Irreplaceable and timeless heritage

This year we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and the community  adhering to it.  In Armenia we live in a tumultous period in the relationship of the mother church and the Armenian state. The relatively young Armenian Evangelical Church may be destined to have a historical role “in the cause for the spiritual revival of the nation.” Vaհe H Apelian

In a week, on July 1, we will celebrate the 180th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Constantinople. There is no doubt that there are legacies that are irreplaceable and timeless. Those are the words I chose to translate the titles of two books I will reference in the text.

A few days ago, I read that the Hamazkayin “Vahe Setian” Printing House has published a book that appears to be a collection of the literary works or thoughts of Moushegh Ishkhan, and has titled the book “Timeless (Անժամանցելի) Thoughts (Խոհեր).”

The unique title of that book reminded me of the  “Irreplaceable (Անփոխարինելի) Heritage (Ժառանգութիւն)” book by the late Rev. Barkev N. Darakjian. Perhaps  Hamazkayin's book  - “Irreplaceable Thoughts” - will reach America and I will have the opportunity to read it.

Rev. Bargev N. Darakjian’s book, “The Irreplaceable Heritage” was published in 2004 by the Armenian Missionary Association of America, Paramus, New Jersey. I have read the book. Frankly speaking I vaccilated to call it irreplaceable, and not indespensable or for that matter unsubstutable. Also, I resorted to calling the title of the book, a heritage and not a Legacy. The all powerful AI, compares and contrasts them as follows: both terms deal with what is passed down through time, heritage refers to what you receive from the past (culture, traditions, history), whereas legacy refers to what you leave behind for the future (your actions, impact, or financial assets).

I do not claim to have an expert knowledge of the history of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church. But I imagine that there could be any more authoritative work on the subject matter than  Rev. Barkev N. Darakjian exhaustive study. His book is a collection of his assays and presentations through his long service. Rev. Barkev N Darakjian was ordained in 1968 in Lebanon and passed away on April 6, 2023 in Glendale, CA.

I quote the following passages from Rev. Barkev D. Tarakjian’s book. The original quotes were reproduced in link below.

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“The heritage left by the Armenian Evangelical Movement is irreplaceable for us. Because our existence is valued by Armenianness, our Armenianness is meaningful by EVANGELISM, and our evangelism is valued by MOVEMENT. We believe that the anchor of our national existence is Armenianness, what gives meaning to our Armenianness is the Gospel, and the source of our movement and enthusiasm is the Holy Spirit. In other words, we dare to declare that our heritage ceases to be irreplaceable when we take away Armenianness, or the Evangelism, or the Movement.” (p. 17)

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“This magnificent jubilee celebration is dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Evangelical Association of America. It is dedicated to a church and a community that came into existence involuntarily as a separate collective and movement. Involuntarily, because none of the Armenian Evangelical forefathers ever thought of establishing a separate and independent church. However, the inevitable happened when, on July 1, 1946, in Constantinople, it was born with spiritual and physical suffering, and was worthily called the Armenian Evangelical Church.

As a humble student of the history of the Armenian Evangelical Movement, we could at this moment dwell at length on the indirect influences that gave birth to this church. However, this is not what is expected of us at this moment. This is neither the time nor the place to touch upon the detailed historical events that became thorns in the past, wounded hearts, and also served to separate brother from brother, and relatives from each other.

However premature this point of the lecture may seem, allow us to make an affirmation about the existence of the Evangelical Movement, which is also our sincere conviction. Based on historical data, it can be argued that the separation or division that occurred 125 years ago was a negative phenomenon, a harm, if you will. However, with the same strong conviction, we declare that God turned that unintentional and apparent harm into good and blessing. To clarify our mind, and looking at the incident from another angle, we can say that the Armenian Evangelical Church was born as an unwanted child, apparently against the will of its parents. It spent its childhood, adolescence, and many more years with the bitter feelings of an unwanted child; but served with warm filial love and care. In their days of distress and suffering, he comforted them; as they passed through the “valley of the shadow of death,” he inspired hope in them; when they were wounded, he bandaged their wounds, and cared for them with his modest means, until the hearts of the parents melted, and they began to recognize this unloved child and sympathize with him. And let us tell you, dear compatriots, sisters and brothers, that it is not too late for parents to press this child to their bosoms, that they may mutually confess their sins and, forgiving one another, cooperate in the cause of the spiritual revival of the nation.” (p. 22)  

Link: Անդփոխարինելի եւ Անժամանցելի: https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2026/06/blog-post.html