Armenian Jerusalem
Partial structural reconstruction begins
An Armenian chalice in Wales
The return of the native
Jerusalem Panoramas
Jerusalem
owes
an
immense
debt
of
gratitude
to
the
Armenians,
that
sturdy
clan
of
indestructible
survivors who refuse to be consigned to the rubbish bin of history, in more ways than one, it seems.
It
is
common
knowledge
that
Armenians
not
only
gave
the
city
its
first
printing
press
but
also
its
first
photographic studio, under the patronage of the visionary Patriarch Yessayi Garabedian.
But
it
is
less
known
that
Armenians
also
contributed
the
first
known
Christian
pilgrims
to
the
Holy
Land,
as
leading
armenologist
Michael
Stone
pointed
out
during
a
lecture
stopover
in
Sydney,
Australia.Speaking
to
an
audience representing the city's diverse Armenian communities, Stone even gave the date the first Armenian
The
assembly
of
Christian
churches
in
Jerusalem
have
voiced
"grave
concern"
over
new
moves
by
the
Israeli
government
to
tax
vacant
church
properties.
While
previous
such
moves
have
ended
in
failure,
the
Israelis
have
not
tried
hard
to
mask
their
intention
to
persist
in
their
efforts
to
impose
an
"arnona"
(property
tax)
on
properties
owned
by
the
various
churches
which
have been unoccupied for some time.
The
assembly,
the
Heads
of
Churches
of
the
Holy
City
of
Jerusalem,
a
loose
conglomeration
of
the
13
Christian
churches
officially
recognized
by
the Israeli State, warned of dire consequences should Israel not desist.
pilgrim
from
Satala
(new
Melitene/Maghatia),
set
foot
in
Jerusalem:
around
AD
360,
half
a
century
only
after
Armenia
became
the
first
nation
in history to accept Christianity as its state religion.
Jerusalem’s great debt to the Armenians
Churches protest tax plan
Jerusalem, 2007
The
777
Thai
Airways
took
off
from
Sydney
more
than
a
quarter
of
an
hour
late,
but
the
crew
made
up
for
it
with
an
abundance
of
solicitous courtesy and exemplary service.
It
would
be
a
9-hour
flight
to
Bangkok
and
then another gruelling 11 hours aboard an El
Al 767 bound for Telaviv.
For
the
first
time
in
15
years,
I
was
returning
to
Jerusalem,
city
of
my
birth,
on
an
odyssey
fraught
with
expectation
and
a
modicum of trepidation.
It
would
be
a
journey
of
rediscovery
and
reacquaintance.
I
hate
flying
but
the
offer
I
had
been
made
by
North
American
film
company
to
go
to
Jerusalem
and
act
as
advisor,
guide
and
consultant
to
the
producer,
was
one
I
could
not refuse.
"I'll
take
a
knockout
pill,
and
sleep
throughout the flight."
With
this
thought
to
buttress
me,
and
some
Zen
training
to
boost
my
courage,
I
got
aboard.
Haygan
Mardikjan
has
published
a
new
book,
called
“The
Call
of
the
Crane,”
as
a
testimony
to
the
valiant
spirit
of
courage
and
endurance
under
inhuman
suffering
displayed
by
her
Armenian
grandparents
who
survived
the
Turkish
genocide.
The
book
was
originally
written
in
Dutch
and
translated
into
English
by
Sarah
Owen
who
has
dedicated
her
work
to
the
memory
of
Raffi
Hagopian
who
passed
away in the US nine years ago.
Mardikjan
notes
that
her
grandparents
did
not
receive
any
recognition
for
their
suffering
but
revealed
that
there
had
been
some
among
the
Turks
who
actuallly
helped
her
family.
“Without
them
my
family
probably
would
not have survived the genocide,” she admits.
“This
book
is
the
fulfilment
of
my
promise
to
my
grandparents
to
keep
their
memory
alive,” she adds.
The
book
has
copious
notes
and
photographs.
The book makes for thougthful reading.
New book on Armenian genocide
Miraculous wine jar
The
Armenian
Patriarchate
ofr
Jerusalem
has
begun
a
“partial
structural
restoration”
of
the
magnificent
Cathedral
of
St
James,
with
plans
for
a
fullscale
renovation
at
a
future date.
