Keurkune's Historic Church: as a Stage -4

Vahe H. Apelian

 

In Armenian Characters, reading Turkish, "My house shall be called a house of prayer” Math: 21:13; Keurkune’’; Armenian Evangelical Church; January 8.98 foundation; July 21.99 completion.”  Courtesy George Azad Apelian

Keurkune’s church has served also as a stage where plays were acted. These plays were not acted for entertainment only but were for fund raising to renovate and repair the church. During its almost 125 years of existence the church has had major repairs, the last of which was in the aftermath of the March 21, 2014 sack of Kessab and torching of most of the churches including the sanctuary and the pastoral residence of the Keurkune’s church.

The first play for such an fund raising event seems to have been spearheaded by Ardashes kerbabian, who not long after, would be ordained as a minister and brought a lifelong service to the Armenian Evangelical community having  served the Armenian Evangelical church in Keurkune, Kessab, in Beirut, in Worcester, MA and in Cambridge, Canada where he passed away. The picture of the group that acted the play under Rev. Ardashes Kerbabian reached us courtesy of his cousin Raffi Kerbabian. The name of the play was “Genevieve”. We do not have pictures of the play on the stage but we have the picture of the actors and supporting staff pictured on the famous rock at Keurkune’s spring. The picture is attached below.

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The second picture of the play staged in Keurkune’s church reached us courtesy Dr. Hagop Tcholakian, the eminent scholar. He had unearthed the picture in Armenia and credited Antranig Kalpedian (Անդր. Գայբըտեան). The play was acted in 1947 and was a reenactment of the biblical Prodigal Son. My mother and my maternal uncle are among the players pictured on the doorsteps of the Keurkune’s church.

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The third and last play was staged under the direction of the late Kevork George Apelian. The title of the play was “The Valley of Tears” by Avedis Aharonian. It was staged in the church on September 10, 1965 commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and for fund raising.  

 More pictures can be seen in Facebook’s “Keurkune and Keurkunetisis to know and to preserve” site initiated and ably managed by Garo Konyalian. The posting of the pictures in the blog may help us identify all those who took part in these plays. 

A scene from the play "The Valley of Tears"