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03.05.2010

ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITY IN LEBANON

   

Vahram Hovyan

The Protestant Armenians of Lebanon are, alongside with the Apostolic and Catholic Armenians, one of the three confessional stratums of the Armenian community in that country. The Armenian Protestant community, established back in the 19th century, expanded after the Armenian Genocide when the Protestant Armenians, together with other Armenians, immigrated to that country from other places of the Ottoman Empire. Protestant Armenians today constitute 5% (4-5 thousand) of the Armenian community in Lebanon. They are mainly centred in Beirut and its suburbs – Burj Hamad, Eshrefie, as well as in the city of Aintchar. Beirut, in some extent, can be considered the centre of the Protestant Armenians in the Near East, because here the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East is situated.

Due to the fact that the Protestant Armenians constitute a great part of the Lebanese Protestants in general, one place or mandate for the Protestant community in the Lebanese parliament from time to time is occupied by the an Armenian deputy. Thus the number of mandates for the Armenians reaches 7 because the Apostolic Armenians and Catholic Armenians are also separate communities to which, correspondingly 5 and 1 (generally 6) places in parliament are allotted.

To present general condition of the Protestant Armenian community in Lebanon the following characteristics can be distinguished:

  1. The Protestant Armenian community in Lebanon is rather organized, viable and active. Its viability is, first of all, expressed in the eager activity of its organizations.
  2. The Protestant Armenians are not alienated from the Apostolic and Catholic Armenians but they constitute integral whole with them. The manifestations of this are:
  • the Protestant organizations’ activity of both community and nationwide importance,
  • the inter-confessional collaboration with the Apostolic and Catholic Armenians within the framework of many of nationwide programmes and for the solution of different issues.

Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon

For the Protestant Armenians, just like for the Lebanese Armenians in general, besides religious organizations, the availability of many educational, benevolent and other organizations is characteristic. The Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon are divided into 4 main groups, according to the character of their activity:

  • spiritual-clerical,
  • social,
  • educational,
  • informational.

Spiritual-clerical organizations. The Protestant churches were established in the Armenian community in Lebanon in the 1920s, alongside with the growth of the population of the local Armenian community. The first Protestant church – the First Evangelical Armenian Church of Beirut – was established in 1922. Today there are 6 Protestant Armenian churches in Lebanon1. The leader of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon is Rev. Paul Haidostian who is the chairman of the central committee of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East.

Social organizations. The social organizations were established by the Protestant Armenians of Lebanon on necessity, in order to help Armenians who sheltered in Lebanon after the Armenian Genocide. Today they practice benevolent, medical, educational and other activities. The well-known Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon are Armenian Evangelical Social Service Centre, Armenian National Sanatorium, Christian Endeavour Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches of Syria and Lebanon and etc.

Educational institutions. Among the biggest educational institutions of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon is the Haigazian University in Beirut which is the only higher educational institution in the entire Diaspora. Haigazian University was established in 1955 as a classical school and in 1966 it turned into a university. On four faculties of the Haigazian University, besides the theology, various disciplines of art and science are taught2. The president of the university is the leader of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon, the chairman of the central committee of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches of the Near East Rev. Paul Haidostian.

The schools of the Protestant Armenians (7 schools) are very popular not only among the Protestant Armenians but also among the rest of the Armenians in Lebanon. They are situated both in Beirut and in other cities of Lebanon3.

Information institutions. The printings are the main informational structure of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon. They are “Badanegan Artsakank”, “Chanasser” magazines and “Luys” magazine published quarterly. By its significance among the printings the annual Haigazian Armenian Studies journal published by Haigazian University since 1970 is distinguished.

The nationwide significance activity of the Protestant Armenian organization.

The activity of the Protestant Armenian organizations in Lebanon is not restricted to the Protestant Armenian community; it also includes the entire Armenian community in Lebanon. That very activity of the nationwide significance proves that the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon are an integral part of the Armenian community in general. The activity of the nationwide significance includes the following spheres:

  • educational,
  • social,
  • informational.

In the sphere of education the nationwide character of the Protestant organization’s activity is conditioned by two circumstances:

  1. The confessional composition of the students. In the Protestant Armenian educational institutions in Lebanon not only Protestant Armenians study, but also the Catholic and Apostolic Armenians. The special place among those educational institutions is allotted to the Haigazian University which activity is not restricted to the Armenian community in Lebanon. Every year the university admits students from 20 countries regardless of their confession4.
    As for the schools it does not make any difference for the Armenians in Lebanon. That is why, in Armenian schools in Lebanon, including the Protestant schools as well, “… children of the Apostolic Armenians, as well as of the Catholic and Evangelical Armenians study” 5.
  2. Educational programmes. Armenian educational institutions besides theology, teach Armenian studies in general. At the Haikazian University at the Chair of Armenian Studies Armenian literature, history, politics and culture are studied. Thereby, the graduates of the university become the figures of not only narrowly Protestant community but of the whole Armenian community in Lebanon scale.
The aforementioned two conditions are interconnected and they prove the nationwide character of the activity of the Protestant Armenian educational institutions in Lebanon. The fact that Armenians of different confessions come to study to the Protestant institutions is conditioned by the availability of educational programmes in the sphere of the Armenian studies. Thus, those educational institutions are Protestant as far as they belong to the Armenian Evangelical Church.

The Protestant Armenian institutions of the social sphere have been established to take care of the Armenians in Lebanon. So it is obvious that their activity cannot be restricted mainly to the Protestants and it should include all the Armenians in Lebanon irrespective of their confessional affiliations. Those social organizations established by the Armenian Evangelical Church and belonging to it serve to the whole Armenian community in Lebanon.

