Tweet
WORDS TO THINK ABOUT: ARMENIAN HISTORY, CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN SOCIETY OFTEN OVERLOOKED, BUT DESERVING OF ATTENTION
G.W. Abersold Ph.D
Highland News
http://www.highlandnews.net/articles/2011/07/28/entertainment/doc4e31f3dae4b26020351217.txt
July 28, 2011
The history of the Armenians is worthy of our interest and study.
I became very interested in them and their history a few years ago
when I wrote an article about Chuck Demirjyn.
He loved his family, the USA, his faith and Redlands. He was a school
teacher for 30 years, a city councilman for 28 years and mayor for
eight years. He loved fishing, music (an excellent musician) and
hated the Turks with a passion.
The word "genocide" was first used by Rafael Lemkin in 1943. He
identified it with the destruction of an ethnic group, the Armenians
by the Turks (1915-1917), and the Jews by Hitler (World War II). One
million 500 thousand Armenians and six to eight million Jews.
Also, the 19 million Mexican Indians slaughtered by Cortes and disease
(between 1522 and 1600), and the murder of thousands of Native
Americans by the French and British (1620-1820).
The history of Armenians has been and is an illustrious one. In spite
of this, the United States is one of the few countries that has NOT
acknowledged the fact of Armenian genocide. Mainly because of its
closeness with Turkey.
Turkey has continually denied that genocide ever happened. However, the
facts are undeniable. The families of the men, women and children and
unbiased historians have accurately recorded the genocide by the Turks.
Armenia is a territory with a land area of 11,506 square miles. It has
a population of 2,966,802. For many years it was a part of the USSR,
but on Sept. 23, 1991 Armenia proclaimed its independence.
It is a land-locked country, surrounded by Iran, Turkey, Georgia
and Azerbaijan.
The first Armenian to arrive in California was Ruben Minasian. He
settled in Fresno. The largest concentration of Armenians is in
Glendale with about 55,000 residents.
On Oct. 6, 2000, Hollywood was named "Little Armenia." There are over
one million in the USA.
Perhaps the best way to grasp the influence of Armenians is to realize
their impact on our culture: Richard Deukmejian, former Governor of
California; Andre Agassi, tennis player; Cher, famous singer/actress;
Mike Connors (Obanian) actor; William Saroyan, writer; Garry Kasporov,
world chess champion; and Dr. Jack Kevorkian, physician. To name only
a few.
Traces of Armenian settlements go back to about 6000 BCE. It was
originally called the "Kingdom of Urartii", referred to in the Bible
as Ararat. (The resting place of Noah's Ark.) It has been populated
since the Stone Age.
Its history has been turbulent. It has been dominated by Persia,
Rome, Byzantium, Greece and invaded by the Turks, Seljuks, Mongols
and Tartars. It has been ruled by the Ottomans, and the Russians.
Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its state
religion in 301 A.D. In 313 A.D., 12 years later, Constantine issued
the Edict of Milan, making it the dominant religion of the Roman
Empire.
According to tradition the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus preached
in Armenia and died there. The great apostle of Armenia was Saint
Gregory the Illuminator (257-337).
The early centuries of Armenian Christianity were filled with trauma.
The Church was called then and still is, The Armenian Apostolic
Church. It is one of the Ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches. Today
there are about ten million members worldwide.
Ten percent of Armenians (at home and abroad) are affiliated with
Roman Catholics and Protestants.
I have been in communication with Father Shnork Demirjean, the leader
of St. Peter's Armenian Apostolic Church in Van Nuys. He informs
me there are 200 churches and parishes in the USA and more than a
thousand over the world.
They believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, which in Armenian means
"the Breath of God."
Members also believe in the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion,
Chrismation, Ordination, Penance, Holy Matrimony, the Rites/healing.
They also believe in salvation through faith in Christ, total immersion
and infant baptism.
They support the decisions of the first three Ecumenical Councils
(325 A.D., 381 A.D., 431 A.D.) The basic issue dealt with Jesus as
equal with God and subservient to Him.
