Armenian school kids reflect on Akhtamar ceremony

by Tom Vartabedian

Published: Saturday October 09, 2010

Armenian Church at Akhtamar building finally got its cross on October 1. Yerkir Media - Photolur

Students at St. Gregory Church of North Andover, MA, respond to the Akhtamar controversy . Tom Vartabedian

North Andover, Mass. - What comes first, the cross or the badarak?

Armenian School students at St. Gregory Church of North Andover were posed the question that has rocked the Armenian community both here and abroad.

And they let their sentiments flow freely on a subject that has piqued their curiosity and deep-rooted sentiments.

"A badarak without a cross? That's like a heritage without a language," they felt. "As Christians, we must defend our sacred traditions."

For the first time in 95 years, liturgy and hymns were heard at Soorp Khatch Church on the island of Akhtamar on September 19. But it didn't come without controversy. Turkey delayed the installation of the cross on the cupola that overlooks Lake Van, claiming it was too heavy to bear, causing a high level of anxiety and boycott.

In another incident, children visiting Turkey were made to leave the church while lighting candles, praying and singing hymns. They were not allowed to burn incense by the khatchkars.

[The cross was eventually installed on October 1, but visitors to Akhtamar are still barred from praying inside the church - Editor's note.]

"If I went to Akhtamar and knew there was no cross on my church, I wouldn't go inside," said Ani Minasian, 12. "How can the Turks think they can open a church after 95 years without the cross on which Christ died? We were the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Our history must be protected."

"The cross is the symbol of Christ and you can't pray without it," wrote Anna Shahtanian, 10. "If that happened in this community, people would stay away."

"What bothers me more than the missing cross is why it took 95 years to celebrate a badarak at this church and why Armenians didn't complain when it was turned into a museum," admitted Joanna Duffy, 11. "It seems to me the Turks were looking for an excuse to win respect from the outside world."

Her sister Brett, 16, feels the problem goes well beyond a badarak. In her opinion, just holding a church service isn't enough to gain credibility.

"What about an admission of guilt for all those lives that were lost during the genocide?" she pondered. "One religious service hardly makes amends. It may have been a step in the right direction but what about all those other churches in ruins inside Turkey. What's being done with those?"

In the mind of Noah Aznoian, where there's a will, there must be a way. He feels the Armenians visiting Akhtamar should have been a bit more determined and made their own cross.

"They should have stuck to their roots and built a cross themselves," he felt. "They could have taken two large boards, tied them together, and made a temporary cross. It didn't even have to go on the dome. It could have just been placed there on the ground."

"The Turks claim the dome couldn't support a cross and that it was too heavy," rationalized Kelsey Apovian, 10. "I find that hard to believe in a renovated church. Having a badarak there is a step in the right direction but I wish the cross would have been there."

"Some might argue that the cross is with us spiritually, not physically," said Nick Kochakian, 14. "If that's the case, then Jesus died on a cross that wasn't there."

"The Turks may be able to take away our cross but they can never take away our beliefs, our church, our history," offered Mary Frounjian, 13. "By boycotting this service, we're only defeating ourselves. We waited 95 years for a service at that church. We owed it to our genocide victims."

"The reason behind the badarak is because Turkey wants to look good in the eyes of the European Union and show the world they aren't all that bad," analyzed Denis Teague, 14. "A Moslem nation is not going to support Christianity, no matter what."

"A cross is the symbol of all Armenian Christianity," noted Armen Hovsepian, 12. "It's covered our heritage for more than 1,700 years. You see crosses on all Christian churches. To worship without one is a mistake. I would not have attended that service."

Regardless of a cross or not, Aghavny Bebirian, 17, would still have attended the service and prayed. She would have lit the incense and sang hymns, despite any resistance from Turkish police.

"By keeping our faith strong, we're showing God our dedication," she said. "We're proving to Turkey that Armenian Christianity will never die, no matter how inconsiderate their actions may be."

As for 9-year-old Meline Almasian, she wants to see any hard feelings or bitterness put aside. A lifetime of hostility doesn't appear to be getting any better in her mind.

"Make peace, not war," she brought out."That's the Christian way."