“Thus said the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord”.
On the 50th anniversary of 24th 1915, the editor of the official monthly of Holy Ejmiadzin wrote an article on the losses of the Armenian Church under the title ‘New Ghewondian’ [The New Ghewondians]. This is a reference to the Battle of Avarayr, when the Armenians `fought the Persians, for whom it was a battle to impose a religious confession, where as for the Armenians it was to preserve their religious freedom and their ethnic identity from the menace of a huge Empire. The spiritual aspect of the war was summed up by these words ‘ we are ready to suffer persecution, death, and all sorts of violence and afflictions for our Holy churches, which our forefathers entrusted to us by the grace of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ,and through which we were reborn…since we recognise the Holy Gospel to be our Father and the Apostolic Catholic Church our mothe’. This is the doctrine of the Church militant. The dictionary defines ‘church militant’ as ‘ the Christian church on earth regarded as engaged in a constant warfare against its enemies, the powers of evil’. To be prepared to die is not the same as to be resigned to die. It is not a passive, reluctant acceptance of the inevitable. It is rather the conscious active self-attunement to God’s will. ‘The unexpected death is death, death expected is immortality’ «մահ ոչ իմացեալ մահ է մահ իմացեալ անմահութիւն է»:
The Armenian word for ‘perish’ is the beautiful word korntchil. According to this meaning, a person perishes when he suffers spiritual or moral death, becomes spiritually lost. A person is spiritually lost when he is lost to God. The Prodignal Son, for example, was about to perish when he realized the predicament to which he was condemning himself. Armenian theology maintains that one must live a life that consistently answers Christ’s knock, a life that is open to the Holy Trinity at all times. Once you believe that the second person of the Trinity died on the Cross for us then the empty ‘distance’ vanishes from between us and God. The creed as understood from an Armenian perspective that reality itself connects us to God, in as much as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, becomes a human being Who in turn turns Himself into us, the church for propitiation and for remission of sins, at the rite that defined the church, namely the Divine Liturgy. It is in this sense that Christ, who is all around us knocks at the door of our consciousness to be received, so that we may be enabled to perceive within ourselves the kingdom of God. Saint Gregory of Narek, whom Pope Francis elevated to the order of saints of the Universal church, gave voice to this hope of the divine intervention in these words ‘ Through his strength I wait with certain expectation believing with unwavering hope that…I shall be saved by the Lord’s mighty hand and.. that I will see the Lord himself in his mercy and compassion and receive the legacy of heaven’[ [Աներկմիտ յուսով հաւատամ՝ ի կարողին ձեռն ապաստանեալ. Ոչ քաւութեան միայն հասանել.Այլ զնոյն ինքն տեաանել՝յողորմութիւն եւ ի գթութիւն եւ յերկնիցն ժառանգութիւն.Թէպէտ եւ յոյժ եմ տարագրելի»[Բան ԺԲ,բ].
The Pope in his message delivered to the Armenians called the event of 1915 ‘ horrific massacres which was true martyrdom of your people, in which many innocent people died as confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ’. He went on to quote Pope John Paul II ‘Your history of suffering and martyrdom is a precious pearl, of which the universal Church is proud ’ (Homily 21 November 1987).
‘Ravished Armenia’ or ‘Auction of the Souls’ is the first documentary memoires of an eyewitness of the Armenian genocide published in 1918 in New York. In this book Arshalouys (Aurora) Mardigian, a girl from Chmhkatsag (named after the Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent John I Tzimisces]. At the age of fourteen Arshalouys was beaten and tortured in harems of Turkish officials.Resisted the conversion of faith, escaped from the harem of Kemal Effendi. In the spring of 1917 after long lasting wandering she reached Erzerum , which had been occupied by the Russian forces. There with the help of the Armenian National Union and American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief she moved to Peterogrod, then to New York. 400 hundred thousand copies of the book were printed and a film based on the scenario of the book was produced, at Metro Goldwin Mayer studio by Oscar Apfel. The proceeds and the profits were given to relief purposes of 60,000 Armenian orphans gathered in the Near East. The Auction of the Souls was censured in GB in 1919.After long lasting negotiations the film was shown in Royal Albert Hall by the permission of Scotland Yard and played for more than three weeks. Then it was censured again, some headlines were changed, four scenes were eliminated after which the film continued being screened. At the beginning of 1920s Mardigian’s Ravished Armenia was censured and taken off the British and American libraries.
