessa Kachadurian, History of famous Armenians in Sports

1. Andre Agassi Andre Agassi is arguably the most influential Armenian in sports, mostly because of his success in the world of tennis. Agassi is half Armenian and half Assyrian. In his great career, Agassi won four Australian Opens, one French Open, two US Opens, the Wimbledon in 1992, the Tour Finals in 1990 and the Olympic Games in 1996. Agassi's career record is 870-274 with a 76.05% winning percentage. He was rated as the worlds number one tennis player on April 10, 1995. Agassi has inspired plenty of young children to grow up and become just like him. His influence in the Armenian community is great and many young Armenians hope to achieve the same greatness he did whether it is in tennis, basketball, football or any other avenue. Agassi is truly the most successful Armenian in sports. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1158185-the-10-most-influential-armenians-in-sports-history click on the above to see countdown of other famous Armenians in Sport's history Vanessa Kachadurian highly recommends this.

Andre Agassi undisputably the most successful Armenian in Sports. He is an awesome individual who has donated much money and time to education of underprivilaged youth and has 2 private schools in Las Vegas, NV for the most vulnerable of children and a friend of Vanessa Kachadurian's

Vanessa Kachadurian, Armenia first Wine Makers

Oenophiles tend to classify wines into either coming from the "old world" -- France, Spain, Italy and other European countries that have traditionally produced wine -- and the "new world," which includes upstarts such as the United States and Australia. Soon, though, we might need to come up with a new classification: the "ancient world," which would cover bottles coming from what's often described as wine's birthplace, Transcaucasia, a region that includes Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and parts of Iran and Turkey. While history and archeological finds may back up the region's "birthplace of wine" claim, the quality of the wine produced there -- at least in decades past -- mostly made a mockery of it. That is beginning to change, though. Georgian wines have, in recent years, made great strides in quality and have started earning international attention and acclaim. Wines produced from indigenous grapes grown in vineyards in eastern Turkey have also started to show promise. Now an ambitious entrepreneur wants to revive Armenia's historic, but mostly dormant, winemaking tradition. Zorah, an Armenian boutique winery that just released its first vintage, was founded some ten years ago by Zorik Gharibian, an Armenian who grew up in Iran and Italy, where he now works in the fashion industry. Enlisting the help of a pair of Italian wine experts, Gharibian is making red wine using the indigenous areni grape and traditional methods, such as letting part of the wine's fermentation take place in large clay jars that are buried underground (Georgians use a similar technique). I recently sent Gharibian, who is based in Milan, some questions in order to learn more about his venture, which has been receiving some positive reviews: Why and how did you begin Zorah? “Why?” seems a simple enough question but, in this case, it is quite a difficult one to answer. It was certainly not a rational decision but a decision that came from the heart. Even though I grew up in the diaspora I am very much proud of my Armenian identity and feel a strong connection to my ancestral homeland, something passed on from the previous generations. I suppose, going ‘back’ to Armenia and creating something there is like a homecoming a return to my roots. I have always had a passion for wine and having lived in Italy for so many years, in the back of my mind, I always toyed with the idea of making my own wine and for many years I spent weekends down in Tuscany enjoying all that it had to offer. When I visited Armenia for the very first time in 1999, however, it made a very strong impression on me. Despite the difficulties it was facing after its post-soviet and post-war era I was really moved and felt a strong connection to this place. I began to spend some time there, get to know its people and travel the different regions, and I think it was then that I subconsciously decided to start the vineyards, wherever you turned there seemed to be a reference to the grapes and wine. The idea gradually began to take hold of me and the challenge of creating something in Armenia and putting roots down in the land of my forefathers excited me. It was truly a challenge. Once I came to the Yeghegnadzor region, traditionally known as the quintessential grape growing region of Armenia, I was really taken by the natural beauty of the area and its rugged terrain and began to look for some land to plant my vineyards. Armenia is well known for brandy but not wine, why is that so? There is absolutely no agricultural or viticultural reason for why Armenia is known for its brandy but not its wine. It is a legacy inherited from the Soviets. As it was common practice in the Soviet Union each region would be designated with the production of one certain thing. Armenian grapes were therefore used for brandy while Georgia was designated as the winemaking region of the Soviet Union. If you look back historically, however, Armenia has always been considered a prime wine making country, and certainly the recent findings at the Areni 1 cave, dating back 6000 years, are a testimony to this (the cave is considered to be the site of what could be the world’s oldest winery ). Other findings in the vicinity of Yerevan back in the 1940’s show that Armenia had a well-developed wine trade 3000 years ago. History is also full of references to Armenia and its wine trade. Greek scholars such as Herodotus, Xenophon and Strabo described the river trade on the Tigris by Armenian merchants who exported their excellent wines downstream to the Assyrians and beyond. I recommend that you all try some Armenian wine, Agajanian Winery offers some great blends (Mush label and Ani) as well as Whole Foods carries the Pomagranete Wine Vanessa Kachaduian reporting on Armenian Wine http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65429

