Entries by stjohn

BIRTH OF VARDGES PETROSIAN

Vardges Petrosian was one of the remarkable authors of the group of “young prose-writers” in Armenia in the 1960s-1980s.
He was born on August 9, 1932, in the town of Ashtarak, where he spent his childhood, went to school, and began writing poetry. In 1954, he graduated from the journalism department of Yerevan State University and, after a stint as editorial secretary of the regional newspaper of Kamo (Gavar, 1954–1955), he worked as correspondent for the daily Sovetakan Hayastan (1955-1957) and as editorial secretary and later deputy editor of the bi-weekly Avangard (1957-1961). He was editor of the children weekly Pioner Kanch (1961-1966) and the founding editor-in-chief of the literary and youth monthly Garun.

LET THE WALLS SPEAK

In Romania, I visited the famous Voroneț Monastery, often referred to as the “Sistine Chapel of the East.” The church is entirely covered—inside and out—with vibrant frescoes. You see saints, angels, and powerful scenes from Scripture: Noah and the Ark, the Resurrection, the Last Judgment. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

What’s even more remarkable is that these frescoes were painted in the 15th and 16th centuries—more than 500 years ago. Over the centuries, they’ve endured snow, rain, wind, and the passage of time. The colors have faded a little, yes, but the message remains. The beauty still resonates. The stories still speak.

TWO HUNDRED HOLY FATHERS OF THE THIRD ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF EPHESUS

The Armenian Church commemorates the 200 Holy Fathers of the Council of Ephesus (431 AD). Ephesus, the third general ecumenical council, was convened by order of Emperor Theodosius II to settle the Nestorian heresy. A large number of high-ranking church leaders attended, headed by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria.

BUILT TO WITHSTAND

Last year, I had the privilege of meeting one of the most distinguished Armenian architects in the Diaspora. Ronald Altoon, a former National President of the American Institute of Architects, shared something that stayed with me. He spoke about why so many buildings in Gyumri collapsed during the devastating earthquake.

He explained that those buildings were designed in Moscow, where architects are primarily concerned with wind, not earthquakes. So they reinforced the tops of the buildings to withstand strong gusts. However, Armenia is situated in a major seismic zone. The threat wasn’t above, but beneath. Those buildings didn’t fall because they were weak at the top. They fell because they weren’t prepared at the foundation.

GRACE ISN’T LINEAR

Have you ever noticed that there are rarely straight lines in nature? Look around at the world God has made—the trees, the rivers, the hills. None of them grow or flow in perfectly straight lines. The branches of a tree twist and turn. The course of a river winds through the land. Mountains rise unevenly, each with its own shape. There is beauty everywhere, but not straight lines.

Straight lines are a human abstraction. We invented them. We use them to build roads and walls, cities and skyscrapers. We love order, predictability, and efficiency. And for good reason, these things help us live and work. But God, the Creator of the universe, paints with a different brush. His handiwork is full of curves, meanders, slopes, and spirals. His way of shaping the world is not always linear, and neither is His way of shaping our lives.

DEATH OF ANAYIS

Anayis is one of the lesser known female writers of Western Armenian literature, particularly remembered for her memoirs.

She was born Yevpime Avedisian on February 20, 1872, in Constantinople. She was a member of one of the branches of the Chobanian family from the town of Akn and thus related to famous writer Archag Tchobanian (1872–1954). She studied at the Makruhiats School and then attended the Fourier School to improve her French, while taking private lessons in Armenian from poets Tovmas Terzian and Khoren Nar Bey. She published her first poem in the Armenian journal Massis in 1893. She contributed works in prose and verse to various periodicals…

CHANGE THE CHANNEL

The other day, I was driving down the FDR Drive—those of you who live in New York City know exactly what that’s like. That highway will test your faith! You’ve got to pray and drive at the same time. Well, someone cut me off in traffic, just swerved right in front of me. No signal, no warning. Just like that.

Now I want to be honest with you, I got angry. I began imagining what I might say if I were ever to come face-to-face with that driver. Have you ever been there? Rehearsing your comeback, imagining how you’ll tell someone off, thinking, “That’ll show them!”

SAINTS THADDEUS AND SANDUKHT

On Saturday, following Transfiguration, the Armenian Church commemorates Saint Thaddeus, one of two apostles who preached in Armenia, and Saint Sandukht, daughter of King Sanadrouk, and the first martyr saint of the Armenian Church. It is not an exaggeration to say that these two—Thaddeus and Sandukht—were pioneer in bringing Christianity to Armenia in the first century. Princess Sandukht was converted to Christianity by Thaddeus, and she in turn converted many others.

THE CARTOZIAN CASE RULING

A hundred year ago this day, a pivotal legal case, United States v. Tatos Osgihan Cartozian, came to an end with a conclusive victory for the defendant. The victory was not only for Cartozian, a prominent rug dealer in Portland, Oregon (pictured in the photo with his daughters), but also for the Armenian American community.

The reaction against immigration in the post-World War I period was an extension of the process of racism and dehumanization that had been already present since the last quarter of the nineteenth century. First it was the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and then the virulent calls for restriction against the immigration from eastern and southwestern Europe and western Asia in the 1890s and 1900s. The Alien Land

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

This Sunday, July 27, the Armenian Church celebrates one of her five Tabernacle Feasts—Transfiguration (Aylagerbutyoun / Vartavar). The Feast commemorates an episode in the New Testament recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Peter. The Transfiguration took place on the “holy mountain” (believed to be Mt. Tabor) where Jesus had gone with Peter, James …