In this short 20 minute . film, here is one terrible scene toward the end of the clip that is especially difficult to watch. Seldom, ever, have I watched a film that matches this one in sadistic obscenity. It is a crucifixion scene, but unlike Christian images of Christ on the cross that expresses symbolically the triumph of eternal live over human pain, this film’s crucifixion scene carried a very different symbolic meaning. There are eight crosses in a row to which are nailed eight naked, young Armenian women. After the film presents a panoramic view of all the crosses and their victims, it focuses on a single sufferer. Nailed to the cross, she is helplessly alive. One could tell by her eyes and facial movements that her cognitive functions were unimpaired as she awaited the painful doom of her crucifixion. All the scenes in this film could not have been taken without the consent of Turkish authorities .
This scene expresses much that the Turks wanted to convey about their conduct towards both the Armenians and their religion. The perpetrators took the most sacred symbol of Christendom and turned it into a blasphemous obscenity, symbolically proclaiming absolute Muslim dominance. Nevertheless, something else was involved: women are the child bearers. Their wombs carry the next generation. No words were necessary. The message was clear: ‘We express our utter contempt for you and your religion. We intend to destroy your future. You have no human right. We can do with you whatever we wish’. Witnesses recalled Turks taunting their victims with shouts of ‘Where is your Christ now? Where is your Jesus? Why does he not save you?
The Christians of Europe were not unaware of the weakness and anachronism of the Ottoman Empire and of its cruelty to the minority groups. Such intervention as was attempted on behalf of the Armenians served only to focus the wrath of the government on them, more strongly than ever. The more the Armenians were oppressed the more the Europeans used the situation ‘to look into the matter’ and interfere with Turkish policy, the more sternly did the government act against the Armenians. The Turks knew only too well that while the European powers had no love for the Turkish government, none of them would permit another power to rule the Dardanelles. Therefore European interest was assessed to be more in the nature of irritating interference that as intervention with positive intent.
Archbishop Khrimyan Hayrik returned to Constantinople from Berlin and painted a vivid picture of the European hypocrisy which has hypnotised our nation. In his sermon he said
« Պերլինի մեջ հոգեճաշ հարիսա կցրվեին բոլոր հպատակ ազգերին,ինձի ղրկեցիք,որ հայերին ընկած մասը առնեմռբերեմ,ես ալ պտուկն առի ու վազեցի…Դուհ ինձի շերեփի տեղը թութղտվիք,այդ թղթի կտոր որչափ որ խոթեցի տաք հարիսային մեջ,թուղթ թացացավ,լխկեցավ,մեջն ընկավ,ես ալ պարապ թողի,ետ եկա.մոռացա առաջուց մի քանի հաե Զեյթունցի տանեի հետս,անոնք շերեփ ունեին,լարելի ր ամանին տակեն,քովերեն բան մը փրցուցնեին»[Զրուցարան,544-45].
The European powers had placed on the table a pot of harissa dish .The Bulgarians,Serbs and Montenegrins had taken their portions of the harissa with their iron ladels,but the Armenians had only a paper spoon,which collapsed when they tried to take their share.
W.J.Wintle in his ‘Armenia and its sorrows’ as early as 1896 had come to this conclusion.
“It may safely be predicted that when the Armenian question is viewed in its true perspective at the distance of say fifty future years, there will be found few to dispute that the nations of Europe covered themselves with shame, when by political jealousies and diplomatic trifling that suffered opportunity to slip by, and left the wretched Armenians to a fate worse than death. The pleas that we should mind our own business is but the paltry subterfuge of a small and ignoble spirit when the higher dictates of justice and humanity call loudly for interference…The Ottoman empire exists to-day, and tortures and murders its Christian subjects by on the strength of British guarantees ’[ [London, Andrew Melros,p.100].