In
a
statement
issued
announcing
the
move,
the
Patriarchate
noted
that
“from
the
earliest
day
of
Christian
history
in
Jerusalem,
the
Armenians
have
built
magnificent
churches
and
monasteries
in
the
Holy
Land
to
the
glory
of
God
and
the
sustenance of his faith.
The statement continues:
In
a
remote
corner
of
Wales,
in
a
picturesque
and
historic
parish
church
in
the
Welsh
village
of
Hawarden,
a
humble
silver
chalice
stands
as
a
silent
testimony
to
the
undying
gratitude
of
a
persecuted
people.
For
over
100
years,
the
chalice
has
graced
the
altar
of
the
village
church,
St.
Deiniol,
lost
in
the
maze
of
history
and
remembered
only
vaguely
in
one
or
other
church
document,
a
source
of
wonder
for
the
Welsh
worshippers
who
prayed
at
the
church.
Few
people
knew
how
it
got
there.
Fewer
still
had
any
inkling
what
the
strange
inscription
it
bore
stood
for,
or
what foreign tongue it was inscribed in.
“These
wonderful
churches
and
monasteries
were
built
by
the
generous
donations
of
the
lords and princes of the Armenian Kingdom and provinces and people.
“St.
James
Armenian
Cathedral
in
Jerusalem
fulfills
every
aspect
of
our
historic
architectural
tradition,
and
it
has
remained
the
symbol
of
pride
and
prayer
for
so
many
centuries to the faithful of every pilgrim who visited the Holy Land.
“The
presence
of
St.
James
containing
the
tombs
of
two
Saint
Jameses
solemnize
and
demonstrates
the
determination
of
our
brotherhood
and
nation
not
only
to
survive
but
to
prevail in the holy land.
“Having
said
these
we
appeal
to
your
continued
support
to
your
Christian
faith
and
the
Armenian
heritage
to
help
us
restore
the
sacred
Jewel
of
the
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem,
which
has
become
also
the
powerful
and
effective
force
in
the
preservation
and
growth of our community, our heritage and culture in the Holy Land.
“Fired
with
enthusiasm,
the
Armenian
Patriarch
his
Beatitude
Archbishop
Nourhan
Manougian
and
the
brotherhood
embarked
their
dream
plan,
although
a
“partial
structural
restoration”
as
testimony
of
their
determination
to
expand
with
full
confidence
into
the
future to complete the restoration of St. James Armenian Cathedral in Jerusalem.
“Grace
and
peace
be
multiplied
to
you
in
the
knowledge
of
God
and
of
Jesus
our
lord”
(II
Peter 1:2).
Project receives strong support
The
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem
and
the
Calouste
Gulbenkian
philanthropic
foundation
have
pledged
to
support
of
efforts
to
preserve
the history and culture of the Armenian community of the Old City.
The
kaghakatsis,
an
appellation
that
denotes
the
centuries-long
tenure
of
their
sojourn
in
Jerusalem
(unlike
their
"Vanketsi"
cousins
who
sought
refuge
in
the
city
during
the
massacres
and
settled
in
the
Convent
of
St
James),
have
amassed
a
vast
treasure
trove
of
history
as
they
enriched
the city's unique fabric with their manifold contributions.
The
kaghakatsi
family
tree
project
has
received
a
tremendous
boost
with
a
batch
of
new
contributions
from
community
leader
Hagop
Hagopian,
an
LA
resident
currently
visiting
Australia.
Hagop
has
not
only
traced
his
clan's
family
history
back
to
one
of
the
community's
most
memorable
recent
ancestors,
but
also
compiled
a
list
of
the
forgotten
colorful
clan
nicknames
that characterized the residents of the Armenian Quarter.
Unfortunately,
his
records
go
back
only
over
a
century
and
a
half,
but
they
fill
in
a
lot
of
the blanks in the main database.
Hagop's
paternal
grandfather
was
Hagop
Hovsepian
(he
later
changed
his
surname
to
Hagopian),
a
Sefer
Berlik
(First
World
War)
survivor
whose
several
brothers
were
born
to
different
mothers.
Apparently,
his
father,
the
patriarchal
clan
head
Yousef
El-Banna,
married
more than four times.
There
is
a
mystery
surrounding
one
of
his
grandsons,
Sahag
(Levon's
son).
He
was
born
in
1907 but apparently disappeared later in Saudi Arabia.
