Armenian Jerusalem
to see Vanadzor come alive
The
sprawling
house
is
long
gone,
along
with
the
dairy
that
his
father
ran
in
the
Armenian
Quarter
of
the
Old
City,
but
the
memories
(and
tastes)
Sarkis
Bedevian
has
of his childhood in Jerusalem no doubt still linger.
The
sprawling
house,
a
stone's
throw
from
the
500-year-old
walls
of
the
Old
City's
Zion
Gate
(one
of
seven
that
punctuate
the
walls),
has
been
bulldozed
and
replaced
by
a
block of flats.
And
there
is
not
the
slightest
trace
left
of
the
dairy.
Gone
are
the
vats
and
the
fridges,
the
dairy
stalwarts
Mariam
and
her
son,
Dahdah.
And
the
donkey
that
used
to
ferry
the
fresh milk from the Mount of Olives.
"Miger,"
as
the
Bedevian
patriarch,
Megerditch,
was
popularly
known,
ran
his
empire
almost
single-handed,
but
Sarkis
Bedevian
and
his
brother
Khatchig
were
there to lend a hand.
The
discipline
helped
define
the
future
course
his
life
would
take,
and
planted
in
him
the
seeds
of
the
spirit
of
sharing
that
has
blossomed
into
grand
philanthropy.
With
his
equally
dedicated
and
devoted
wife,
Ruth,
by
his
side,
Sarkis
now
shuttles
back
and
forth
between
the
US,
where
he
currently
lives,
and
his
Armenian
homeland,
seeking
avenues
of
contribution.
One
of
their
greatest
joys
and
accomplishments
has
been
the
construction
of
a
church,
St
Gregory
of
Narek,
in
picturesque
Vanadzor,
a
picture
postcard
town
nestling
between
two
mountain
chains
in
northern Armenia.
"Basically,
we
chose
the
city
of
Vanadzor
because
there
was
one
small
church
(built
sometime
in
the
1800's)
that
accommodated
about
50 people," Ruth explains.
Vanadzor's
population
expanded
rapidly
during
the
70
years
of
Soviet
rule
because
the
Soviets
built
a
large
chemical
factory
and
workers were needed.
"Therefore,
the
population
was
quite
deprived
of
any
traditional
exposure to the national church," Ruth notes.
"On
our
frequent
visits,
we
felt
the
'Russification'
of
the
populace
in
the
northern
part
of
Armenia.
Being
the
third
largest
city
with
a
population
of
about
120,000
Vanadzor
was
deserving
of
its
own
large
church.
Sarkis
and
I
agreed
that
it
was
vitally
necessary
now
that
Armenia is free and independent," she says.
"For
70
years
these
people
had
been
denied
religious
freedom
-
now
they are able to return to their spiritual roots and blossom," she adds.
Sarkis
and
Ruth
had
decided
to
build
the
church
some
years
ago
when
they
met
the
Catholicos
of
all
Armenians
(the
Vehapar)
informally
in
New
York
City
to
discuss
what
they
could
do
to
help
the
people of Armenia.
"It
happened
that
it
was
the
day
of
our
39th
wedding
anniversary,"
Ruth recalls.
Part
of
the
entire
project
at
Vanadzor
was
the
setting
up
of
a
youth
centre,
designed
to
accommodate
up
to
1,000
young
people
and
help
them hone their skills in art, music, gymnastics and sports.
"It
will
be
supervised
under
the
Holy
See
of
Etchmiadzin
and
it
will
join
the
network
of
Armenian
General
Benevolent
Union
(AGBU)
sponsored
youth
centres
that
have
emerged
under
the
Vehapar’s
watchful eyes in Yerevan since Independence," Sarkis says.
But
the
centre
will
also
house
a
kitchen
and
dining
room
for
seniors
to
"enjoy
fellowship
and
a
hot
meal
will
also
be
provided
for
those
in
need.”
“I
have
always
been
aware
that
one
is
remembered
after
death
by
what
one
does
and
has
given
while
alive,
but
I
don’t
want
to
wait
for
that day," Sarkis notes.
"I
want
to
give
during
my
lifetime
as
my
way
of
thanking
God
for
what
I
have
been
blessed
with
and
to
also
see
the
fruits
of
my
labor,"
he adds.
To
see
Vanadzor
come
alive
spiritually,
will
be
the
culmination
of
another of his and his wife's philanthropic efforts in the Motherland.
Vanadzor
had
originally
been
known
as
Gharakilisa
(Black
Church),
in
memory
of
the
13th
century
church
of
black
stone
that
existed
upon
a hilly terrain on the site.
"In
1826,
during
the
Russo-Persian
War,
the
city
was
totally
destroyed.
It
enjoyed
some
renewal
when
the
railroad
to
Tbilisi
was
opened
in
1899,
but
it
wasn’t
until
the
Soviets
brought
industry
to
the
area
with
the
building
of
a
large
chemical
plant
and
textile
manufacturing
that
the
population
began
to
rapidly
increase,"
Ruth
adds.
In
1935,
the
Soviets
renamed
the
city
Kirovagan
after
the
Russian
Soviet
leader
Sergei
Mironovich
Kirov
but
following
the
collapse
of
the
USSR
and
the
establishment
of
the
Republic
of
Armenia,
it
re-assumed
its historic appellation.
Sarkis
has
also
been
instrumental
in
helping
restore
the
museum
in
Etchmiadzin
that
was
built
in
the
days
of
the
great
Armenian
Vehapar,
known as Khrimian Hayrig, a century ago and never put to use.
The
site
will
now
house
some
of
the
Arshile
Gorky
collections
and
be open to the public.
But
perhaps
the
crowning
moment
of
Sarkis
Bedevian's
life
came
when
he
was
invited
by
the
Vehapar
last
September
to
act
as
Godfather
during
the
blessing
of
the
Holy
Muron,
in
the
enactment
of
one of the Armenian church's most sanctified ceremonies.
The
memory
will
be
with
him
every
time
he
sits
down
to
ponder
what
new
endeavour
he
could
launch
to
help
his
struggling
countrymen.
