Sculpting the Bust of Nerses the Great and the Statue of David

Vahe H. Apelian

Did Michaelangelo sculpt the statue of David in its entirity?

Not necessarily. Let me explain why do I think so.

Years ago Albert Arakelian, an Armenian sculptor from Armenia sculpted the bust of Nerses The Great with a background depicting Armenian cross-stone and had the two pieces placed on the grounds of the Home For The Armenian Aged, presently called Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He did the sculpting all by himself in the one-room storage that was on the grounds at that time. He donated his artistry to the Home as a gesture of his appreciation because the Home of the Armenian Aged had provided him and his family room and board on the second floor. The seond floor is not used for resident care and reained mostly unoccupied.

I was a member of the Board of Trustees at that time and I was tasked to assist him in purchasing the pieces of the marble for this sculpting. It is from him that I learned that the sculptor does not necessarily sculpt the whole piece by himself. He told me that in Armenia there are certified chiselers who do that under the supervision of the sculptor.

What does a sculptor do and how is piece sculpted then?

Albert first prepared a small clay model of the bust. He worked the details on the clay model. He then had a solid gypsum cast made from the clay model. He told me that what distinguishes the sculptor from a chiseler is the sculptor’s artistic creation.

Once the gypsum cast was ready, he and I went to a dealer and bought the two pieces of the marble, one for the bust and the other for sculpting Armenian cross-stone for the background. Based on the size of marble piece and his gypsum model, he estimated how much to enlarge the gypsum cast model to fit the marble piece. He measured the different features on the gypsum model with a compass like measuring device he fabricted and had the gymsum model enlarged so many times. He tmarked the marble piece accordingly and started chiseling to sculpt.

He sculpted the whole piece. He said that had it been in Armenia he would have certified chiselers do that under his supervision because chiseling the stone is a very tedious and lengthy process. In this case, the process took longer than what he had experienced in Armenia because the marble is a very hard. He told me that Armenia’s famous volcanic rock called douf is relatively soft when quarried and lends itself to sculpting with relative ease and that it gets harder and harder when exposed to the elements. The longer the sculpted douf rocks are exposed to the elements of nature, the harder they get.

The other challenge he encountered was imperfection is the solid white marble in appearance. Colored veins appeared as he chiseled the marble and thus had to work around them by chiselling more of the marble to get rid of such veins while keeping the features of the bust.

Albert had a lot of experience and hence overcame such challenges. Recently I read about a young Armenian girl from Lebanon, Narine Poladian, who has moved to Armenia and has learned sculpting cross-stones and is working in that capacity. Over time she design her own and have assistants to carve her artistic creations.

I had always thought that Michelangelo sculpted the statue of David head to toe. After witnessing what Albert Arakelian did, I now remain skeptical that he sculpted the entire statue by himself. Surely he made a small model of David’s statue and had the model enlarged so many times to fit the piece of the exquisite marble he used but I envision that in all probability he had chiselers who chiseled the marble under his supervison based on the model he had created. Surely he did the finishing touches to create that exquisite piece for all times.

Naturally, Albert Arakelian did not know about the founding of the Home and wondered what to sculpt. I suggested to him to sculpt the bust of Neses the Great and presented him with a fictional drawing I had come across. Sculpting the likeness with its overflowing beard was a huge challenge but Albert Arakelian accepted the challenge.

Archbishop Karekin Hovsepian was the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the United States since 1936. He was elected Catholicos on May 10, 1944, but had not left the country to occupy his seat in the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon due to the raging of the great-war, often referred to as the Second World War. It was Catholicos Karekin I who suggested that the newly found Home For The Armenian Aged be dedicated to the Catholicos Nerses the Great whose patriarchate marked a new era in Armenian history. “Until that point, the Church had been more or less identified with the royal family and the nobles; Nerses brought it into closer connection with the people. At the Council of Ashtishat he promulgated numerous laws on marriage, fast days, and divine worship. He built schools and hospitals and sent monks throughout the land to preach the Gospel/” (Wikipedia).

