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ARMENIANS IN POLAND
George Bournoutian
AZG DAILY
22-10-2011
Although I was invited to present a paper at the conference on the
Armenians in Poland last year, the eruption of the volcano in Iceland
postponed my visit. I was asked to come this year to examine the
Armenian archives in Warsaw and to meet with the scholars who are
currently working on Armenian topics. My knowledge of Polish and my
mother's Polish origins opened numerous doors and I found a treasure
trove of Armenian manuscripts, rare books, and paintings.
The Armenians of Poland were originally concentrated in Lvov,
Kamenets-Podolsk, Zamosc and other cities and, as I have indicated
in my writings, had converted to Catholicism in the 17th century.
Following WWI, Poland reemerged as a state and Lvov and Zamosc were
included within its borders. Unlike the Armenian Catholics in Ukraine
(under Soviet rule), Armenian Catholics fared well in Catholic Poland.
The Armenian cathedral in Lvov and the various Armenian Catholic
churches housed manuscripts, rare books, paintings, vessels, and
vestments, some of which had been rescued from the Armenian Catholic
churches in Ukraine during and after the Russo-Polish War of 1920-21
and were sent to Gdansk and other Polish cities.
Some of the important manuscripts were kept in the University of Lvov.
The most important Armenian manuscript was MS no. 58, which contained
the travelogue of Simon of Poland (Simeon Lehatsi). The manuscript
was examined by Father Nerses Akinean of the Armenian Mkhitarist
Congregation in Vienna, who copied it and printed it in the official
Mkhitarist periodical Handes Amsorya (Fall 1932-Spring 1935). A year
later, Akinean published the work in a separate volume with Armenian
and German titles. The book contained additional data, colophons,
glossary, index and an abstract in German. During WWII, at the time
of the German occupation of Lvov, the original MS disappeared and
was presumed lost. Thus, in 2006, when I decided to prepare the
first English translation of the book, I had to rely on Akinean's
volume. In 2007, just as my book The Travel Accounts of Simeon of
Poland, went to press, I heard that the original had been found and
was to be displayed, for a short time, in France. I made a note of
this in my translation (p. 12).
During my recent visit to Poland, I discovered the secret of its
survival. After WWII, when the borders of Poland in the east were
absorbed by the USSR, Lvov became part of Ukraine. Realizing the
danger, all important Armenian manuscripts, rare books, paintings,
vessels and vestments were secretly sent by the Armenian Catholic
clergy in Lvov to Wroslaw for safekeeping. Between 1946 and 1949,
some of the most important items were sent to the National Library in
Warsaw. Among them was the untitled MS. No. 58, bound in light red
leather, composed of 198 two-sided neatly written and very legible
folios-just as Father Akinean had described it. I was given special
permission to examine it, spent some hours comparing parts of it with
Akinean's copy and found it exactly the same.
The Armenian community in Poland is composed of two groups. The
first group numbers some 2,000 Armenians who lived there prior to
1990. This group is totally assimilated and generally cannot speak or
read Armenian. The second group arrived after 1990 and is estimated to
be over 25,000. The results of the new census conducted in 2011 will be
published at the end of this year. Ironically, it is the members of the
first group, who are actively involved in maintaining the historical
Armenian presence in Poland and to educate the Polish public about the
role of the Armenians in Poland. In 2006 they received a grant from the
Polish government and created The Foundation of Culture and Heritage
of Polish Armenians. They collected some of the Armenian manuscripts,
rare books and paintings from Gdansk and other parts of Poland and
have housed them in a secure house-museum in Warsaw. Armenian church
vessels and vestments are still in Wroslaw.
The Foundation issues an Armenian newspaper (Awedis), an Armenian
calendar, various publications, sponsors conferences, and helps
doctoral students interested in conducting research on the Armenians in
Poland. Their funds are small and their staff is composed of just four
individuals, Polish Catholic Armenians, whose families date back to the
17th century. In my humble opinion, they are performing a heroic task
and are worthy of our support. Among the rare books and manuscripts
I found an Armeno-Kipchak dictionary and the original 14th-century
decree from King Jagiello confirming the order of King Casimir the
Great granting special privileges to the Armenians of Poland.