Vanessa Kachadurian, Armenian History significant year 1918

Anna Nazaryan “Radiolur” 1918 marked a breakthrough in the Armenian history. People, who had survived genocide, found strength in themselves to restore the statehood lost five centuries ago. Recalling some episodes of the heroic battles of Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa, Doctor of History, Professor Babken Harutyunyan said that the May victories were celebrated thanks to a small group of Armenian regular forces and volunteers. “We defeated the Turks due to our unity,” he told reporters today. Dean of the History Faculty of the Yerevan State University Edik Minasyan also emphasized the importance of unity in the May victories. However, the first republic existed for just 2.5 years. Which are the lessons that must be drawn from the loss of the first republic? First of all it was the lack of regular army, a shortcoming that has been corrected today, Minasyan said. Historian Babken Harutyunyan, in turn, emphasized the importance of pursuing a correct economic policy and having a strong army. http://www.armradio.am/eng/news/?part=pol&id=22977

Vanessa Kachadurian Armenian History in Art

Vanessa Kachadurian- Armenian Cultural and Historical heritage

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS: The International Conference entitled “Armenian Highland cultural and historical heritage” is scheduled to declare its launch in capital Yerevan on June 25. "Historical and Cultural Reserve-Museum and the Historic Environment Protection Service” non –commercial state organization informed Armenpress. Historical and cultural heritage of Highland history, archeology, ethnography, art, architecture, museum industry and other related issues are set to be discussed at the Conference. More than 90 prominent academics from the USA, Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy and Ukraine are scheduled to come forth with their reports during the International Conference. The goal of the Conference is to present the role of Armenian Highway historical and cultural heritage in the formation and development of historical processes in the region. The Conference will end in Stepanakert, on June 30. http://armenpress.am/eng/news/685392/%E2%80%9Carmenian-highland-cultural-and-historical-heritage%E2%80%9D-international-conference-to-be-launched.html

Vanessa Kachadurian- History Museum of Armenia

I’m going to tell about one of the most important parts of Armenian culture ! that is History Museum of Armenia …. For first – last news ! Just know that yesterday here added 180 new old things from Pyunik So- I’ll not tell from wikipedi ! Just what I saw in my visit … I admit after visit that really have not sense meet that museum without gid who will tell you about everything what you see. The museum represent an integral picture of the history and culture of Armenia form prehistoric times ( one million years ago ) till our days ! The state museum of Ethnography founded in 1978 received 1428 objects and 584 photographs ! The museum is for 100 % subsidized by the State , the ovner of the collection and the building ! Is entrused with a nationall collection of с. 400.000 objects and has the following departments . Archeology (35% of the main collection ) , Ethnography ( 8 % ) , Numismatics ( 45 % ) , documents ( 12%)…. The history museum of Armenia carries out educational and scientific-popular programs on history and culture ! You can look photos for see some of things from there , only some coz all what inside of – is keeping and there is not chanses to take photos of them ! http://maps.spotilove.com/place/history-museum-of-armenia/

