Etchmiadzin: Holy Land of Hope and Glory
by Chuck Todaro
This nation � Armenia � was the earliest to embrace Christianity as its national religion. Although many are dispersed throughout the world, they remain devoted to the mother Church at Etchmiadzin
According to tradition, after 13 years imprisioned for his beliefs, St. Gregory the Illuminator converted Armenia�s king, Tiridates III, who had long been persecuting Christians. Conversion of the masses followed and Christianity became the state religion in A.D. 301.
�We consider Etchmiadzin holy because we believe Christ actually descended to earth here and blessed this soil,� says Deacon Armen Devejian, a representative of Catholicos Karekin II � leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church who resides in Etchmiadzin.
�Armenians believe that the Armenian soil was blessed a first time when Noah descended from Mount Ararat.�
References to Noah, and there are many, illustrate how far back the Armenian lineage travels. Another legend tells how the Armenian nation was founded over 4,000 years ago when the epic hero Haik, one of Noah's great-grandchildren, defeated the Assyrians. To this day Armenians, the descendants of Haik, call themselves �Hays� and their nation Hayastan although it is known throughout the rest of the world as Armenia.
Mount Ararat, the tallest peak in Asia Minor, dominates the Armenian horizon. On a typically hazy day, the base of this broad-shouldered mountain blends into the sky leaving only a ghostly snow-capped peak eerily hovering among the clouds.
To the Armenians, Mount Ararat has always been considered sacred. It was at the base of Ararat that the first Armenians settled. But today, the rocky soil that bore the
Visible from the doorsteps of almost half the population Mount Ararat represents yet another painful reminder of Armenian tragedy and frustration -- or as one Etchmiadzin monk said, �yet another way in which we Armenians are being hated to death.�
While Mount Ararat stands for the Armenian heart -- Etchmiadzin is its spiritual soul. Though it has been razed numerous times over the ages it was always rebuilt. The current structure was built in the 1600�s, but its dense four-foot-thick walls lay over the original foundation built from stones brought down from Mount Ararat by St. Gregory.
�You cannot separate Christian identity from Armenian identity,� says Deacon Devejian.
In the center of the 37-acre complex is the mother church with its massive center dome. A serene atmosphere of tree-lined paths and ancient khachkars, or stone cross carvings, surround the towering church. Often referred to as the St. Peter's of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Etchmiadzin is more than just a place of worship. Since 1441, it has also served as residence of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
Lining the complex's perimeter are the seminary, dormitories and church offices including the Armenian Round Table, an arm of the World Council of Churches that offers much needed assistance to the people of the former communist country. Although Armenia has the highest economic growth rate of any country in the former Soviet Union, more than 50 percent of the population live below the poverty line. The average salary is around $40 a month.
Resting outside on a nearby bench sits 84-year-old Maria Aronyan. Every Sunday she makes the 45-minute bus ride to Etchmiadzin. �A special feeling comes over me on Sunday,� she says. �I feel God by my side, leading me here.�
The liturgy at Etchmiadzin is her moment of peace after a week of stretching her $8-a-month pension, a harsh reality for many of Armenia's elderly.
Each Sunday the churchyard overflows with worshipers and tourists.
A majority of these belong to the Armenian diaspora consisting of roughly seven million people spread among nearly 100 nations. Some 2 million Armenians live Russia, with about 1 million residing in the United States. Half a million Armenians live in France, approximately 150,000 each are found in Syria and Argentina, approximately 100,000 live in Lebanon, 80,000 in Iran, 60,000 in Australia and approximately 3,000 are living in Iraq.
�When I was growing up my grandparents used to tell us about Etchmiadzin. But it was so far away and under Soviet rule at the time that it just as well could have been on Mars,� says 28-year-old Jerry Dadorian from California making his first visit to the land of his ancestors. �Being here feels like I am in a dream,� he said, while gazing up at the church�s 70-foot-high golden arabesque ceiling.
Many of the visitors come as pilgrims wishing to kneel before the altar where Christ is believed to have descended. They crowd into the museum at the back of the church to view the relics that date to the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, who first evangelized the Armenian people. There are more than 800 exhibits in the museum, including the spearhead believed to have pierced the side of Christ. Also there is the right hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator encased in gold and a shred of Noah's Ark that was brought down from Mount Ararat -- long believed to be the place where the Ark came to rest.
Treasures are still being found -- just 50 years ago workmen unearthed a pagan fire temple beneath the main altar. �Why St. Gregory did not destroy the pagan altar is very significant,� says Deacon Devejian. �This tells us that Christ�s coming into the Armenian people�s lives was not a rejection of their past history, but simply the fulfillment of their destiny, that the Armenians chose Christianity willingly and out of choice. St. Gregory didn't have to destroy the past.�
�Etchmiadzin is a part of being Armenian,� says Armine Avakian, a 37-year-old Yerevan resident who was visiting the cathedral. �It is a symbol of our history, our nation, church, traditions and our passions. If it was not for this place I don't believe our nation would exist.