Albert Arakelian’s sculpted bust stands on the grounds of the Armenian Home in Emerson, NJ with a plaque gratefully acknowledging his artistry.

Ohan Tabakian M.D. and the Dreamy Haleb

Vahe H. Apelian

Ohan Tabakian, M.D

Ohan Tabakian was a teacher of mine when I graduated from Sourp Nshan in 1962. From kindergarten to the 9th-grade graduating class, I was a student there.  I had noted that our graduating senior class had an unusual array of teachers who were part-timers because they were continuing their education. Naturally we looked upon them as sources of high authority and senior figures but in reality and hindsight, we students and they as teachers were contemporaries. Naturally, they were older than us by a few years but in all probability less than a decade

After my graduation, we parted ways. I have no recollection of having met them in person since. But lately thanks to the social medium I have connected with two of them. Most of the rest have passed away. 

Ohan Tabakian taught us chemistry while he was pursuing his medical education in the Université Saint-Joseph. Recently he published two books. One book is a collection of stories and anecdotes about his medical practice. Each story ends with a thoughtful conclusion about aspects of the life his patients lived. The other is a collection of stories about his formative years living in Aleppo. He graciously gifted me a copy of his books.

The following is noted in the short biography stated in his books.

Ohan Tabakian, M.D. received his primary education in Haigazian School in Aleppo and his secondary education in the Lycée français d'Alep Mission laïque Française in Aleppo as well.

He received his medical school diploma in 1964 from the Saint Joseph University in Lebanon and a few years later he immigrated to Canada where he continued his specialty training in Hotel Dieu hospital in Montreal, Canada. He authored and co-authored research articles in French and general health-related articles in Armenian periodicals.

He has been a member of the Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Association from his youth and over the years he has assumed responsible roles in the same. He continues to be active in the Montreal Armenian communal life.

It would be worthwhile to note that his book about his life in Aleppo in his formative years will be the third book I will be reading about Haleb, the Armenian Aleppo. The first is Antranig Zarougian’s book whose title “Dreamy Haleb” (Yerazayin Haleb – Երազային Հալէպ) has become a commonplace expression about the post-genocide Armenian experience in Aleppo. The second book I read is Zaven Khanjian’s book titled “Aleppo First Station” (Haleb Arachin Gayaran – Հալէպ Առաջին Կայարան). Ohan Tabakian’s book is titled  “Memories and Reminiscences From Dreamy Aleppo” (Housher yev Abroumner Yerazayin Haleben – Յուշեր եւ Ապրումներ Երազային Հալէպէն)

No doubt that the Armenian experience in Aleppo has left an indelible favorable impression on those who grew up amid the vibrant Armenian community in the city. Otherwise we would not have encountered such books about it. Viken L. Attarian succinctly noted the following about Aleppo. “Haleb is undoubtedly a milestone in the evolution of our Armenian Diasporan identity of the post-Genocide period.  I believe that it is there that the future community of Beirut was forged, and from then on to the different realities of our existence in the West.  In the great migration of our people, Haleb was the first place of a Great Gathering after the initial murderous big bang of the Great Dispersion. The above applies to all aspects of community life, whether they be historical, cultural, political, artistic, literary and so on.  This is not to minimize the roles of other places.  Far from it, but if there are temporal and geographic points of reference around which our existence coalesced after 1915, Haleb was surely the first.”

We all know that the Armenian community in Aleppo, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the city, faced lately an existential experience because of the raging civil war in Syria. It is claimed that the overwhelming majority of the Armenians living in the city have left it and dispersed all over the globe.

In his book about Aleppo, Antranig Dzarougian noted the following. “I have had numerous occasions to write and speak about Haleb Armenians in large halls, in front of hundreds of people. Let me say my real thoughts from the heart. However the number of Haleb Armenians dwindles, the root remains. I remain with a deep conviction that the Haleb Armenian is the rose of the Diaspora. If we liken the Armenian Diaspora to a tasty fruit, its seed has come from Haleb.” 

The war-torn city of Aleppo endures so do the remaining Armenian inhabitants of the city and Haleb, the Armenian Aleppo, remains indelibly entrenched in the memories of those who lived in city once, including Ohan Tabakian’s.

“Memories and Reminiscences From Dreamy Aleppo” by Ohan Tabakian M.D.

"Anecdotes From A Physician's Life" By Ohan Tabakian  M.D.

The Lord’s Prayer: Do VORBES and INCHBES mean AS?

Vahe H. Apelian

Recently Pope Francis made waves when he approved an updated translation of the Lord’s Prayer changing it to read “Do Not Let Us Fall Into Temptation” instead of the customarily recited “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”. One cannot argue against his choice of the verbiage. Surely the Lord does not lead us into temptation.

Historians claim that the Bible was first translated in Armenian in 434, naturally after the discovery of the Armenian alphabet. Linguists claim the original translation of the Bible in Classical Armenian is so pristine that it is called the “the Queen of the Translations” (Թագուհի Թարգմանչաց). The Armenian Apostolic Church uses this version of the  Bible to this day.

The Armenian vernacular translation of the Bible came about in the 19th century due to the movement that gave birth to the Armenian Evangelical Community. The translation from the classical to the vernacular inevitably brought in words that appear not to convey the same or not to convey the intent with same intensity and depth.

It was interesting for me to read recently an exchange between my maternal cousin Jack Chelebian and paternal cousin Ara Apelian. Both are physicians and both are avid readers both in Armenian and in English. Their exchange highlighted nuances in the wording of the Proverb 1:2 which the Armenian tradition claims, is the very first phrase that the translators translated. They found that the Proverb in the Vernacular Armenian is not as eloquent as the original in Classical Armenian and does not coney the same depth. Such is my opinion as well.

Years ago, my mother pointed out to me a similar situation between the  Classical and Vernacular Armenian translations of the Lord’s Prayer, pertaining to the following sentence.

«Եւ թող մեզ զպարտիս մեր, ՈՐՊԷՍ և մեք թողումք մերոց պարտապանաց» (Գրաբար)

« Եվ մեզ ներիր մեր պարտքերը, ԻՆՉՊԵՍ մենք կներենք մեր պարտապաններին» (Աշխարհաբար)

“and forgive us our trespasses, AS we forgive those who trespass against us”

First, let me dwell on the word AS in English. Often, whenever I recite the Lord’s Prayer in English, I am reminded of the following when it comes to the word AS. A physician telling his patient: “Do AS I tell you, but do not do AS I do”. In the first instance, the word AS conveys instruction by the higher authority, the physician, to the patient. In the second instance, the word AS conveys not acting as the person does. In the latter case the word AS links two actions, much like saying “ I was listening to music AS I was reading”. In both instances, I find the use of the word AS in the Lord’s Prayer, out of place because the one who prays seems to tell the Lord to do towards the person as the person does toward others; consequently, the person presents himself or herself as a role model for the Lord to emulate. Or at best, invites the Lord to do as the person does. In both instances, I believe, the use of the word AS violates the essence of the prayer because I believe that a person prays the Lord to forgives his trespasses SO THAT he can forgive others. Surely someone whose trespasses the Lord has not forgiven cannot possibly have a devine authority in the person’s sinful self, to forgive the tresspasses of others.

The Lord’s Prayer in Vernacular Armenian vernacular conveys what AS conveys in the English and hence uses the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), which means AS.

The Lord’s Prayer in Classical Armenian, on the other hand, uses a completely different word, ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). All the rest of the words of the Lord’s Prayer both in Classical and Vernacular are phonetically similar to each other and mean the same with the exception of these two words ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES) and ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). Although phonetically difference does not necessary means differences in the meaning. Sounding the Lord’s Prayer in Classical and in Vernacular Armenian, I remain under the impression that I am not reciting the same. I remain under the impression the word VORBES in Classical Armenian is more closely related to the Venracular Armenian  word VORBESZI (ՈՐՊԷՍԶԻ), meaning SO THAT, than the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), meaning AS.

Let us face it. Words in a language have inherent nuances that evolve over time and have profound implication in our daily use. For an example. Both of my parents have  passed away. During their lifetime I could not, nor would I do now, use the word love as a verb when addressing my affection to them. Let me state it in Armenian  “Hayr gam mayr yes tzezi  shad ge serem” (Հայր կամ Մայր ես ձեզի շատ կը սիրեմ). But in English one could use the verb love with the same comfort as loving a certain ice cream flavor or expressing affection to one’s Dad or Mom. 

I continue to remain unsure whether VORBES in Classical Armenian and INCHBES in Vernacular Armenian, when reciting the Lord’s Prayer, convey the same.

Shoushdag (Շուշտակ)

By Armenag Yeghiayan

Translated by Vahe H Apelian

 

“ To begin, let me state that it would not have crossed my mind that one day I may end writing about this word. But that is what is happening. Therefore everything is possible under this moon.

It happened because an inquisitive friend wanted to know the meaning of the word shoushdag(շուշտակ).

I was getting ready to answer him by letting him know that he can open a dictionary and find out the meaning. But I wanted to assure myself if the word is indeed included in the dictionary. So, I opened the very first dictionary I came across in my library.  It was Father Granian’s explanatory dictionary where I read that shoushdag is a word used to describe a celibate priest who was married before he became one. A dictionary would not have understandably elaborated further. But,I always maintain that my friends need to know a bit more. That is what I attempt to do with this article without going further into the details.

Instead of Granian’s dictionary, had I opened Hrachia Acharian’s (Ajarian) Armenian ethymological dictionary, I would have read the following: shoushdag means handkerchief(թաշկինակ). No more and no less, just one word, handkerchief (թաշկինակ).

I guess the matter started getting complicated. Is it not so? One dictionary says, “celibate priest” while the other, no less and no more, a “handkerchief”. Still, you will be bewildered more should you resort to Stepan Malkhashian’s dictionary. There you will find that shoushdag means a woman’s scarf in the shape of a crescent, in a half-moon shape.

Now, try to find a common thread among these three meanings for the same word stated in three dictionaries in order to make some sense of the word shoushdag. 

That is what I will attempt to do.

***

Shoushdag is a word borrowed from Persian that in all likelihood came onto the Armenian lexicon some 2000 years ago when we had no church or clergyman. The word conveyed ordinary scarf women wore. In the time the word got likened to a half-moon as it covered half of a woman’s forehead.

Centuries went by and Christianity made in-roads in Armenia. Celibate priests who were married once, much like Father Granian, covered their head with a shoushdag but not necessarily after the death of their wives, as I will elaborate further. Such celibate priest wore a shoushdag below his hood, covering half of his forehead, as a visible distinction of his  former marital state among the celibate priests.

What makes it interesting is that the celibate priests who wore shoushdag were called the same.  Such things are nuances of a language that should not astonish us, nor should we dwell too much on it.

Consequently, the state of having to wear a shoushdag, although not something to be encouraged, has existed in the norms of the Armenian church since old times.

Just to begin, it’s noteworthy to note that Gregory the Illuminator (Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ) was a shoushdag.

After being exiled to Caesarea (Kayseri), he lived his first few decades there where he married a lady by the name Mariam and had two sons from her  Vrtanes (Վրթանէս) and Aristakes (Aristaces) (Արիստակէս). One day he experienced a spiritual awakening and severed his marital relations from her. Mariam secluded herself in a monastery with her son Aristakes, who was still in his youth. Vrtanes was already a young adult who conscripted in the local armed forces. Gregory having unburdened himself from parental responsibility became a lay preacher.