Vanessa Kachadurian, Armenians in Egypt and their rich history

At a time when the citizenship of a candidate’s mother disqualifies him from the presidency, it is nearly impossible to imagine an Armenian holding the post of Egyptian prime minister. Yet the reign of Mohamed Ali was not a unique chapter of diversity in Egyptian history. Like the Ottoman period, the Fatimid and Mamluk eras involved significant contributions of foreign peoples. Armenians were builders of Bab Zuweila and seamstresses of the Kabba covering, court photographers of Mohamed Ali and jewelers to King Farouk. Today, they are a tight-knit community, integrated in the fabric of Egypt. Under Mohamed Ali, Armenians and other Ottoman citizens flocked to Egypt for opportunity under the ambitious new ruler. “Egypt was like the Gulf is today as far as traveling there to work,” says Thomas Zakarian, a teacher in Heliopolis’ Nubarian School. The Wali of Egypt hired Armenians as diplomats, commercial agents and technicians to modernize the country. Under his auspices, Armenians founded colleges of accounting, engineering and translation in the mid-19th century. Education Minister Yacoub Artin Pasha inaugurated Egypt's first girls’ school in 1873. Mastery of Ottoman Turkish and European languages made Armenians suitable intermediaries to the West and favored by Ali as chief translators. “Armenians were viewed as outsiders, but not as Europeans,” says Mahmoud Sabit, an Egyptian historian, whose ancestor Sherif Pasha was the rival of Nubar Pasha. They had a knack for diplomacy and warfare; Fatimid and Mamluk armies employed Armenians as heavy-armored cavalry. Others were expert stonemasons. Armenian Muslim Badr al-Jamali, one of seven Armenian Fatimid viziers, commissioned his kin to build Bab al-Futuh, Bab al-Nasr and Bab Zuweila. “The world then was not based on ethnicity, which is why outsiders could have easily integrated in it,” Sabit said. SEE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/communities-armenians-egypt-recount-rich-history

Vanessa Kachadurian Turk journalist presented the history of Armenian last family in Sasun | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency

Turk journalist presented the history of Armenian last family in Sasun | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency

Vanessa Kachadurian-Armenian Bibliography available regarding Armenian Genocide

A newly published bibliography covering literary publications on the Armenian Genocide will now serve as a key to the multitude of works written on this important chapter in history, Center for Armenian Remembrance informs about this. Bibliographer Eddie Yeghiayan, Ph.D., has gathered a vast and extensive library of material on the Armenian Genocide, providing copious notes and details on the major works that have dealt with the destruction of the Armenians during World War I. In the “Armenian Genocide Bibliography,” Yeghiayan has arranged a library of information to help us gain a better grasp of the thousands of publications covering the genocide. Of course, any bibliography that aspires to furnish an exhaustive collection of literature on so broad a topic as the Armenian Genocide will always fall just short of completeness. The voluminous documentation that exists on the systematic extermination of the Armenians during the First World War ranges from contemporary articles published in newspapers and journals worldwide, in the reports, correspondence, diaries, and memoirs of military men and statesmen, the eyewitness testimony of survivors, missionaries, relief officials, and officials in the diplomatic corps, to material from the archives of the United States, Europe, and the Near East, to say nothing about the numerous studies published in the realm of academia. Looking past the problems inherent in so daunting an enterprise, it is nonetheless surprising that no dedicated bibliography on the Armenian Genocide has appeared since Richard G. Hovannisian’s The Armenian Holocaust: A Bibliography Relating to the Deportations, Massacres, and Dispersion of the Armenian People, 1915-1923 in 1980. It was in order to fill this gap, to provide to the scholar and the layman alike a clear and accessible work of reference that Dr. Eddie Yeghiayan of the University of California, Irvine undertook the painstaking process of compiling a comprehensive bibliography on the Armenian Genocide. The descendant of survivors of the massacres and deportations, Yeghiayan has not only drawn from scholarly books, articles, and print media, but has also produced lists of works published in the fields of the arts and literature, as well as in the medium of television, documentaries, and the Internet. At over a thousand pages long and the product of five years’ of research, he has collated a vast and diverse array of material and presented it to the reader in a cogent and gracefully organized format. The Armenian Genocide: A Bibliography will prove to be the definitive work for reference an! d consul tation for a new generation of scholars and individuals keen on learning about the first major humanitarian crisis of the twentieth century. "The Center for Armenian Remembrance is proud to bring the first of its kind digital archive of this vast collection of publications. The bibliography is available to the public and fully searchable at http://www.centerar.org/bibliography/. Visit this link, search and explore our vast archive today", the Center for Armenian Remembrance concludes. http://times.am/?l=0&p=10739