***
George A. Bournoutian (25 September 1943, Isfahan) is a Senior
Professor of History at Iona College. He is the author of numerous
books on Armenian history and has taught Armenian history at Columbia
University, Tufts University, New York University, Rutgers University,
the University of Connecticut, Ramapo College, and Glendale Community
College. He is currently the Visiting Professor of Armenian History
at Columbia. George Bournoutian is also an avid world traveler. He
is fluent in at least 5 languages including Arabic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
George Bournoutian
AZG DAILY
22-10-2011
Although I was invited to present a paper at the conference on the
Armenians in Poland last year, the eruption of the volcano in Iceland
postponed my visit. I was asked to come this year to examine the
Armenian archives in Warsaw and to meet with the scholars who are
currently working on Armenian topics. My knowledge of Polish and my
mother's Polish origins opened numerous doors and I found a treasure
trove of Armenian manuscripts, rare books, and paintings.
The Armenians of Poland were originally concentrated in Lvov,
Kamenets-Podolsk, Zamosc and other cities and, as I have indicated
in my writings, had converted to Catholicism in the 17th century.
Following WWI, Poland reemerged as a state and Lvov and Zamosc were
included within its borders. Unlike the Armenian Catholics in Ukraine
(under Soviet rule), Armenian Catholics fared well in Catholic Poland.
The Armenian cathedral in Lvov and the various Armenian Catholic
churches housed manuscripts, rare books, paintings, vessels, and
vestments, some of which had been rescued from the Armenian Catholic
churches in Ukraine during and after the Russo-Polish War of 1920-21
and were sent to Gdansk and other Polish cities.
Some of the important manuscripts were kept in the University of Lvov.
The most important Armenian manuscript was MS no. 58, which contained
the travelogue of Simon of Poland (Simeon Lehatsi). The manuscript
was examined by Father Nerses Akinean of the Armenian Mkhitarist
Congregation in Vienna, who copied it and printed it in the official
Mkhitarist periodical Handes Amsorya (Fall 1932-Spring 1935). A year
later, Akinean published the work in a separate volume with Armenian
and German titles. The book contained additional data, colophons,
glossary, index and an abstract in German. During WWII, at the time
of the German occupation of Lvov, the original MS disappeared and
was presumed lost. Thus, in 2006, when I decided to prepare the
first English translation of the book, I had to rely on Akinean's
volume. In 2007, just as my book The Travel Accounts of Simeon of
Poland, went to press, I heard that the original had been found and
was to be displayed, for a short time, in France. I made a note of
this in my translation (p. 12).
During my recent visit to Poland, I discovered the secret of its
survival. After WWII, when the borders of Poland in the east were
absorbed by the USSR, Lvov became part of Ukraine. Realizing the
danger, all important Armenian manuscripts, rare books, paintings,
vessels and vestments were secretly sent by the Armenian Catholic
clergy in Lvov to Wroslaw for safekeeping. Between 1946 and 1949,
some of the most important items were sent to the National Library in
Warsaw. Among them was the untitled MS. No. 58, bound in light red
leather, composed of 198 two-sided neatly written and very legible
folios-just as Father Akinean had described it. I was given special
permission to examine it, spent some hours comparing parts of it with
Akinean's copy and found it exactly the same.
The Armenian community in Poland is composed of two groups. The
first group numbers some 2,000 Armenians who lived there prior to
1990. This group is totally assimilated and generally cannot speak or
read Armenian. The second group arrived after 1990 and is estimated to
be over 25,000. The results of the new census conducted in 2011 will be
published at the end of this year. Ironically, it is the members of the
first group, who are actively involved in maintaining the historical
Armenian presence in Poland and to educate the Polish public about the
role of the Armenians in Poland. In 2006 they received a grant from the
Polish government and created The Foundation of Culture and Heritage
of Polish Armenians. They collected some of the Armenian manuscripts,
rare books and paintings from Gdansk and other parts of Poland and
have housed them in a secure house-museum in Warsaw. Armenian church
vessels and vestments are still in Wroslaw.
The Foundation issues an Armenian newspaper (Awedis), an Armenian
calendar, various publications, sponsors conferences, and helps
doctoral students interested in conducting research on the Armenians in
Poland. Their funds are small and their staff is composed of just four
individuals, Polish Catholic Armenians, whose families date back to the
17th century. In my humble opinion, they are performing a heroic task
and are worthy of our support. Among the rare books and manuscripts
I found an Armeno-Kipchak dictionary and the original 14th-century
decree from King Jagiello confirming the order of King Casimir the
Great granting special privileges to the Armenians of Poland.
***
George A. Bournoutian (25 September 1943, Isfahan) is a Senior
Professor of History at Iona College. He is the author of numerous
books on Armenian history and has taught Armenian history at Columbia
University, Tufts University, New York University, Rutgers University,
the University of Connecticut, Ramapo College, and Glendale Community
College. He is currently the Visiting Professor of Armenian History
at Columbia. George Bournoutian is also an avid world traveler. He
is fluent in at least 5 languages including Arabic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress