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24.09.2010

ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY IN SYRIA

   

Vahram Hovyan

V.Hovyan - The expert of the Center of the Armenian Studies at “Noravank” Foundation

The Armenian Evangelical community of Syria is one of three confessional layers of the local Armeniancy, alongside with the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic communities. Taking into consideration organization and energies of the Armenian Evangelicals, it is necessary to pay attention to their activity.

The main Armenian Evangelical community of Syria is in Aleppo, which have traditionally been the city most tensely populated with the Armenians in Syria. Being the centre or “capital” of the Armenian community of Syria in general, Aleppo is, at the same time, the centre or “capital” of the Armenian Evangelical community. Here most of the Armenian Evangelicals in Syria live. According to official data, their number in Aleppo is 4 thousand. But according to non-official data, their number is 2500-3000. Here the main managing structure of the Armenian Evangelicals – the Office of Armenia Evangelical Community – is situated, which is headed by Rev. Haroutioun Selimian. At present Aleppo, in some sense, may be considered the world centre of the Armenian Evangelicals, because Rev. Haroutioun Selimian is also the president of the Armenian Evangelical World Council. Besides the office of the Armenian Evangelical community, most of the Armenian Evangelical churches, educational and other organizations in Syria are also situated in Aleppo.

There are Armenian Evangelical communities in other Syrian population centers inhabited by the Armenians too – capital Damascus, Kessab, Homs and etc.

Armenian Evangelical community in Syria is characterized by following features:

  • It is one of the oldest Armenian Evangelical communities in the world and being one of the oldest communities in this aspect, it has passed certain stages of development.
  • It is rather well organized which allows showing notable activity. The vivid evidence of that is the abundance and diversity of its organizational structures which spread eager activity in different spheres.
  • It is not isolated from Armenian Apostolic and Catholic communities, but it forms one common unity with them – Armenia Community in Syria. The best evidence of that is:
  1. Spreading activity of the Evangelical organizations all over the Armenian community.
  2. Close inter-confessional cooperation with the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic communities.

Historical note

Being formed in the middle of the 19th century and being one of the first Armenian Evangelical communities, the Armenian Evangelical community in Syria has passed a certain historical development. The history of this community falls into two periods:

  • Pre-Genocidal – from the middle of the 19th century till the Armenian Genocide
  • Post-Genocidal – from the Armenian Genocide till our days.
  1. Pre-Genocidal period. Armenian Evangelical communities in Syria were formed in the middle of 19th century when that country formed a part of the Ottoman Empire. Protestantism which was getting predominant among the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire was also disseminated among the Armenians of Syria who mainly lived in Aleppo and Kessab. Here the first Armenian Evangelical communities were formed. Armenian Evangelical church was established in Aleppo in 1852 and in Kessab in 1853.
    In the pre-Genocidal period Armenian Evangelical activity covered two spheres – spiritual-clerical and educational. There were parochial schools working.
  2. Post-Genocidal period. Many thousands of Armenians after the Armenian Genocide, including Evangelicals from Western Armenia and Cilicia as well, immigrated and appeared in Syria1, which promoted the expansion of the local Armenian Evangelical communities and creation of the new ones. Besides Aleppo and Kessab Armenian Evangelical communities were formed in Damascus and other population centers where Armenians settled after the Genocide.
    The challenges which emerged as a result of the Genocide as well as freedoms which came forward after the independence of Syria broadened the borders of the activity of the Armenian Evangelical community. Spiritual-clerical and educational activities were supplemented by social, cultural and other activities, which also implies broadening of the organizational structures in both quantitative and qualitative (in the aspect of diversity) aspects.