It so happened that the Armenian King Drtag was passing through Casarea (Kayseri) as he was returning from Rome with his 3000 strong army.  Gregory mingled with the pagan army, as it offered him an inexhaustible venue for preaching and arrived in Armenia with them.  Readers know the rest of the history. Having refused to take part in heathen rituals, Gregory was imprisoned in the deep dungeon (Խոր վիրապ). He was freed from the dungeon and became the first Catholicos of All Armenians when his wife and his two children were still alive. Later on, he summoned his two sons. Both of them became catholicos in their times. First Aristakes and after his martyrdom, his brother Vrtanes who was already married and had a wife and two children.

Nothing else is mentioned about Gregory’s wife.

Catholicos Sahag Bartev was a shoushdag as well.

 He was married and had a daughter named Sahaganoush.  After his wife’s death – although it is not conclusively known whether she was dead – he became a celibate priest. He grandfathered when he was a catholicos because Sahaganoush got married and had three sons, the firstborn was Vartan Mamigonian. There came a time when Sahag Bartev was the Catholicos of All Armenians and his grandson Vartan Mamigonian was the commander-in-chief of the Armenian army. 

A shoushdag was Khosrof Antsevatsi (Խոսրով  Անձեւացի), the father of Gregory of Nareg (Krikor Naregatsi). Khorof Antsevatsi became a celibate priest after the death of his wife from whom he had fathered three sons, Gregory and Hovhannes, in turn, became celibate priests but his son Sahag remained a layperson.

A shoushdag was also Khrimian Hayrig.

He was married and had a child. It happened that both his wife and his child died. Distraught at their death – although he bore some responsibility because of his lengthy absence from his family – he gave up on his life as a lay person and became a celibate priest and became Catholicos of All Armenians.

Should we take into consideration that the Catholicos Sahag,  was the son of Catholicos Nerses the Great (Ներսէս Մեծին) who was a grandson to Catholicos Houseg (Housik) who, in turn, was the son Catholicos Vrtanes and consequently the grandson Gregory the Illuminator, we realize that a rather unique situation prevailed among the ecclesiastical and the temporal rulers of Armenia in those centuries.

In year 62 the Armenian royalty passed to the Arshagouny (Arshakuni or Arsacid dynasty) who were Bartevs (a royal dynasty of Perthia). Their descendants ruled Armenia until 428. 

The ecclesiastical rule in Armenia started with the enthronement of Gregory the Illuminator, who also hailed from the royal family of Bartev, and the ecclesiastical throne remained hereditary pertaining to the royal Arshagouny dynasty  until the death of his descendent Catholicos Sahag in 439. It ended with Catholicos St Sahak as he did not have children.

Can we attribute the start of the ecclesiastical hereditary succession in those years because the founding ecclesiestical father was, as well as his children and some of their descendants, were shoushdag ? Some ascribe the herditary  succession at the helm of the early Armenian Church to that. However, it's more logical to ascribe the hereditary succession to the right of the clergy to get married in those (early) years when the Christian Church had not instituted celibacy,

The right of the priest to marry may be a fruit for thought for another article."

They Were Teachers of Mine: ARMENAG YEGHIAYAN (2/2)

Vahe H. Apelian

From kindergarten to my graduation from the but  9^th grade, which would somewhat be equivalent to graduating middle-school, I was a student in the Sourp (Saint) Nshan Armenian school in West Beirut, in the Zokak-el- Blat neighborhood which was then the hub of the Armenian community in West Beirut. The last three of my high school years were in the Armenian Evangelical College (A.E.C).

Saint Nshan, Hovagimian-Manougian High School, Nshan Palanjian Djemaran, Demirjian elementary school were almost next to each other while the Armenian Evangelical College High School (A.E.C.) was a bit further, but still well within a walking distance.

