An Armenian Church’s Proud Existence in the Heart of Washington Heights

On July 27, 2011August 2, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn General Interest6 Comments

by Taleen Babayan

Holy Cross Church of Armenia, located on 187th St. in Washington Heights, NY

Though I grew up a mere 20 minutes from one of the most symbolic and historic churches in the United States, it wasn’t until last Sunday that I finally had the opportunity to experience Badarak at the Holy Cross Church of Armenia in Washington Heights, New York. While this church was modest compared to the grandiose and ornate ones I had seen in my life, both in the states and abroad, the presence and character of this sanctuary was anything but.

Standing inside the church during Badarak, I took in the stained glass windows depicting monumental figures in Armenian history, such as St. Vartan Mamigonian and St. Nersess Shnorali, the wooden pews sprinkled with attendants, and the majestic chandeliers overhead.

While listening to the “Der Voghormia” hymn, I couldn’t help but think back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Holy Cross was at its peak thanks to a vibrant and effervescent Armenian community that lived in the neighborhood and supported the church. At that time, Holy Cross boasted a Sunday School with record-high enrollments, an active Women’s Guild, and a talented choir, among other successful endeavors. As Der Carnig Hallajian, the guest celebrant that afternoon, said to me during our conversation, “Holy Cross was the most dynamic church in the country.”

Dynamic, yes, but the name Holy Cross soon created a buzz for another, more tragic reason – the assassination of Archbishop Ghevont Tourian.

Standing at the end of the pew, I thought back to the Christmas Eve service of 1933, when Archbishop Tourian was walking towards the altar before he was savagely attacked by members of an opposing political faction with a butcher’s knife, sealing his death moments later.

Despite this blight – not only in the annals of Holy Cross Church, but also in the history of the Armenian-American diaspora – Holy Cross persevered and continued to be an exemplary leader in the Eastern Diocese. Eventually, however, the demographics shifted and Holy Cross saw its parishioners move out of Washington Heights to nearby New York and New Jersey suburbs in the latter half of the 20^th century. That’s not to say that the church has been forgotten. While the church’s members aren’t in the thousands anymore, a core and dedicated group ensure the continuation of the church and Badarak services despite the absence of a full-time pastor.

Following services, the hospitable and warm parishioners greeted newcomers, including myself, and invited everyone downstairs to the coffee hour. Concluding my time at Holy Cross, I went outside and looked at the edifice for a few minutes. Despite the challenges the church has faced throughout its storied history, Holy Cross still stands proudly, eight decades after its consecration, symbolizing the commitment of Armenians to their Christian faith.

Holy Cross interior — Interior of the sanctuary

Charkapan — An icon of the Virgin and Child at Holy Cross Church of Armenia

1975 Issue of New Yorker features Memoirs of Writer Michael J. Arlen

On July 15, 2011July 25, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn General InterestLeave a comment

Sifting through a box of books recently donated to the Zohrab Center, I came across a copy of the “New Yorker” dated February 3, 1975. At first, it seemed puzzling as to why this issue would have been placed among books pertaining to Armenian history and literature. Flipping through the magazine — its pages by now yellowed, its retro ads enticing readers to get away to Bermuda or buy gowns at Saks Fifth Avenue — I was surprised to find “A Passage to Ararat,” the first installment of a three-part memoir by Michael J. Arlen.

The son of Dikran Kouyoumdjian, a prominent writer who took the pen name Michael Arlen, the younger Arlen was a respected “New Yorker” TV critic when he embarked on a trip to his ancestral lands to learn more about his Armenian heritage and his own unanswered questions of the Genocide. Following its debut in the “New Yorker,” the memoir was published as a book and went on to receive high accolades, including the 1976 National Book Award.

Click here to view an excerpt from the 1975 article.

Zohrab Center’s Book of the Week – The Other Voice: Armenian Women’s Poetry Through the Ages

On July 13, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn Book of the Week, Digitized Books1 Comment

by Jennifer Manoukian

As the title indicates, Diana Der-Hovanessian’s The Other Voice: Armenian Women’s Poetry through the Ages introduces readers to the work of over 50 female poets writing between the eighth century to modern day. Many of the poems featured in this collection, especially those written by contemporary poets writing both in the Diaspora and in the Republic of Armenia, appear for the first time in translation, widening the readership and the possibility for greater exploration into Armenian women’s poetry in the future.

Although readers may be more familiar with the poetry of Bedros Tourian or Vahan Tekeyan than with the poetry of their often lesser-known female counterparts, these female poets, frequently writing during the same periods and nourished by similar literary currents, provide an alternative perspective on society at any given time and expand our understanding of the reality gleaned from the work of male literary figures. It should be noted, however, that the female poets in this collection, especially those writing before 1915, represent an elite tier of Armenian society who had the good fortune of receiving an education in their mother tongue and having the leisure time to pursue their literary interests at a time when the vast majority of Armenians, both men and women, were unable to read or write. The earlier poets in this collection are therefore privileged women whose experiences, desires and ideas are not necessarily representative of their contemporaries.