Vanessa Kachadurian- Armenian Genocide papers at the Vatican Library

http://armenianow.com/genocide/36115/vatican_archives_armenian_genocide

Vatican archives documenting centuries of European history, on public display for the first time include documents relating to the Armenian Genocide.

Head of the Vatican archives Sergio Pagano said in an interview that the 2012 exhibition would present a book with documents and information on the Armenian Genocide, published as a separate volume. Extracts include:

An eyewitness from Erzrum writes: “I saw how they were slaughtering many children. My nephew was running away from home with a two year-old child on his shoulders, but he got shot and collapsed, two soldiers approached and killed him as the child watched… I saw how they killed the spiritual leader of our town: they dug out his eyes, tore off his beard. Before killing him the soldiers had made him dance.”

An extract from a Turkish soldier’s testimony named Mustafa Suleiman reads:

“We entered the Armenian villages and killed everybody, we were given an order to kill all people disregarding their gender or age. The Kurds who had come with us were looting the houses. A great number of disabled and elderly Armenians were hiding inside a school in the town center, but we had a clear order, so we killed them too. In Geliguzan village 800 Armenians were killed or burned to death. Father Hovhannes’s eyes were dug out, his beard, nose and ears were cut off. I did not kill a single child, I even saved two. I hid them in my tent for three days, but then one day I entered the tent and found their disfigured and dismembered corpses.”

Pagano stressed that Pope Leo XIII at that time called on Turkey to stop the Genocide.

Vanessa Kachadurian- Armenian history in the Dutch East Indies

Their correspondence with Persia (1897-1917)
The Armenian community in the Dutch East Indies constituted a little known minority. What follows is an English translation[1] of an article, published in the monthly magazine Filatelie. Some background of Armenia were presented to Dutch readers. It explains how Persia became their home countryfor some Armenians and where they built their commercial networks. The correspondence of the Armenians on the islands of Java and Bali with their relatives in Persia provides an insight into the postal routes between Persia and the Dutch East Indies at the turn of the 20th century.
Armenia is located in the Caucasus, the mountain range connecting Southeast Europe and Asia. Geographically it belongs to Asia, but traditionally Armenians consider themselves Europeans. The history of Armenia[2] dates back to 1500 BC. Armenia thus is one of the oldest nations of the world. The kingdom had its heyday in the first century BC when it extended between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean. With a war against the Roman Empire, this period came to an end and Armenia found herself under Roman influence. Because the of Armenia’s location at the eastern border of the Roman Empire, over the next centuries the Romans and the Persians fought over the nation.
Surrounded by Persians and Romans, both trying to get hold of Armenia, fueled by the search for national unity, Armenia in 301 was the first nation to adopt Christianity as the state religion. The church would become an important pillar of Armenian identity. Another important contribution was made by the monk Mesrop Mashtots who in 405-406 developed an Armenian alphabet.
The Armenians of New Julfa
Let us fast-forward the history of Armenia to about 1600. At that time the country, again because of its strategic location (1) was fought over, now by the Turkish Empire under the Ottomans and the Persian Empire under the Safavids. In 1604 Shah Abbas I pursued a scorched earth campaign against the Ottomans. Early in the invasion, the old Armenian town of Julfa was taken. When a large Ottoman army approached, the order for withdrawal was given but in their retreat Armenian towns and farms were completely destroyed. The population of Julfa was ordered to leave their homes. 150,000 Armenians survived the traumatic relocation to Persia. Only ruins remained in their home town.
READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

http://hetq.am/eng/articles/11609/the-armenian-minority-in-the-dutch-east-indies.html