I graduated from Sourp Nshan in 1962. Our graduating senior year had an unusual array of teachers who were part timers because they were either continuing their education or taught / worked primarily elsewhere. Naturally we looked upon them as sources of high authority and senior figures but in reality and in hindsight we students and many of them as our teachers were contemporaries. They were, naturally, older than us by a few years but well less than a decade

After my graduation we parted ways. I have no recollection of having met them in person since. But lately thanks to the social medium I have connected with two of them, Ohan Tabakian, M.D., who resides in Montreal, and Dr. Armenag Yegiayan, who continues to reside in Beirut. Most of the rest have passed away. 

Armenag Yeghiayan was one of such teachers. He was studying dentistry when he taught us mathematics. We knew, that he and a one of students, who was a junior to us, had fallen in love. It turned out that after our graduation they were married. He finished his studies and set up his dentistry clinic and last year wrote an interesting article about aspects of life pertaining to the Armenian community in East Beirut, notably Bourj Hamoud some of which had to do with his professional practice. (See http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2018/01/christmas-fairytales-from-bourj-hammoud.html).

Over the years Dr. Yeghiayan has distinguished himself as an expert on the Armenian language, especially the Western Armenian. He regularly comments on the proper and correct use of the Western Armenian language. He does not spare the editors for their negligence at times.

A few years ago I established contact with him through social medium. He let me know that he has authored a book on the Armenian language, its grammar and dictation. I understood from him that his book was selected for publication but due to some issues he had with the publishers he held his manuscript back. Students are shrewd judge of their teachers’ character. We knew that he had an independent streak in him.  He remains the master of his voice and continues to admonish at times those who remain inattentive to the correct us of the Armenian language.

Recently he wrote and shared with his friends an interesting article titled “Shoushdag”. I translated that article as well and I will post it soon. He had liked my translations.  I hope he will like the upcoming as well.

Armenian Condolence on the Assassination of President Lincoln

Recently I came across an article in the October 27, 1990 issue of "The Armenian Mirror Spectator" by Mark Kalustian in which he describes the serendipitous turn of events that lead him to come across a letter from the Armenian Protestant Community in Constantinople to the “Honored Minister of the United States of America”, (Hon. E. Jay Morris in Washington, D.C.) at the sad occasion of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. The letter makes for an interesting reading. I have reproduced it here.  Vahe H. Apelian

“Honored Minister of the United States of America

The Armenian Protestant community of Constantinople has the honor to wait upon you, on the occasion of the deplorable occurrence which has plaqued the government of the United States of America in mourning, for the purpose of offering a respectable expression of our horror of the detestable crime, and of our profound sympathy in the grief of a people which has always taken so active an interest in our welfare.

We have learned with the deepest pain and regret that the execrable act of a vile assassin has deprived the great republic of the New World of its beloved and talented President, the lamented Abraham Lincoln, and greatly endangered the life of William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

The Almighty in his inscrutable providence has visited upon a great nation with the most poignant of afflictions in the midst of its joy for the prospect of an early restoration of the blessings of peace, without permitting its illustrious Chief Magistrate to enjoy the fruits of his patriotic labors, as interesting to the nation over which he presided as to the universal cause of humanity. In the death of Abraham Lincoln the world has lost a bright Christian example and a man of irreproachable purity and honesty of character. As a statesman and a patriot he was among the most eminent of his age, and will, therefore in all time to come occupy a most prominent place in the history not only of his country, but in that of human race of which he was so great a benefactor.

Although so far separated from the scene from of his labors, we have been deeply interested spectators of his career, and rejoiced in the prospect of the termination of a struggle which had for its object the preservation of so good a government and the freedom of millions of human beings held in degraded bondage. Honor to the memory of so noble-hearted a philanthropist – to a government which has shown itself so fully able to preserve itself against an unhallowed attack upon its existence.

We are fully aware sir, that the great loss which your country has sustained cannot affect in the smallest degree its vigor or its vitality or arrest it in its destined career. Its wise Constitution provides for continuance of its principles under every possible contingency, and we have full confidence in the perfection of the humane policy of the deceased President under the eminent person who succeeds to his office.