Indicative of very different experiences across centuries and borders, the poets write in a variety of different forms and address a variety of different themes in their work. Beginning with anonymous folk chants and lullabies and an eighth century acrostic poem, there are also a great many ballades, odes and free verse poems in the collection. These poems vary greatly in subject matter, but generally focus on themes relating to two of the poets’ identities: their identities as women and as Armenians.

The poetry in this collection reveals an unwavering pride in their nation and in the unique experience of their sex that unites this otherwise very diverse group of women living in very different circumstances. The collection encourages the reader to reflect on the evolution of what it has meant to be an Armenian women and especially, given modern geographic, cultural and social differences, to reflect on what it means today.

Click here for a digitized version of the book.

The Zohrab Center’s Duplicate Books

On July 12, 2011July 12, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn General InterestLeave a comment

The Zohrab Center is currently in possession of duplicate copies of books, the originals of which have already been cataloged into our system. We are more than happy to give duplicate copies to individuals/organizations who would find them interesting or useful. Posted below is a list of some of these copies. If you are interested in any of these copies, please email zohrabcenter@gmail.com.

list.pdf

Actor Hrach Titizian Speaks about Broadway Debut, Career

On July 4, 2011July 4, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn Zohrab Center EventsLeave a comment

Hrach speaking about his acting career and role in the Broadway play "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo"

The plaza of St. Vartan Cathedral served as the stage for Broadway actor Hrach Titizian, who recently starred alongside Robin Williams in the critically acclaimed play “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.”

The Los Angeles-based actor took time out of his busy schedule and agreed to speak to a group of enthusiastic Armenian-Americans on Monday evening, June 20, in an event hosted by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) and the Armenian Network of America, Greater New York Region.

In New York City since last February, Hrach has been busy performing for sold-out audiences twice a day, six days a week. The play, written by Rajiv Joseph, takes place shortly after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, and examines the meaning of life amid destruction and despair. Hrach – very convincingly – played Uday, one of Saddam Hussein’s sons who is killed during the war. The play completed its run on July 3.

Hrach, 32, spoke about his role in “Bengal Tiger,” as well as his acting career, which includes roles in the hit television series “24,” “NCIS,” and “Alias,” among many others. Talented and humble–a rare mix in the entertainment industry–Hrach spent time after his talk signing autographs and greeting guests. The evening also featured traditional Armenian music by the John Vartan Ensemble and a wine and cheese reception.

-Taleen Babayan

Actor Hrach Titizian being interviewed by Karine Kocharyan of the Voice of Armenians news program

Summer Interns Begin New Projects in Zohrab Center

On June 23, 2011July 4, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn Zohrab Center InternsLeave a comment

The Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) has been a hub of activity in the summer weeks, as the library’s doors have opened to its summer interns.

The dedicated and diligent interns, including Armen Bandikian, Jennifer Manoukian, and Nicole Saglamer, have been working hands-on to help further the vision of the Zohrab Center and to make its resources more accessible to individuals interested in Armenian studies around the world.

The interns have been tackling a wide-range of responsibilities this summer, including cataloging books and digitizing the center’s holdings to make them available for the general public.

Last summer, with the help of the interns, the center’s online catalog was launched. Over 15,000 books in the library’s collection can now be accessed around the world by visiting http://www.zohrabcentercatalog.com.

While the interns’ contributions have indeed been valued in the center, they too come away with a newfound appreciation for Armenian literary traditions and culture.

“For me, working at the Zohrab Center has been more than a job, but rather an experience that allows me to leave work each day having learned something new,” said Nicole Saglamer, a sophomore studying chemistry at NYU, who is interning in the center for the second consecutive summer.

In fact, it was the center’s materials on Zabel Yesayan that created Manoukian’s ties to the Zohrab Center. While working on her thesis paper on the author, she found useful one-of-a-kind resources for her research.

“I relied heavily on the Zohrab Center’s periodical collection for my project,” said Manoukian who studied Middle Eastern studies and French at Rutgers University. “While doing my research, I realized how valuable and unique it is to have such a vast collection of Armenian-language resources open to everyone.”

Echoing Manoukian’s sentiments, Bandikian, a senior studying information systems at Stony Brook University, said he felt “compelled” to intern in the center for another summer.

“After working here for two years I am still amazed to see the types of books I come across while doing my work,” he said.

The Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center was founded in 1987 by Dolores Zohrab Liebmann, in honor of her parents, Krikor and Clara. Her father, Krikor Zohrab, was a prominent lawyer, author and Parliamentarian in the Ottoman Empire, who was arrested and killed during the Armenian Genocide.