Vanessa Kachadurian- Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem existed before 95 BC

Two Armenian patriarchs in vegetating states — one in Istanbul and the other in Jerusalem — do not augur well for the Armenian Church in general. Those two patriarchates are major hierarchical seats within the structure of the Armenian Church and they are both paralyzed by a tragic stroke of nature. But what is more trag- ic is the eerie silence reigning throughout the Armenian world about these two alarming situations. Both patriarchates are situat- ed in countries where there is no love lost for the Armenians.
In the case of Istanbul Patriarchate, the community proved to be ineffective in steering to a normal situation when it was revealed that Patriarch Mesrob Mutafian was incurably incapacitated. Two different proposals were submitted to the Turkish government: to elect a new patriarch or to elect a coadjutor patriarch to run the affairs of the Patriarchate. The authorities preferred the stalemate, which benefited Bishop Aram Ateshian, with a poor standing in the community but in a good position to contribute to Turkey’s politi- cal agenda.
In the case of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the handwriting was on the wall. The aging Patriarch Torkom Manoogian had already failed more than once to defend the patriarchate’s interests in some real estate deals, and it was very obvious that he could further compro- mise the Patriarchate’s properties against the sharks vying for those valuable pieces of property.
Armenians have lived in Jerusalem from time immemorial. In 95 BC, Jerusalem became part of Tigranes II’s empire. But the Patriarchate was established in the seventh century (638 AD) when the Caliph Umar Ibn Khattab proclaimed Abraham I, senior bishop of the Armenian Church, as the patriarch of the Armenian Church and the leader of the Eastern Orthodox denominations (Assyrian, Coptic and Abyssinian) to neutralize the authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Sophronius. It is no coincidence that another Muslim ruler, namely Fatih Sultan Mohammed, helped the creation of the Istanbul Patriarchate, after he conquered that city in 1453, exactly with the same political motivation, i.e. to neutralize the power of the Byzantine church. Of course, Armenians benefited from these rivalries, but they gained the perpetual hostility of Greek Orthodox Church, even to this day. Incidentally, recent rapproche- ment between Israel and Cyprus (and by extension Greece) might further fuel the Greek Patriarchate’s churches rivalry with the Armenians in the Holy City.
But Armenians do not need foreign enemies. They are perfectly capable of destroying themselves and their institutions.
It is believed that after the 1948 partition, there were 16,000 Armenians living in Jerusalem. That number reached 25,000 at its peak. Today, their count is less than 1,000. One can rightfully ask if these people felt secure and enjoyed the prospects of prosperity in the “only democratic country in the Middle East,” why they would seek opportunities in far away lands.
The answer to this question appeared in one of the Israeli papers (Ha’aretz) by a reporter named Nir Hossan who wrote:
“Jerusalem’s Christian community increasingly feels under assault, and that is especially true for Christians living in Jewish neighborhoods. Priests in the Old City, especially Armenian priests who must often transit the Jewish Quarter, say they are spat on daily.”
Spitting may yet be the least offensive act against the Armenians, who are sitting on a gold mine, in terms of property they own. The creeping appetite of the Jewish settlers and developers will eventu- ally expropriate the Patriarchate of its real estate holdings, under the benevolent eyes of the Israeli authorities.
Yet, against these raging appetites, we have a comatose and mori- bund Patriarch and a divided Brotherhood unable to manage its affairs.
Although the smallest of the quarters in Jerusalem, along with Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters, the Armenian Quarter cov- ers one-sixth of the Old City. But the Patriarchate also owns prop- erty outside the limits of the Old City, which it has notoriously mis- managed over the centuries.
Armenians have sporadically faced “Jerusalem crises” alarming the world Armenian community to run for rescue, but then, trans- parency and accountability are not in the lexicon of the Patriarchate.
The treasures and properties accumulated over the centuries are the gifts of the Armenian people entrusted to the Brotherhood, who are supposed to act only as the custodian of that wealth. But very few spiritual leaders have realized that role; most of them have acted as if they owned the holy places.