Informational sphere. In the periodicals published by the Protestant Armenians the publications covering not only the issues of the Protestant community but also the issues of all the Armenians in Lebanon can be found. The “Haigazian” journal devoted to the issues of the Armenian studies is of special national significance.

Interconfessional collaboration

Despite the differences in confessional affiliation there is a sense of the common ethnic identity, based on the high national self-consciousness in all the three confessional stratums of the Armenians in Lebanon. The manifestation and symbol of that is the collaboration of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical churches in the sphere of implementation of various nationwide programmes.

The collaboration of the Armenian Evangelical Church with other confessional groups also includes different spheres of public live.

  • social,
  • scientific and educational,
  • political.

Social sphere is prior in the interconfessional collaboration of the Armenians in Lebanon. The vivid example of such collaboration was the establishment of the national sanatorium in Maamlte by the Apostolic and Evangelical churches in 1923, which later, in 1937, moved to Azounieh. The establishment of the national hospital was conditioned by the necessity to treat the diseases (particularly tuberculoses) which were spread among the Armenians who had immigrated to Lebanon after the Genocide. The considerable contribution to the establishment of the hospital was made by the Cathalicos of the Great House of Cilicia Sahak Khapian and Rev. Enovk Khatitian. Today the hospital is a property of the Armenian Apostolic and Evangelical Churches. Being one of the leading medical facilities in Lebanon it continues its mission directed for a good of the nation. The hospital is managed by the board of trustees which consists of eight members – four Apostolic and four Evangelical. According to the charter the position of the head of the board of trustees is taken by the representative of the Apostolic Church and the position of his deputy – by the representative of the Evangelical Church. At the same time the secretary is always an Apostolic while treasurer is Evangelical6. In fact, this is the case when the interconfessional collaboration is of institutional character.

In the scientific and educational spheres interconfessional collaboration is manifested in the following:

  • the eager activity of the Apostolic Armenians and Catholics in the Protestant educational institutions,
  • active participation of other communities in the events arranged by one of them.

From the point of view of the eager activity of the Apostolic and Catholic Armenians in the Protestant educational institutions the experience of Haigazian University is also remarkable. Despite the fact the university belongs to the Armenian Evangelical Church and its president is the spiritual leader of the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon, there are many adherents of the Armenian Apostlic church and Catholic Church in the administrative and teaching stuff. The Cathalocos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I often reads lectures on the Armenian Studies, theology and ecumenism. The well-known representative of the Armenian Catholic Church A.Karanian – the editor-in-chief of the “Haigazian” journal devoted to the Armenian Studies – also teaches at that university7.

An interesting example of the active involvement of communities in the events arranged by one of them is “The Culture of the Cilician Armenia” conference arranged by the Cathalicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and Matenadaran (Yerevan) in Antilia, in which the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches actively participated8. This is another fact proving the existence of the common Armenian civilizational field for Catholic and Protestant Armenians.

The participation of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches, represented by the Prelate of Lebanon Bishop Gegham Khacherian and the General Vicar of the Armenian Catholic Church Bishop Vartan Ashkarian, at the 50th anniversary of the Haigazian University in 2005 was also remarkable9.

The interconfessional collaboration in the political sphere is expressed by common efforts taken in the direction of solving nationwide problems and facing challenges. The Armenian community in Lebanon, despite its inner stratification on partisan or confessional grounds, is united as for such issues of nationwide significance as the Genocide, Hay Dat, confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the resistance to the Turkish bids and etc.

The symbol of that unity is the monument built in Bikfaya honouring the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the writing on it reads that the monument was erected with the cooperation of the whole Armenian community10. It results from this that all the Armenians in Lebanon, despite their partisan or confessional affiliations, are united as for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

In issues regarding politics the unity of the Armenian religious communities was expressed by the common statement of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Churches in August 2006 against the deployment of the Turkish peacemakers in Lebanon11.

Thus, the nationwide significance of activity of the Protestant Armenian organizations, as well as the eager interconfessional collaboration, proves that “... there is neither former acute “dashnak-hnchak-ramgavar” struggle” nor “Apostolic-Catholic-Evangelical” struggle in Lebanon”12. Consequently, the Protestant Armenians in Lebanon, being rather active and viable community, are integrated with the rest of the Armenians living in Lebanon and together they form a single organic unity which is called the Armenian community in Lebanon.

1See AMAA Directory 2009: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions, Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide, p. 13. http://www.amaa.org/Directory%20for%20website.pdf

2See http://www.haigazian.edu.lb/Academics/Pages/UndergraduatePrograms.aspx

3See AMAA Directory 2009: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions, Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide, pp. 13-14. http://www.amaa.org/Directory%20for%20website.pdf

4The fact that almost a half of the students at Haigazian University are foreigners proves the international significance of the university, as well as its good reputation on the international level.

5Լիբանան. Սփյուռքի սիրտը և շտեմարանը, http://wap.report.am/?lang=AM&id=1286

6Հայ ազգային բուժարան, Ազունիէ, Լիբանան, http://www.keghart.com/Moskofian_Azunie

7Ливанские эскизы, http://aniv.ru/view.php?numer=16&st=2

8Ibid.

9Հայկազյան համալսարանի ոսկյա հոբելյանը, Ազգ, 06.07.2005թ.։

10Armenians in Lebanon, http://www.horizonworld.com/vb/showthread.php?t=63

11See Армяне Ливана против включения турецких сил в состав миротворческого контингента, http://www.regnum.ru/news/690305.html

12Լիբանան. Սփյուռքի սիրտը և շտեմարանը, http://wap.report.am/?lang=AM&id=1286


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