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BUILDING A CREMATORIUM IN ARMENIA HAS BECOME IMPERATIVE, EXPERT SAYS
epress.am
11.15.2011
On Feb. 27, 2006, Armenia's National Assembly adopted a law on the
"Operation of Cemeteries and Crematoria and the Organization of
Burials," according to which a crematorium was to have been built
in Yerevan with special furnaces for cremation, a special visitation
room for final farewells, and refrigerated area for temporary storage
of the deceased.
The crematorium has yet to be built. According to state agency
"Special Service of Population" engineer Razmik Harutyunyan, building
crematoriums has become imperative, as the number of cemetery plots
is very limited.
"I can't verifiably say anything about the building of crematoria,
since all the agencies in the project have been assigned to study and
provide information about their construction's location selection and
allocated funds. Under Armenia's conditions, it's very important to
have such a structure. First, 80-90% of the land will be saved, the
sanitary-ecological situation will improve drastically, the safety of
the surrounding environment will be ensured, the aesthetics of burials
will be brought to the proper level, stress levels of relatives of
the deceased will be lowered, and additional costs associated with
burial ceremonies will be saved," Harutyunyan told Epress.am.
The engineer added that there are crematoria in all developed
countries; for example, there are 14,330 crematoriums in the US. In
the case of Armenia, cremation will be not be mandatory and only
offered to those who request it.
"The dead body is burned through the use of electricity (from above)
and gas (from below) at high temperatures. An urn [is provided to the
family], made of non-decaying material (metal or plastic), a container
with an airtight lid where the ashes of the deceased are placed.
"There will also be a memorial wall defined by law, for placing
specially built urns," said Harutyunyan.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, however, is against cremating the
deceased.
"The Church says you are the earth, you will return to the earth, not
considering the scarcity of land. In 2020, there has to be 146 hectares
of land for burial plots, while by 2030, there will be a demand for 300
hectares. Currently, cemeteries take up 540 hectares of land. Cremation
will lead to the economical use of land, and land that's been saved
can be used for better purposes - say, to build parks and cultivated
grounds. Furthermore, 1.5 billion cubic construction material will
be saved - nails, wood and different materials," Harutyunyan stressed.
The city employee, however, noted that family plots are mandatory
according to custom. According to him, if cremation is adopted,
ancestral cemeteries (and enclosed mausoleums) could be built to bury
all family members in the same area.
"If today 12 square meters of land is allotted for 4 people to be
buried, well after cremation, it will be possible to place 23 urns
in the same 12 square meters [not necessarily buried but this is
also an option]. Crematoriums also have a biological significance:
after burial, a corpse begin to decompose, ... which doesn't happen
when it's burned," he said, adding this process releases relatives of
the deceased from the very expensive burden of purchasing headstones
and maintaining and cleaning plots.
epress.am
11.15.2011
On Feb. 27, 2006, Armenia's National Assembly adopted a law on the
"Operation of Cemeteries and Crematoria and the Organization of
Burials," according to which a crematorium was to have been built
in Yerevan with special furnaces for cremation, a special visitation
room for final farewells, and refrigerated area for temporary storage
of the deceased.
The crematorium has yet to be built. According to state agency
"Special Service of Population" engineer Razmik Harutyunyan, building
crematoriums has become imperative, as the number of cemetery plots
is very limited.
"I can't verifiably say anything about the building of crematoria,
since all the agencies in the project have been assigned to study and
provide information about their construction's location selection and
allocated funds. Under Armenia's conditions, it's very important to
have such a structure. First, 80-90% of the land will be saved, the
sanitary-ecological situation will improve drastically, the safety of
the surrounding environment will be ensured, the aesthetics of burials
will be brought to the proper level, stress levels of relatives of
the deceased will be lowered, and additional costs associated with
burial ceremonies will be saved," Harutyunyan told Epress.am.
The engineer added that there are crematoria in all developed
countries; for example, there are 14,330 crematoriums in the US. In
the case of Armenia, cremation will be not be mandatory and only
offered to those who request it.
"The dead body is burned through the use of electricity (from above)
and gas (from below) at high temperatures. An urn [is provided to the
family], made of non-decaying material (metal or plastic), a container
with an airtight lid where the ashes of the deceased are placed.
"There will also be a memorial wall defined by law, for placing
specially built urns," said Harutyunyan.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, however, is against cremating the
deceased.
"The Church says you are the earth, you will return to the earth, not
considering the scarcity of land. In 2020, there has to be 146 hectares
of land for burial plots, while by 2030, there will be a demand for 300
hectares. Currently, cemeteries take up 540 hectares of land. Cremation
will lead to the economical use of land, and land that's been saved
can be used for better purposes - say, to build parks and cultivated
grounds. Furthermore, 1.5 billion cubic construction material will
be saved - nails, wood and different materials," Harutyunyan stressed.
The city employee, however, noted that family plots are mandatory
according to custom. According to him, if cremation is adopted,
ancestral cemeteries (and enclosed mausoleums) could be built to bury
all family members in the same area.
"If today 12 square meters of land is allotted for 4 people to be
buried, well after cremation, it will be possible to place 23 urns
in the same 12 square meters [not necessarily buried but this is
also an option]. Crematoriums also have a biological significance:
after burial, a corpse begin to decompose, ... which doesn't happen
when it's burned," he said, adding this process releases relatives of
the deceased from the very expensive burden of purchasing headstones
and maintaining and cleaning plots.