That is certainly not a criticism directed toward any particular patriarch or brotherhood.
A case in point was another historic crisis erupted in 1914, just before World War I and the Armenian Genocide. At that time the Jerusalem Patriarchate was under the tutelage of the Armenian National Central Council in Istanbul, which decided to dispatch a delegation headed by two prominent leaders to resolve the crisis. One of those leaders was Archbishop Malachia Ormanian, himself a historic figure as a former patriarch and maker of history through his masterful studies on the history of the Armenian Church and its theology. The other leader was Vahan Tekeyan, a world-class poet and a public figure of impeccable integrity.
As soon as the delegation arrived in Jerusalem, Archbishop Ormanian connived with the clergy of the Brotherhood to make the presence of Tekeyan irrelevant. Then the war started and every- thing fell into further disarray.
This is an endemic problem; every time a higher body tries to exercise some authority to put the house in order in Jerusalem, the clergy gang up and they declare their fierce independence, with an arrogance that “we know better.”
But that bravura is exercised only against Armenian authority, lay or spiritual. When it comes to any ruling authority, the brotherhood is docile and pliant. That is where we lose.
The Russian church in Jerusalem benefited tremendously from Moscow even during the Soviet period. But our clergy are loath to encourage any protective move by the Armenian government or even by the Supreme Spiritual head of the Armenian Church or any other entity.
This overreaction to any outside advice or help is protected by a law, which governs the holy places. That law was promulgated in 1852 through a decree by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majid, known as the Status Quo, which regulates the rights, privileges and the authority of different religions. The law has been exercised by the Ottoman, British Colonial, Jordanian and Israeli authorities.
On the one hand, it protects different religions and entities against encroachments by the ruling powers and on the other hand it leaves the destiny of a huge wealth in the hands of a beleaguered Brotherhood.
The last few years there was talk to convince the St. James Brotherhood to plan a smooth succession, as the Patriarch’s health was deteriorating. During the last year, a convocation of the Brotherhood was cancelled twice. Its major agenda was to elect a coadjutor patriarch.
This tricky succession requires an amendment to the Patriarchate’s by-laws, and one was prepared. However, the pro- crastination of the Patriarch led to the present impasse.
Today the Grand Sacristan of the Patriarchate, Archbishop Nourhan Manoukian, has assumed the responsibility of running day-to-day operation of the Patriarchate.
Unfortunately, the Patriarch’s recovery is not in the cards. There is a worldwide silence, which is very dangerous. The candidates who can succeed and stabilize the situation do not seem interested. On the other hand, candidates who are ready to ascend the throne and emulate the late Patriarch Yeghishe Derderian’s extravagant lifestyle are ready to seize the opportunity.
It is not only the material wealth of the Patriarchate that is at stake, but also its cultural and historic treasures. The attempted sale of 28 illuminated manuscripts at Sotheby’s in London some years ago is still a searing memory. Turkish and Israeli authori- ties also keep a watchful eye on the archives of the Istanbul Patriarchate transferred to Jerusalem for safe keeping during World War I. They contain incriminating documents about the Genocide.
Jerusalem is everybody’s concern and, yes, every Armenian’s busi- ness. The Brotherhood needs to reach out to the world Armenian community, over and beyond the Status Quo provisions and elect a worthy successor and also enlist the cooperation of real estate and financial experts to salvage our legacy in the Holy Land.
Let us pray for the good health of our ailing Patriarch but above all let us pray for the endangered future of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, which is in limbo.
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/03/08/commentary-armenian-jerusalem-in-limbo/
additional information about Armenia’s historical roots in Jerusalem
http://www.armenianchurchwd.com/news/additional-funds-needed-for-urgent-renovation-projects-of-the-armenian-patriarchate-of-jerusalem/
http://www.haytoug.org/3246/jerusalem-a-souvenir-from-the-armenian-quarter

