Let me share a little about my amazing experiences in Jerusalem which I hope more Armenians visit when things calm down... the community there is sputtering out due to all the tensions there, and even without immigration it would be much better off if Armenian tourists visit for a week, a month, a summer. Really this land is so incredibly valuable that we must do everything possible to protect it.
In January 2000 I was in Jerusalem for the second time and again had a great reception by the local Armenian community. They were very friendly and me and Zabel had a great time in their homes, agumps, churches, shops and more. We got to see much more than usual tourists get to see, including large parts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which are usually locked to tourists, the underground area of the Armenian Catholic Patriachate, and the attached, closed off station of the cross, which the vast majority only see a little number on the outside of the building to indicate the station of the cross, plus the vast Armenian Monastery attached to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and other misc properties.
It was so great to see all this stuff and be shown it firsthand by our newly made friends there... Arpi was a teacher, Bedros a university student, and Haik, Tigran, Bagrad and Armen were clergy. Suren and Suzie in Jerusalem I knew from an online chat, as well as Artur near Haifa and later his friend Armen, both had moved from Armenia with their families.
One of the most amazing experiences in my life is when we were invited to a mass in the middle of the night at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If you know about this church, built over the spot where Jesus was crucified prepared for burial, buried and resurrected, you know that it is shared by the Armenians, Greeks and Latins primarily and that a Muslim family holds the key to it and locks it every night. Why a Muslim? Because the Christian sects cannot trust one another to hold it. What I did NOT know is that when the door is locked, a whole community of clergy are locked in too, as in our case, congregants who were invited to stay as well. Well Tigran invited us to stay and attend the service which meant being locked in. We accepted and stayed up talking to him in his cell while the hours went by and other sects conducted their masses. Then it was time for the Armenian service and we got up while they conducted the divine liturgy in Jesus' tomb. It was just us sitting there and we took communion at Jesus' tomb. First thing in the morning when the doors were unlocked we had an amazing breakfast of Foul and mint tea.
Anyway, this experience was so special, and so Armenian, that I want to make sure we can preserve our (not so) little enclave there, so that Armenians can have that experience for another millenia to come... so again, for the third time this week on this page, I am asking you to visit www.anca.org and take action against this land seizure. I firmly believe we must stop it at any cost, including if necessary taking the symbolic act of declaring war on Israel if necessary to drive the point home.
In January 2000 I was in Jerusalem for the second time and again had a great reception by the local Armenian community. They were very friendly and me and Zabel had a great time in their homes, agumps, churches, shops and more. We got to see much more than usual tourists get to see, including large parts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which are usually locked to tourists, the underground area of the Armenian Catholic Patriachate, and the attached, closed off station of the cross, which the vast majority only see a little number on the outside of the building to indicate the station of the cross, plus the vast Armenian Monastery attached to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and other misc properties.
It was so great to see all this stuff and be shown it firsthand by our newly made friends there... Arpi was a teacher, Bedros a university student, and Haik, Tigran, Bagrad and Armen were clergy. Suren and Suzie in Jerusalem I knew from an online chat, as well as Artur near Haifa and later his friend Armen, both had moved from Armenia with their families.
One of the most amazing experiences in my life is when we were invited to a mass in the middle of the night at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If you know about this church, built over the spot where Jesus was crucified prepared for burial, buried and resurrected, you know that it is shared by the Armenians, Greeks and Latins primarily and that a Muslim family holds the key to it and locks it every night. Why a Muslim? Because the Christian sects cannot trust one another to hold it. What I did NOT know is that when the door is locked, a whole community of clergy are locked in too, as in our case, congregants who were invited to stay as well. Well Tigran invited us to stay and attend the service which meant being locked in. We accepted and stayed up talking to him in his cell while the hours went by and other sects conducted their masses. Then it was time for the Armenian service and we got up while they conducted the divine liturgy in Jesus' tomb. It was just us sitting there and we took communion at Jesus' tomb. First thing in the morning when the doors were unlocked we had an amazing breakfast of Foul and mint tea.
Anyway, this experience was so special, and so Armenian, that I want to make sure we can preserve our (not so) little enclave there, so that Armenians can have that experience for another millenia to come... so again, for the third time this week on this page, I am asking you to visit www.anca.org and take action against this land seizure. I firmly believe we must stop it at any cost, including if necessary taking the symbolic act of declaring war on Israel if necessary to drive the point home.
posted by Raffi K. at 9:34 AM
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