In a talk at St. John Armenian Church of Milwaukee during its Feb. 27 observation of Vartanants, Dr. Levon Saryan provided the battle with its historical context, outlining the events that came before and after Avarayr.
The Armenian Church commemorates St. Sarkis the Warrior, his son Mardiros, and 14 faithful soldiers. This is a moveable feast that can occur between January 11 and February 16. Sarkis was a 4th century Roman soldier who became a Christian. He rose through the military ranks because of his valiant campaign on behalf of Emperor Constantine. With the accession of Emperor Julian…
“The Light of the World” is the title of a famous picture painted by Holman Hunt in 1853. In this painting, we see Jesus, crowned with thorns, holding a lantern, standing at a closed-door overgrown with grass and vines. It hasn’t been opened in a long time. That door represents the human heart, and the image is inspired by Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with me.”
It is said that the artist, having completed the picture, showed it to some friends who praised its merit. One of them pointed out what he thought was a mistake. He said, “You forgot something! There’s no handle on the door.” To which Hunt replied immediately, “You forget—we must open to the light; the handle is on the inside.”
Davit Hovhannes (Hovhannisian) was born on February 17, 1945, in Yerevan. He was the son of poet Hrachia Hovhannisian. He graduated from the Krupskaya high school in 1962 and then from the Faculty of Philology at Yerevan State University. He worked in Armenia’s periodical press and “ArmenFilm” studio and also lectured on history of ancient and foreign literature at several universities of Armenia. He was a member of the Writers’ Union of Armenia since 1975. In 1980-1990 he conducted the monthly literary program “Nork” at the first channel of Armenian TV, and the weekly program “Half Hour with Davit Hovhannes” in 2006-2008. He was the chair of the board of “Arevik” Publishing House. He translated works of Russian, Ukrainian, and American classical poets.
The author of around 25 poetry collections, including children’s literature, Hovhannes published his first poem in 1965 and his first collection, Crown of Songs, in 1974.
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