The dedication of the book reads
‘To the Memory of Shake the wife of Grgo and many other women of Sassoun who after fighting in self defence for twenty four hours cast themselves over the precipice chosing, rather to pass to the presence of The All-Pitiful Father, than to fall into the hands of the Turk’
The human sacrifices of 1915, like those of Avarayr in 451 AD and many other periods were not all in vain. All those who deny the Genocide have forgotten a very important date. In the small area of Armenian territory unconquered by the Turks, and into which hundred of thousands of Armenian refugees had taken shelter. It seemed only a matter of time before that too would be overrun. On May 22 1918, the Turks had captured Hamamlu (modern Spitak the city that was the focus of the 7th December 1988 earthquake) half way between Alexandropole (Leninakan in the Soviet Period and Guymri today) and Karakilisa (Kirovakan today Vandzor).Turkish forces planned a three-pronged attack in an attempt to seize all that remained of Armenia. The Armenian generals T’ovmas Nazarbekian and Movses Silikian on the advice of the Armenian National Council meet His Holiness Gevorg Vth Soureniants at Ejmiadzin and recommend His Holiness that for his safety he should abandon Holy Ejmiadzin for it had been decided to hand over Erevan and Ejmiadsin to the Turks and sign a treaty of peace. Gevorg V rejected the short sighted and un-perspective decision and ordered all the monasteries and churches to rig their bells as a warning of the impending danger. He is reported to have said to his generals ‘ The Turk is not satisfied having taken western Armenia and now he has heightened his appetite over the other half and if he is victorious that will be the end of our nation. Is it possible that we cannot defend the fire of our homes, the lighthouse of our faith, the foundations of our peoples existence. If we have reached the end, why not face it with honour and dignity rather than flee like cowards. For centuries Armenian have defied all odds and have defended their identity through struggle, dying today for their tomorrows. Since whoever dies with his ideology dies like the grain of seed, since with the death of the grain of seed new lives are born’. The Armenian forces held the Turkish advance at Bash Aparan.Just a little west of Etjmiadsin, the Armenian holy city, the third section of the Turkish advance was held, at Sardarabad. Indeed, the Armenians not only held them, they managed to throw the Turks back. Had they failed, it is perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term.But Despite being outnumbered by about two to one, and being deserted by their ‘ colleagues in the Transcaucasian Federation( for the Georgians had secured the protection of the Germans) and the Tatars had no desire to hinder the advance of the Ottoman forces, they defeated the Turks in all three encounters. The Armenian forces could have pressed on to Kars, when Silikian received the order to ‘cease fire’ .A truce had been concluded in Batum this was unfortunate, since the Turks were running like rabbits ( Christopher Walker, Armenia The survival of a nation, Croom Helm London,1980,p.254-55).Two impressive monuments which are related to the pre-Soviet period in Armenia are that of the Battle of Sardarabad in Hoketemberian and Titsernakaberd [monument to the Մեծ Եղեռն) in the outskirts of Erevan.
The human sacrifices, like those of Avarayr in 451, the Genocide of 1915, of the Battle of Sardarabad 1918, represented victories of faith over enemies who demanded giving up of that faith. It was not easy to think of them in those terms at the time, for there is little awareness of spiritual gain in the midst of mass murder. Evan now, as we look back 100 years from a more fortunate position, it is difficult to boast of victory. The events are still too darkly clouded because the Turkish threat had, and still has, the support of Western powers. Clouded because the beloved Mount Ararat even today stands captive within Turkish frontiers. And finally, they are clouded because the world faces new uncertainties, new political divisions, new restrains, new anti-religious forces ( Martyrdom and Rebirth.Fateful Years in Recent Armenian History,USA,1915).
Armenians shall keep on scrawling, arguing and denouncing until the US and UK all the other plaster saints atone for their hypocrisy, until Turkey recognises its crime and stops vindicating the slaughter of its kin through denial revisionist history, and whitewashing double speak. April is the month of remembrance of our dead, and 2015 is the year that commemorates the 100th anniversary of that Passion. We shall remember those who perished in Turkey and in the Caucasus between 1915-1923.We shall celebrate the Armenian’s fortitude, spirit, courage and astonishing will to survive. To them, we say: "We shall bring the Justice you all deserve."
The Pope in his message delivered to the Armenians called the event of 1915 ‘ horrific massacres which was true martyrdom of your people, in which many innocent people died as confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ’. He went on to quote Pope John Paul II ‘Your history of suffering and martyrdom is a precious pearl, of which the universal Church is proud ’ (Homily 21 November 1987).