May the Most High guide all the councils of the great American nation of the United States, so that it may continue to be, as it has always been heretofore been a bright beacon to the enlighten path of man in his loftiest aspirations, and in the preservation of those divine principles of benevolence and peace proclaimed by our beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We offer to yourself honored sir, and to the government and people of the United States of America this very inadequate expression of our sympathies on this mournful occasion, and beg you will do us the honor to convey them to the American government.

STEPAN SEROPYAN

Deputy of the Armenian Protestant Community

Constantinople,

May 10,1865‘

Under This Church's Roof

On the occasion of reviewing Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian's book: “The Genesis and Early Development of the Armenian Missionary Association of America” 

By Vahe H Apelian

2018 marked the centennial of the founding of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA). It was founded in the Armenian Church of the Martyrs in Worcester, MA.

Seizing the occasion,  Rev. Vahan H. Tootikian published a 112 pages long book detailing the history of the founding of the AMAA. The book is titled “The Genesis and Early Development of the Armenian Missionary Association of America”.  The book is published by the AMAA and is dedicated to the “Two Founding Fathers of the AMAA, Rev. Mihran T. Kalaidjian and Rev. Antranig A. Bedikian” and to “its 15 incorporators: Vahan S. Babasinian, Antranig A. Bedikian, Kapriel Bedrosian, Haroutune M Dadourian, Hagop M. Depoyan, Dikran B. Donchian, Aram G. Hejinian, Milton B. Ignatius, Minas S. Kondazian, Armenag Mahjoubian, John Moushekian, Garabed T. Pushman, Dikran M. Sarkissian, John G. Telfeyan, and Haig Y. Yardumian”. The author presented a brief biography of each and devoteտ a chapter to each of the two founding fathers. These esteemed gentlemen were all immigrants and hailed from their ancesteral towns such as Harpoot, Arabkir, Smyrna, Adana, Diarbekir, Caesarea, Marsovan.

The book retails for $20. I thank my former classmate Bejouhy Barsoumian Gulesserian, an AMAA Board member, for gifting me a copy of this book.

The founding of the AMAA took place in the Armenian Church of Martyrs in Worcester, MA on June 7, 1918. Zavan Khanjian, in the preface of the book wrote that “The genesis of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) in 1918 was neither easy nor spontaneous.” He further elaborated fnoting that “the Missionary Committee of the Armenian Evangelical Union (AEU) deliberated for two years. By the time its proposal was submitted to the 1918 AEU Convention, including a name and a constitution and by-laws, the convention was ready to embark on a very important mission”, which was the founding of the AMAA as we know today.

The book is comprised of 15 Chapters. For brevity, I will just list the heading of the chapters to give the reader a glimpse of the historical scope of the book in detailing the vision of those who made the founding of the AMAA possible and its subsequent evolution. These 15 Chapters are:

1.        Why in America?

2.        The Early Armenian Evangelical in America.

3.        The Missionary Committee of the AEU: Pioneer of the AMAA

4.        The Historic Session When AMAA Was Born

5.        The First Board of Directors of the AMAA

6.       Steps Toward Organizational Structure for the AMAA.

7.        The Constitution and Bylaws of the AMAA

8.        The AMAA’s early Expansion

9.        The Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Fund

10.     Rev. Mihran T. Kalaidjian’s Pivotal Role

11.    Hope in Spite of Crisis

12.    Light Through Darkness

13.    Competent Leaders in Depression Years

14.    A Momentous Anniversary and its Beneficial Effects

15.    Rev Antraig A. Bedikian: Founder and Crusader of the AMAA.

Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian commands an expert knowledge of the history of the Armenian Evangelical Movement. His authorship gives credence to the historical treatise the book encompasses in presenting a historical overview of the drive that founded the AMAA and the trials it overcame in its formative years to become the esteemed missionary association it is today. Rev. Vahan H. Tootikian is “a regular contributor to several papers and magazines, and is the author of forty-one books, six of which are currently used as college textbooks in North America and overseas”.