Vanessa Kachadurian Armenian Manuscripts

The greatest treasure of the Armenian people are their ancient manuscripts. Most Armenian manuscripts are related to Medieval Armenian art as well as to the Byzantine tradition. The oldest Armenian manuscript preserved comes from the Golden Age of Armenian art and literature in the 5th century. The Illuminated manuscripts distinguish for their unique designs that present the culture and pass the power of art and language to the generations.
The biggest collection of Armenian manuscripts are stored in Matenadaran, while a larger collection of Armenian illuminated manuscripts is kept in the library of the Armenian Patriarchy of Jerusalem . Many other smaller collections are kept in the British Library, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Mkhitaryan Brotherhood of Venice, Vienna, as well as in the U.S.
The history of the Armenian manuscripts began in 405, after Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet and the first handwritten book which was the Bible. The Armenian books were all handwritten before the 14th century.
The major part of the manuscripts are books. They were written on sheets of parchment, and later, on paper.
Armenian illuminated manuscripts are of various forms, including the prayer roll, which originally held images from Biblical passages and the Armenian iconography. The prayer rolls might consist of iconography applicable to panels depicting important moments in the life of Jesus Christ, as well as images presenting the history of Armenia or the Armenian church. These involved St. Gregory the Illuminator for introducing Christianity to Armenia in 301 A.D. Prayer rolls were usually narrow and consisted of religious images and texts. They often served to protect the owner and his family. Those rolls were usually rather long though there were no exact sizes, as it depended on the number of panels included there. The protection of the prayer rolls were of utmost importance, as the manuscripts and prayer rolls had important value and were targets of thieves. Devoted Armenian believers treated manuscripts and other artworks that belonged to the Church with great respect as the church and what it taught was an essential part of the medieval Armenian life.
There are about 30.000 Armenian manuscripts all over the world, 17.000 of which are stored in Armenia.
The Armenian manuscripts have had the same destiny as the nation being influenced by many invasions. But Armenian have always protected their national treasures repairing them. They have even treated them as live creatures, which is recorded in historic works. There are many storied preserved up to today telling us how Armenians sacrificed themselves to preserve their national treasures, which is the basis of their survival as a nation.
http://www.ginosi.com/en/blog/2012/3/8/armenian-manuscripts---a-dive-into-ancient-history

Vanessa Kachadurian-Armenian Women of History

The Forgotten Faces of Armenian Women in History

http://www.epress.am/en/2012/03/08/the-forgotten-faces-of-armenian-women-in-history.html

The Forgotten Faces of Armenian Women in History
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Women’s Resource Center of Armenia (WRCA) has launched a blog as part of its campaign to mark women’s month (Mar. 8 to Apr. 7).
The project, titled “30 Women, 30 Days,” will include one blog post a day on an an outstanding woman who has played an important role in Armenian society, culture, politics, science and other areas.
Today’s post is about Diana Abgar, Armenia’s first female ambassador in the east.
Abgar [whose real name was Anahit Aghabek (Aghabekyan)] was born in 1859 in Burma of Armenian parents from Persia (Iran) and grew up in India. In 1889, she married a Hong Kong merchant Mickael Abgar and moved to Japan where she started her literature career. After the death of her husband in 1906, she went to Yokohama with her children. In 1919, she was appointed consul general of the Republic of Armenia in Japan and became the first female ambassador in the east to occupy a diplomatic position. Abgar wrote books, editorials and appeals for her country in several languages and during the Armenian Genocide, she helped a number of Armenian refugees, who through Siberia and Japan were moving to the USA. Abgar died in 1937 in Yokohama.
The WRCA has planned other events as part of the campaign, which includes a walk at 4 pm today titled “You deserve to be happy.” The walk will begin from the Women’s Resource Center on Teryan 62 and end at the Swan lake, near the Opera.
“During the march, activists will distribute paper flowers to women with empowering messages to remind them about their achievements and rights in society,” reads the notice on the WRCA’s website
http://armenianwomen.wordpress.com/

Vanessa Kachadurian - Armenian Diaspora launches virtual museum

Artak Barseghyan
“Radiolur”

Today the Ministry of Diaspora launched the trilingual Virtual Museum of Armenian Diaspora at www.armdiasporamuseum.com.