Hagop
has
also
handed
us
the
family
history
of
the
Elian
clan,
prepared
by
Michael
Elian
who
is
currently
living
in
Beverly
Hills.
Michael
has
taken
the
trouble
to
write
up
some
9
pages
for the project.
"This
is
the
best
that
I
can
do
-
considering
that
I
have
been
out
of
Jerusalem
since
1949,"
he
notes.
"We
still
have
the
nucleus
of
the
JABU
(the
Kaghakatsi
social
and
cultural
club)
here
and are trying to continue the tradition."
In
compiling
his
list
of
clan
nicknames,
Hagop
had
the
assistance
of
a
worthy
matriarch,
Serpouhi
Shahinian,
mother
of
Ardashes
Shahinian.
In
her
90's,
Serpouhi
sat
down
to
jot
painstakingly jot 7 pages of reminiscences, ending with this declaration:
"I
wrote
all
these
at
the
age
of
92,
while
in
pain
.
.
.
sometimes
the
pen
would
slip
from
my
fingers,
and
I
would
push
back
my
ailments,
determined
to
jot
down
what
I
know
.
.
.
Thank God that I have succeeded."
The
Kankachian
kaghakatsi
Armenians
of
Jerusalem
can
now
trace
the
ancestry
of
their
clan
back
to
the
1620's,
to the days of King Hetoum!
According
to
Aida
Kankachian,
who
is
currently
living
in
Canada,
her
ancestors
are
descended
from
the
famous
king's bloodline.
"They
were
warriors,"
she
says,
"and
fought
side
by
side
with
King
Richard
and
the
king
of
France
against
Saladin (Salah El Din el Ayyoubi) in a battle, but lost it."
In
the
wake
of
the
defeat,
they
decided
to
journey
to
Jerusalem.
Aida
is
the
daughter
of
the
Armenian
Quarter's
leading
carpenter,
Kevork,
who
also
was
entrusted
with
the
task
of
ringing
the
church
bells
at
the
Holy
Sepulcher
on Easter and at Christmas.
She
is
now
working
on
a
website
that
will
outline
the
history of her family and the house they lived in.
"My
ancestors
were
called
the
'Honorables,'
hence
their surname, Badivian (those with honor)," she says.
Because
the
men
and
women
were
pretty,
with
blue
eyes
and
blonde
curly
hair,
they
were
constantly
teased
and called 'kunkoush' (beautiful).
Apparently,
at
one
stage,
one
of
the
sons
became
upset
with
his
uncle,
and
decided
to
change
the
family
surname to "Kankachian," Aida reports
Hetoum’s bloodline live!
Colorful clans of the kaghakatsi
Relations
between
the
Israeli
government
and
the
Christian
churches
are
governed
by
an
protocol
promulgated
in
the
19th
Century
during
the
Ottoman
administration of the Holy Land.
This
hallowed
site
has
secured
its
place
on
the
map
of
Christendom
as
the
house
of
Mary,
mother
of
John,
called
Mark,
the
Evangelist.
The
little
church
it
shelters
even
boasts
a
portrait
of
the
Virgin
Mary
reputedly
painted
by
St
Luke the evangelist.
Only
years
after
its
erection,
the
church
was
destroyed
by
the
Roman
emperor,
Titus
when
he
conquered
the
city,
only
to
rise
phoenix
like
from
its
ashes,
and
to
be
rebuilt,
over and over again, the last time a century and a half ago.
For
the
Orthodox
Syriac
community,
a
tiny
but
vibrant
element
that
has
played
a
key
role
in
the
unravelling
history
of
Jerusalem,
this
is
the
last
remaining
enclave
left
to
their
church which has lost everything else it owned in the city.
Although
the
convent
has
been
renovated
and
refurbished,
it
now
houses
only
a
mere
handful
of
clergymen,
their
sharp
decline
paralleled
by
the
attrition
in
the numbers of members of the Syriac community.
There
used
to
be
a
school,
and
a
scout
club,
but
the
school
is
now
a
Jewish
housing
development
and
the
club
has
been boarded up.
But
the
survival
instinct
of
the
die-hard
remnants
of
these
proud
descendants
of
the
Babylonians
and
their
grim
determination
to
endure
and
to
maintain
their
home
and
their
standing
in
the
Old
City,
has
become
markedly
evident.