The comparative analysis of the two aforementioned stages in the history of the Armenian Evangelical community allows underlining the following main peculiarities:

  • If in pre-Genocidal period Syria was a part of the Ottoman Empire and, correspondingly, the local Armenian Evangelical community was within the framework of the Turkish state, in post-Genocidal period, when Syria had already obtained independence, local Armenian Evangelical community was and worked in independent Syria where there were better conditions for spreading its activity.
  • If in the pre-Genocidal period Armenian Evangelical community in Syria was smaller in terms of both size and geographic dispersedness, after the Armenian Genocide it broadened. In pre-Genocidal period Armenian Evangelical community in Syria mainly included Aleppo and Kessab. In post-Genocidal period Armenian Evangelical communities were formed in Damascus and other places populated by Armenians.
  • If in pre-Genocidal period the activity of the Armenian Evangelical community covered mainly clerical and educational spheres, in post-Genocidal period the range of its activity broadened and included social, cultural and other spheres as well.
  • If in pre-Genocidal period the organizational structures of the Armenian Evangelical community were only of clerical or educational character, in the second period they become more diverse.

Organizational structures

The Armenian Evangelical community in Syria is distinguished by the variety of organizational structures. They can be divided into four groups:

  • Managing
  • Clerical
  • Educational
  • Social
  1. There are two managing structures in the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria - Armenian Evangelical Community Office and Armenian Evangelical Educational Council. Both institutions are situated in Aleppo and carry organizational duties. Both of them are headed by the head of the Armenian Evangelical Community Rev. Haroutune Selimian2.
  2. Clerical structures were created in Syria in the middle of the 19th century alongside with formation of the Armenian Evangelical community. The first Armenian Evangelical Churches – Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church and Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church of Kessab – were established, correspondingly, in 1852 and 1853.
    At present Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria have 11 churches, the overwhelming majority of which is centered in Aleppo (5) and Kessab (4). There is one Armenian Evangelical Church in Damascus and one - in Homs3.
  3. Educational institutions are the schools of the Armenian Evangelical community in Syria. Currently their number is 6. The majority of the educational institutions are centered in Aleppo. There is one school in Damascus and one – in Kessab4.
    In order to prevent immigration of the gifted Armenian children there is an intention to establish Armenian University in Aleppo5.
  4. There are 8 social organizations in the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria. Most of them are also centered in Aleppo (7). Only one of them - Armenian Christian Endeavor Summer Camp – is situated outside Aleppo, in Kessab6.
    Social organizations of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria are beneficial, health, youth and other institutions. Among them are the Jinishian Memorial Program’s branch in Syria, Howard Karageuzian Foundation’s branch in Syria, Christian Endeavor Youth Center and etc.

All-Armenian nature of the activity of the organizational structures

The activity of the organizational structures of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria is not only confined to narrowly Evangelical community. It includes the entire Armenian community in Syria, regardless of their confessional differences, which comes to prove the fact that the Armenia Evangelical community in Syria is integrated into the Armenian Community in Syria in general and it constitutes its inseparable part.

The all-Armenian nature of the activity of the Armenian Evangelical organizations in Syria manifests itself in the following sectors:

  • Spiritual
  • Educational
  • Social
  1. Spiritual sector. Even the activity of the clerical structures is spread not only on Evangelicals: among the parishioners of the Armenian Evangelical churches there are also Armenian Apostolics. According to Evangelical spiritual figures, Christian religion is important and confession is of minor importance. As the pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Damascus Rev. Datev Basmajian said: “The most important is being Christian Armenian. … At the end when we stand in front of God, he will not ask whether you are Evangelical or Apostolic”7.
  2. Educational sector. There are two factors which show all-Armenian nature of the Armenian Evangelical educational institutions:
    • Education in the Armenian spirit. Since the 19th century everything has been done to provide education in the Armenian spirit in the Armenian Evangelical schools. As Rev. E. Kasouni mentions: “… Till 1890s… in the Armenian Evangelical schools English language and Turkish (with Armenian and Arab letters) were taught; there was no Armenian. Since 1893 they had made it obligatory to teach Armenian and a number of other subjects in Armenian in villages populated exclusively by the Armenians”8.
    • The confessional composition of the pupils. The confessional composition of the pupils studying in the Armenian Evangelical schools is not confined mainly to the Evangelical children. It was common that the Armenian Apostolic children visited Evangelical schools back in the pre-Genocidal period and this was connected with the sad state of the national schools. “… In the end, the Apostolic Armenians preferred to send their children either to Protestant or Latin schools, because national schools had neither regular textbooks, nor building, accessories or enough and well-prepared teachers”, - wrote H. Cholakian9.
  3. Social sector. Not only Evangelical Community can take an advantage of the activity of the social organizations because they were established in order to help Armenians in Syria who were in hard conditions. Such organizations as Armenian (Armenian Ecumenical) Old Age Home, the branches of Howard Karageuzian Foundation and Jinishian Memorial Program, AREVIG Center carry out numerous social programmes10.
    The activity of the social organizations cannot be confined narrowly to the Armenian Evangelical Community either because some of them are managed by all the three Armenian communities in Syria.