The Armenian Church is ancient and yet modern. It remains a dynamic
force on the world stage.
Amen. Selah. So be it.
G.W. Abersold Ph.D
Highland News
http://www.highlandnews.net/articles/2011/07/28/entertainment/doc4e31f3dae4b26020351217.txt
July 28, 2011
The history of the Armenians is worthy of our interest and study.
I became very interested in them and their history a few years ago
when I wrote an article about Chuck Demirjyn.
He loved his family, the USA, his faith and Redlands. He was a school
teacher for 30 years, a city councilman for 28 years and mayor for
eight years. He loved fishing, music (an excellent musician) and
hated the Turks with a passion.
The word "genocide" was first used by Rafael Lemkin in 1943. He
identified it with the destruction of an ethnic group, the Armenians
by the Turks (1915-1917), and the Jews by Hitler (World War II). One
million 500 thousand Armenians and six to eight million Jews.
Also, the 19 million Mexican Indians slaughtered by Cortes and disease
(between 1522 and 1600), and the murder of thousands of Native
Americans by the French and British (1620-1820).
The history of Armenians has been and is an illustrious one. In spite
of this, the United States is one of the few countries that has NOT
acknowledged the fact of Armenian genocide. Mainly because of its
closeness with Turkey.
Turkey has continually denied that genocide ever happened. However, the
facts are undeniable. The families of the men, women and children and
unbiased historians have accurately recorded the genocide by the Turks.
Armenia is a territory with a land area of 11,506 square miles. It has
a population of 2,966,802. For many years it was a part of the USSR,
but on Sept. 23, 1991 Armenia proclaimed its independence.
It is a land-locked country, surrounded by Iran, Turkey, Georgia
and Azerbaijan.
The first Armenian to arrive in California was Ruben Minasian. He
settled in Fresno. The largest concentration of Armenians is in
Glendale with about 55,000 residents.
On Oct. 6, 2000, Hollywood was named "Little Armenia." There are over
one million in the USA.
Perhaps the best way to grasp the influence of Armenians is to realize
their impact on our culture: Richard Deukmejian, former Governor of
California; Andre Agassi, tennis player; Cher, famous singer/actress;
Mike Connors (Obanian) actor; William Saroyan, writer; Garry Kasporov,
world chess champion; and Dr. Jack Kevorkian, physician. To name only
a few.
Traces of Armenian settlements go back to about 6000 BCE. It was
originally called the "Kingdom of Urartii", referred to in the Bible
as Ararat. (The resting place of Noah's Ark.) It has been populated
since the Stone Age.
Its history has been turbulent. It has been dominated by Persia,
Rome, Byzantium, Greece and invaded by the Turks, Seljuks, Mongols
and Tartars. It has been ruled by the Ottomans, and the Russians.
Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its state
religion in 301 A.D. In 313 A.D., 12 years later, Constantine issued
the Edict of Milan, making it the dominant religion of the Roman
Empire.
According to tradition the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus preached
in Armenia and died there. The great apostle of Armenia was Saint
Gregory the Illuminator (257-337).
The early centuries of Armenian Christianity were filled with trauma.
The Church was called then and still is, The Armenian Apostolic
Church. It is one of the Ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches. Today
there are about ten million members worldwide.
Ten percent of Armenians (at home and abroad) are affiliated with
Roman Catholics and Protestants.
I have been in communication with Father Shnork Demirjean, the leader
of St. Peter's Armenian Apostolic Church in Van Nuys. He informs
me there are 200 churches and parishes in the USA and more than a
thousand over the world.
They believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, which in Armenian means
"the Breath of God."
Members also believe in the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion,
Chrismation, Ordination, Penance, Holy Matrimony, the Rites/healing.
They also believe in salvation through faith in Christ, total immersion
and infant baptism.
They support the decisions of the first three Ecumenical Councils
(325 A.D., 381 A.D., 431 A.D.) The basic issue dealt with Jesus as
equal with God and subservient to Him.
The Armenian Church is ancient and yet modern. It remains a dynamic
force on the world stage.
Amen. Selah. So be it.