‘Ravished Armenia’ or ‘Auction of the Souls’ is the first documentary memoires of an eyewitness of the Armenian genocide published in 1918 in New York. In this book Arshalouys (Aurora) Mardigian, a girl from Chmhkatsag (named after the Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent John I Tzimisces]. At the age of fourteen Arshalouys was beaten and tortured in harems of Turkish officials.Resisted the conversion of faith, escaped from the harem of Kemal Effendi. In the spring of 1917 after long lasting wandering she reached Erzerum , which had been occupied by the Russian forces. There with the help of the Armenian National Union and American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief she moved to Peterogrod, then to New York. 400 hundred thousand copies of the book were printed and a film based on the scenario of the book was produced, at Metro Goldwin Mayer studio by Oscar Apfel. The proceeds and the profits were given to relief purposes of 60,000 Armenian orphans gathered in the Near East. The Auction of the Souls was censured in GB in 1919.After long lasting negotiations the film was shown in Royal Albert Hall by the permission of Scotland Yard and played for more than three weeks. Then it was censured again, some headlines were changed, four scenes were eliminated after which the film continued being screened. At the beginning of 1920s Mardigian’s Ravished Armenia was censured and taken off the British and American libraries.
In this short 20 minute . film, here is one terrible scene toward the end of the clip that is especially difficult to watch. Seldom, ever, have I watched a film that matches this one in sadistic obscenity. It is a crucifixion scene, but unlike Christian images of Christ on the cross that expresses symbolically the triumph of eternal live over human pain, this film’s crucifixion scene carried a very different symbolic meaning. There are eight crosses in a row to which are nailed eight naked, young Armenian women. After the film presents a panoramic view of all the crosses and their victims, it focuses on a single sufferer. Nailed to the cross, she is helplessly alive. One could tell by her eyes and facial movements that her cognitive functions were unimpaired as she awaited the painful doom of her crucifixion. All the scenes in this film could not have been taken without the consent of Turkish authorities .
This scene expresses much that the Turks wanted to convey about their conduct towards both the Armenians and their religion. The perpetrators took the most sacred symbol of Christendom and turned it into a blasphemous obscenity, symbolically proclaiming absolute Muslim dominance. Nevertheless, something else was involved: women are the child bearers. Their wombs carry the next generation. No words were necessary. The message was clear: ‘We express our utter contempt for you and your religion. We intend to destroy your future. You have no human right. We can do with you whatever we wish’. Witnesses recalled Turks taunting their victims with shouts of ‘Where is your Christ now? Where is your Jesus? Why does he not save you?
The Christians of Europe were not unaware of the weakness and anachronism of the Ottoman Empire and of its cruelty to the minority groups. Such intervention as was attempted on behalf of the Armenians served only to focus the wrath of the government on them, more strongly than ever. The more the Armenians were oppressed the more the Europeans used the situation ‘to look into the matter’ and interfere with Turkish policy, the more sternly did the government act against the Armenians. The Turks knew only too well that while the European powers had no love for the Turkish government, none of them would permit another power to rule the Dardanelles. Therefore European interest was assessed to be more in the nature of irritating interference that as intervention with positive intent.
Archbishop Khrimyan Hayrik returned to Constantinople from Berlin and painted a vivid picture of the European hypocrisy which has hypnotised our nation. In his sermon he said
« Պերլինի մեջ հոգեճաշ հարիսա կցրվեին բոլոր հպատակ ազգերին,ինձի ղրկեցիք,որ հայերին ընկած մասը առնեմռբերեմ,ես ալ պտուկն առի ու վազեցի…Դուհ ինձի շերեփի տեղը թութղտվիք,այդ թղթի կտոր որչափ որ խոթեցի տաք հարիսային մեջ,թուղթ թացացավ,լխկեցավ,մեջն ընկավ,ես ալ պարապ թողի,ետ եկա.մոռացա առաջուց մի քանի հաե Զեյթունցի տանեի հետս,անոնք շերեփ ունեին,լարելի ր ամանին տակեն,քովերեն բան մը փրցուցնեին»[Զրուցարան,544-45].
The European powers had placed on the table a pot of harissa dish .The Bulgarians,Serbs and Montenegrins had taken their portions of the harissa with their iron ladels,but the Armenians had only a paper spoon,which collapsed when they tried to take their share.
W.J.Wintle in his ‘Armenia and its sorrows’ as early as 1896 had come to this conclusion.
“It may safely be predicted that when the Armenian question is viewed in its true perspective at the distance of say fifty future years, there will be found few to dispute that the nations of Europe covered themselves with shame, when by political jealousies and diplomatic trifling that suffered opportunity to slip by, and left the wretched Armenians to a fate worse than death. The pleas that we should mind our own business is but the paltry subterfuge of a small and ignoble spirit when the higher dictates of justice and humanity call loudly for interference…The Ottoman empire exists to-day, and tortures and murders its Christian subjects by on the strength of British guarantees ’[ [London, Andrew Melros,p.100].