“Armenians are one nation regardless of the residence, and Armenia is the Homeland of all Armenians. This was the idea that became the slogan of the museum,” Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan said during the presentation of the new website.

The aim of the Virtual Museum of Armenian Diaspora is to introduce the history of Armenian people, the present and the future. The project will make the history, cultural heritage and achievements of Armenian people available to public, will develop and inculcate among the young people of Diaspora the idea of Armenian national identity, the feeling of pride for belonging to the Armenian nation, will make Armenian communities of Diaspora recognizable to each other. It is also called to strengthen the ties between Homeland and Diaspora, as well as between Armenian communities of Diaspora.

The website is still available only in Eastern Armenian, Russian and English. The classical Armenian version will be prepared in the near future.

Vanessa Kachadurian- Armenia celebrates over 500 years of printing

500th Anniversary of Armenian Printing Celebrated by TCA
Posted on March 16, 2012 by Editor
By Kevork Keushkerian
ALTADENA, Calif. — The Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) Pasadena-Glendale Chapter hosted a lecture on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing. It took place on Sunday, March 4, at the Beshgeturian Center. Rev. Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian was the guest lecturer. Very Rev. Kegham Zakarian and George Mandossian, vice president of TCA’s Central Board of Directors, were among the attendees.
Kevork Keushkerian, who made the opening remarks, noted that a unique exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the first Armenian printed book will be held in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC for three months, starting in April. He then introduced Arzoumanian, who spoke next.
Arzaoumanian was born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1949, he went to the seminary of Antelias in Lebanon and was ordained a celibate priest in 1954. After serving in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for two years as the parish priest of the Armenian Church there, he went to London to further his studies.
Arzoumanian came to the United States in 1962 and served as parish priest in the Eastern Diocese for 40 years — first in Philadelphia and then in Boca Raton, Fla. He was then invited to the Western Diocese, where he served as the parish priest of St. Gregory Armenian Church in Pasadena for three years. He is now retired and lives with his wife, Joyce, in Glendale.
Arzoumanian received his doctorate in eastern languages and history from Columbia University in 1983. He is well known for publishing the History of the Armenian Church from 1900 to 1995. This is considered to be the continuation of Patriarch Malachia Ormanian’s famous Azkabadoum.
Arzoumanian began his lecture by discussing the origin of Armenian printing. The first Armenian book was printed in 1512 in Venice, Italy, by Hagop Meghabard. It was a secular book called Ourpatakeerk. This was followed by five other books, including the Liturgical Book, which is placed on the alter and used by the priest during Divine Liturgy. Arzoumanian noted that Venice should not be confused with the Mkhitarian Monastery on St. Lazarus Island, which came into existence some 200 years later.
The first Armenian Bible was printed in Amsterdam, Holland, exactly 150 years after the printing of the first Armenian book in Venice. It was printed by Vosgan Vartabed Yerevantsi and commissioned by the Holy See of Echmiadzin.
After Amsterdam, the printing of Armenian books continued in Istanbul, Turkey, before a print shop was established in the Holy See of Echmiadzin. Arzoumanian concluded his lec- ture with a short question-and-answer session.
Afterwards, Keushkerian recited related sections from a poem dedicated to Mesrob Mashdots by Siamanto. Khatchig Nahabedian then performed a song dedicated to the Armenian language. The evening ended with a light reception for the audience.
TCA Pasadena-Glendale chapter’s next event will be the commemoration of the Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova’s 300th birthday. It will be held on Sunday, May 20, at the Beshgeturian Center; guest lecturer will be musicologist-conductor Vatsche Barsoumian, the director of Lark Musical Society.
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/03/16/500th-anniversary-of-armenian-printing-celebrated-by-tca/