The Armenian Church of Martyrs where the AMAA was founded is named after the martyred victims of the Hamidian massacres. It is the oldest Armenian Church as a body of the faithful and its sanctuary is the oldest Armenian Church building still in use in America and exudes history. Solid wooden pews serve as the seating for the dwindeling attendants over the years and an impressive organ still accompanies their singing. A panel of three stain glass windows inscribed in Armenian adorns its alter. Their inscriptions read:IN MEMORY OF THE APOSTLES AND ELDERS – Ի ՅԻՇԱՏԱԿ ԱՌԱՔԵԼՈՑ ԵՒ ՀԱՅ ԵՐԻՑԱՑ; IN MEMORY OF THE HOLY ARMENIAN MARTYRS – Ի ՅԻՇԱՏԱԿ ՀԱՅՈՑ ՆԱՀԱՏԱԿԱՑ; IN MEMORY OF THE TRANSLATORS OF THE HOLY BOOK – Ի ՅԻՇԱՏԱԿ ԹԱՐԳՄԱՆՉԱՑ ՀԱՅԵՐԷՆ ՍՈՒՐԲ ԳՐՈՑ.

The Armenian wording around the alter alerts the worshippers to the solemnity of their presence. It reads:  THE LORD IS IN HIS SACRED TEMPLE, STAY SOLEMN IN FRONT OF HIM - ՏԷՐԸ ԻՐ ՍՈՒՐԲ ՏԱՃԱՐԻՆ ՄԷՋՆ Է ԱՆՈՐ ԵՐԵՍԻՆ ԱՌՋԵՒ ԼՈՒՌ ԿԵՑԻՐ. An Armenian bible printed in Constantinope in 1883 still stays open on its communion table that has the following inscribed on it in Armenian – DO THIS TO REMEMBER ME – ԱՍԻԿԱ ԸՐԷՔ ԶԻՍ ՅԻՇԵԼՈՒ ՀԱՄԱՐ. In short every other inch in the church is a reminder of the solemnity with which the early Armenian immigrants carried on their hopes, aspirations, and their vision in the “new world”. 

Most of the early, pre Genocide, Armenian immigrants gravitated to Worcester, MA as amply exemplified by the actual utterance of an early Armenian immigrant to the American immigration official in Ellis Island. When the latter welcomed the immigrant to the U.S., his response, which the eminent historican Dr. H. Martin Derounian used as the title of one of his three historical books, was: “no, no, Worcester is America”. 

Dr. Hagop Martin Derounian has donated many of the bibles in memory of his mother. The inscribed bibles are still on the pews. This year, on mother’s day, the church leadership presented a flower to the women in remembrance of Dr. H. Martin Deranian’s mother Varter. Her son had perpetuated remembering her annually with a bouquet of flowers on the podium on mother’s day for 87 years, from 1929 until his death on September 26, 2016. Many such esteemed individuals have graced the Armenian Church of the Martyrs and have passed away.

In the sanctuary, on the right hand sidewall next to the entrance, the AMAA and AEU have placed a plaque that bears the following inscription attesting to the historical milestones that took place under its roof and left a lasting impact not only in the life of the Armenian community in the United States but also across the globe. The plaque reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD

ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE MARTYRS

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

THE FIRST ARMENIAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA

1881 – Commenced with a prayer meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hovhannes Yezijian (writer).

1892 – Organized and established as a Congregational Church.

1901 – Church building erected – Dedicated December 1, 1901

1902 – Birthplace of the Armenian Evangelical Union.

1918 – Birthplace of the Armenian Missionary Association.

May 18, 1975.

In short every other inch in the church is a reminder of the solemnity with which the early Armenian immigrants carried on their hopes, aspirations, and their vision in the “new world”.