The Zohrab Center serves as a research library and has a rich and diverse collection ripe with books relating to Armenian history, literature, and religion. It also serves as a cultural center, hosting conferences, lectures, film screenings, and book presentations among many other events tailored to the local Armenian community.

Notes Saglamer, “Interning at the center has given me the opportunity to meet other Armenian youth, and most importantly, it has allowed me to stay connected with my Armenian identity.”

-Taleen Babayan

ZC photo1 — Armen Bandikian organizing the Zohrab Center’s 18th and 19th century Armenian book collection

ZC photo2 — Jennifer Manoukian and Nicole Saglamer assisting at a Zohrab Center-sponsored event

Zohrab Center’s Book of the Week: My Grandmother by Fethiye Çetin

On June 20, 2011June 22, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn Book of the WeekLeave a comment

By Jennifer Manoukian

The personal accounts of Armenian Genocide survivors, as we have come to know them in the Diaspora through family stories and memoirs, tend to follow the same basic pattern: a calm life is suddenly and unexpectedly disrupted by news of deportations which sends a dazed family, usually without its male members, on death marches where, one by one, the family is torn apart by death and disease until one member, a child defying all odds, reaches a major city, like Aleppo or Constantinople, where he or she settles in the company of other Armenian refugees or finds the means to go abroad to Europe or the United States to start life anew. These children are our grandparents and great-grandparents and we know their story well, but in Fethiye Çetin’s memoir My Grandmother, the author recounts the experience of an Armenian Genocide survivor whose life, although beginning like those familiar stories, took a radically different course.

Fethiye Çetin is a Turkish lawyer best known outside of Turkey for representing Hrant Dink and his family in their suit again the Turkish Republic. Her involvement in this case and her defense of other Armenians in Turkey is directly linked to the secret that she reveals in her memoir: despite having been raised as a Turk, Çetin, by way of her maternal grandmother, discovers that she is, in fact, of Armenian descent. Her grandmother, born Heranoush to an Armenian family, was taken by a Turkish gendarme during the death marches where she was renamed Seher and raised as a Turk, repressing any memory of her Armenian past until the very end of her life where she divulges her entire story to her already grand-daughter who must reconcile her grandmother’s story and her newfound heritage with the negative perception of Armenians that she absorbed from the society around her over the course of her lifetime.

The story of Fethiye Çetin’s grandmother is certainly not unique, but Çetin is one of the first brave enough to voluntarily reclaim an Armenian identity in a country where the word Armenian has a pejorative connotation; her pride in her newfound ancestry and the personal reconfiguration that she underwent as a result of her discovery is certainly a testament to her strength and provides a strong example to others looking to tell a similar story. It is impossible to estimate the number of Armenian children abducted during the death marches and raised in Turkish households, unaware of their pasts, but in the past decade, stories are slowly emerging as more Turks begin investigating their ancestry and taking an interest in the surprising discoveries that they find. One would hope that as more Turks come to see how intertwined their own family stories are with the Armenian Genocide, how fundamentally their personal histories were shaped by an event of which their government denies the existence, that there will be more domestic pressure for recognition of the suffering that has survived in both Armenian and Turkish families.

Zohrab Center’s Book of the Week: Armenian Cilicia, by Dr. Richard Hovannisian

On June 10, 2011June 20, 2011 By zohrabcenterIn Book of the WeekLeave a comment

by Jennifer Manoukian

Over the past decade, Dr. Richard Hovannisian, emeritus professor of Armenian and Near Eastern History at UCLA, has edited a series of illuminating volumes that explore various facets of Armenian history and society in Armenian cities and provinces under the Ottoman Empire. Armenian Cilicia, published in 2008, is the seventh volume in his series and focuses on Cilicia, a coastal region in southwestern Turkey that was the site of an Armenian kingdom during the Middle Ages and that maintained a significant Armenian population until 1915.

Together with Simon Payaslian, Dr. Hovannisian brings together articles from scholars in various disciplines (history, literature, geography, political science, art history, women’s studies, etc.) on topics that span over a millennia in time. Beginning with a historical geography of Cilicia, the themes of the chapters range from the role that Cilicia has played in a religious context to the impact of the region on the writings of Armenian-American authors.

Armenian Cilicia and the other books in Dr. Hovannisian’s Armenian History and Culture Series are particularly noteworthy because they document an active Armenian presence in places where Armenians no longer live. Books like these combat the efforts of those who stubbornly attempt to erase any trace or memory of an Armenian population in modern-day Turkey.

By taking the reader through the considerable contributions of Armenians to Cilicia and to other regions in modern-day Turkey, Dr. Hovannisian illustrates why Armenians are still so inextricably intertwined with the memory of their homeland, even after having lived outside it for almost a century.