The dedication of the book reads
‘To the Memory of Shake the wife of Grgo and many other women of Sassoun who after fighting in self defence for twenty four hours cast themselves over the precipice chosing, rather to pass to the presence of The All-Pitiful Father, than to fall into the hands of the Turk’
The human sacrifices of 1915, like those of Avarayr in 451 AD and many other periods were not all in vain. All those who deny the Genocide have forgotten a very important date. In the small area of Armenian territory unconquered by the Turks, and into which hundred of thousands of Armenian refugees had taken shelter. It seemed only a matter of time before that too would be overrun. On May 22 1918, the Turks had captured Hamamlu (modern Spitak the city that was the focus of the 7th December 1988 earthquake) half way between Alexandropole (Leninakan in the Soviet Period and Guymri today) and Karakilisa (Kirovakan today Vandzor).Turkish forces planned a three-pronged attack in an attempt to seize all that remained of Armenia. The Armenian generals T’ovmas Nazarbekian and Movses Silikian on the advice of the Armenian National Council meet His Holiness Gevorg Vth Soureniants at Ejmiadzin and recommend His Holiness that for his safety he should abandon Holy Ejmiadzin for it had been decided to hand over Erevan and Ejmiadsin to the Turks and sign a treaty of peace. Gevorg V rejected the short sighted and un-perspective decision and ordered all the monasteries and churches to rig their bells as a warning of the impending danger. He is reported to have said to his generals ‘ The Turk is not satisfied having taken western Armenia and now he has heightened his appetite over the other half and if he is victorious that will be the end of our nation. Is it possible that we cannot defend the fire of our homes, the lighthouse of our faith, the foundations of our peoples existence. If we have reached the end, why not face it with honour and dignity rather than flee like cowards. For centuries Armenian have defied all odds and have defended their identity through struggle, dying today for their tomorrows. Since whoever dies with his ideology dies like the grain of seed, since with the death of the grain of seed new lives are born’. The Armenian forces held the Turkish advance at Bash Aparan.Just a little west of Etjmiadsin, the Armenian holy city, the third section of the Turkish advance was held, at Sardarabad. Indeed, the Armenians not only held them, they managed to throw the Turks back. Had they failed, it is perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term.But Despite being outnumbered by about two to one, and being deserted by their ‘ colleagues in the Transcaucasian Federation( for the Georgians had secured the protection of the Germans) and the Tatars had no desire to hinder the advance of the Ottoman forces, they defeated the Turks in all three encounters. The Armenian forces could have pressed on to Kars, when Silikian received the order to ‘cease fire’ .A truce had been concluded in Batum this was unfortunate, since the Turks were running like rabbits ( Christopher Walker, Armenia The survival of a nation, Croom Helm London,1980,p.254-55).Two impressive monuments which are related to the pre-Soviet period in Armenia are that of the Battle of Sardarabad in Hoketemberian and Titsernakaberd [monument to the Մեծ Եղեռն) in the outskirts of Erevan.
The human sacrifices, like those of Avarayr in 451, the Genocide of 1915, of the Battle of Sardarabad 1918, represented victories of faith over enemies who demanded giving up of that faith. It was not easy to think of them in those terms at the time, for there is little awareness of spiritual gain in the midst of mass murder. Evan now, as we look back 100 years from a more fortunate position, it is difficult to boast of victory. The events are still too darkly clouded because the Turkish threat had, and still has, the support of Western powers. Clouded because the beloved Mount Ararat even today stands captive within Turkish frontiers. And finally, they are clouded because the world faces new uncertainties, new political divisions, new restrains, new anti-religious forces ( Martyrdom and Rebirth.Fateful Years in Recent Armenian History,USA,1915).
Armenians shall keep on scrawling, arguing and denouncing until the US and UK all the other plaster saints atone for their hypocrisy, until Turkey recognises its crime and stops vindicating the slaughter of its kin through denial revisionist history, and whitewashing double speak. April is the month of remembrance of our dead, and 2015 is the year that commemorates the 100th anniversary of that Passion. We shall remember those who perished in Turkey and in the Caucasus between 1915-1923.We shall celebrate the Armenian’s fortitude, spirit, courage and astonishing will to survive. To them, we say: "We shall bring the Justice you all deserve."