Inter-confessional cooperation

All three confessional groups of the Armenians in Syria have the high level of national self-consciousness which unites them in one common unity – the Armenian Community in Syria. The characteristics of the Armenian identity are peculiar to the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical communities. For example, the consciousness of common motherland, which was vividly reflected in the 1948-49 large-scale repatriation. The wave of enthusiasm during the repatriation, according to H. Cholakian, overwhelmed all the Armenians in Syria, irrespective of their confessional differences. “The migration was arranged in all the districts cities and villages of Syria. Armenian families and individuals belonging to all three Armenian confessional communities and from all the districts migrated” 11.

Close relations and cooperation with the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic communities are also evidences that Armenian Evangelical community in Syria is an inseparable part of the Armeniancy of Syria. The inter-confessional cooperation is manifested on two levels:

  • Individual when separate individuals from all three communities actively cooperate with each other.
  • Institutional when communication and cooperation take place on the level of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical communities through their institutional structures.

Individual cooperation is manifested in the following:

  1. Involvement of the representatives of all three Armenian confessional groups in national organizations and their joint activity. This form of inter-confessional cooperation goes back to the pre-Genocidal period – to 1890s. Such cooperation was initiated by the first Armenian parties which played the role of nationwide structures. As H. Cholakian mentions “SDHP was the first who awoke national consciousness among the fellow villagers who were split by confessional issues and hostile in regard to each other. In those villages the members of the party were the Armenian priest, Catholic spiritual figure, Protestant preacher and even foreign Latin padre…”12.
    In post-Genocidal period the example of the AGBU stands out. “The Armenian General Benevolent Union promoted involvement of the representatives of different communities in one structure and provision of common aspirations in national education in other villages of Antioch, e.g. in Kessab. Alongside with the Armenian Apostolics, Protestants, Catholics and even Latins were involved in the same branch”, - said H. Cholakian13.
  2. Participation of the representatives of three Armenian confessional groups in nationwide events. The most mass nationwide events are the events in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide on April 24 in which Armenians participate regardless of their confessional differences. As the lecturer of Damascus University Nora Arisian said: “On that day Armenians in Syria do not work, they close their stores, and in the evenings they participate in the events. It means that every Armenian pays a tribute to the victims”14.
  3. The fact that the confessional differences do not take an important role and significance in the secular relations and spheres of activity. Both the adherents of the Apostolic Church and Catholic and Protestant Armenians are involved in such relations and spheres of activity. A good example is the sports clubs of the Armenian community in Syria in which Armenians are involved irrespective of their confessional differences.
    Another example: At the anniversaries of RAP (“Ramkavar Azatakan” Party) “… personalities, who contributed greatly to the Armenian nation, regardless of their partisan or confessional aspirations” are invited15.

Manifestations of the cooperation on the institutional level are:

  1. Arranging and holding of the events.
  2. Participation of the representatives of other communities in the events arranged by one of them.
  3. Participation of all three communities in nationwide events.
  4. Joint establishment of organizations and their joint management.
  5. Common efforts directed to solving problems of the Armenian Community in Syria

On the institutional level inter-confessional cooperation is actively manifested in political, social, scientific and cultural, educational spheres.

  1. In the political sphere the cooperation between three Armenian confessional communities is directed to the solution of the nationwide issues. In this aspect the struggle for the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is of great importance. In this issue there is a close cooperation and understanding between the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Churches.
    In the political sphere inter-confessional cooperation and relations are manifested mainly in arranging common events and participation of representatives of three confessional groups in nationwide events. For example, annual events devoted to April 24 are arranged by the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical communities.
    The vivid example of common participation in the nationwide events is the visit of the president of the RA Serzh Sargsyan when the leaders of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical communities accompanied the RA president and participated in the events arranged during his visit.
  2. Social sphere is of great importance in the inter-confessional cooperation. Here it is manifested in the joint establishment of the social organizations and their management. Such organizations are Armenian (Armenian Ecumenical) Old Age Home, the branches of Howard Karageuzian Foundation and Jinishian Memorial Program, AREVIG Center16.
  3. In scientific and cultural spheres the forms of inter-confessional cooperation and relations are joint participation in nationwide events, arrangement of joint events, and participation of others in the events arranged by one of them.
    In the aspect of participation in the events of nationwide character the joint participation of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Churches in the cultural events arranged by the RA Embassy in Syria should be mentioned. From the point of view of joint events the remarkable example is celebrating with joint efforts 1600th anniversary of Armenian writing, 1700 anniversary of adoption of Christianity and etc17.
    As for the participation of other communities in the events arranged by one of them, this form of cooperation manifests itself even on regional level. For example, at the end of October 2009 at the conference arranged by the Cathalicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antilias and devoted to the centenary of Adana massacres, the head of the Armenian Evangelical Community of Syria Rev. H. Selimian delivered a report18.
  4. The aim of the inter-confessional cooperation in the educational sphere is to promote educating children in the Armenian spirit. H. Cholakian while speaking about the situation at the end of the 19th century mentioned that the issue of the national education and upbringing was a necessity: “…for all the Armenians, irrespective of their confessional affiliations” 19.
    The marked form of cooperation in this sphere was the struggle of the Armenian confessional communities by which they strived to get the permission to teach the Armenian language as well as allowance of teaching religious studies in Armenian.

Thus, the organizational activity of the Armenian Evangelical community in Syria stirs up life of the community. Spreading activity on the whole Armenian community, inter-confessional ties and cooperation with the local Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches prove that the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria is an inseparable part of the local Armenian community in general.

1According to different data, there are about 70-100 thousand Armenians settled in Syria after the Genocide։ See: Nicola Migliorino, (Re)Constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-Cultural Diversity and the State in the Aftermath of a Refugee Crisis, 2008, p. 31-34.

2See: AMAA Directory 2010: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions, Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide, p. 16 http://www.amaa.org/Directory%20for%20website.pdf

3Ibid, p. 15-16։

4Ibid, p. 16։

5Charlotte Wiedemann, Armenians in Syria: Half a Home http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-790/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-714/i.html

6See: AMAA Directory ..., p. 16

7Interview with the Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Damascus, Rev. Datev Basmajin Արաքս Փաշայան, Դամասկոսի հայ համայնքը. ներկան և հեռանկարը, Նորավանք ԳԿՀ տե¬ղեկագիր, 2008թ., թիվ 23, էջ 33, 34։

8Վեր. Եղիա Քասունի, Լուսաշաւիղ պատմութեան հայ աւետարանական շարժման, Պէյրութ, 1947, էջ 159։

9See: Յակոբ Չոլաքեան, Անտիոքի մերձակայ Ռուճի հովիտի հայերը (Պատմա-ազգագրական ուսումնասիրություն, Անթիլիաս, 2006թ., էջ 146)։

10Հայ սփյուռք հանրագիտարան, Երևան, Հայկական հանրագիտարան. հրատարակչություն, 2003թ., էջ 527, 528, 529։

11Յակոբ Չոլաքեան, նշվ. աշխ., էջ 178։

12Ibid, p. 151։

13Ibid, p. 187։

14Interview with the lecturer of the Damascus University, the member of the Union of writers of Syria Nora Asirian, Araks Pashayan, mentioned work, p. 35։

15Interview with the senior official of Tekeian Cultural Union, the deputy chairman of Damascus Supreme organ of RAP George Parseghian, Araks Pashayan, the mentioned work, p. 49։

16Հայ սփյուռք հանրագիտարան, էջ 527, 528, 529։

17Interview with the Head of the Damascus Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Armash Nalbandyan. Araks Pashayan, the mentioned work, p. 24.

18Ալիք, 01.11.2009։

19Յակոբ Չոլաքեան, նշվ. աշխ., էջ 151։

“Globus National Security”, issue 4

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