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Nov 30 013
Armenian monastery finds unlikely saviour in Arab sheikh
- Features
2013-11-30 15:33
By Mariam Harutyunyan
HAGHARTSIN MONASTERY, November 30, 2013 (AFP) -- Standing next to a newly
refurbished bell tower, priest Aristakes Aivazyan says it needed divine
intervention to save Armenia's medieval Haghartsin monastery.
But it also took a lot of money from a very unlikely benefactor -- the
Muslim ruler of the resource-rich Arab emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan
bin Mohammed al-Qasimi.
"I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history that
some Arab sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an Armenian
Christian church," Aivazyan told AFP.
"Without doubt it was God who brought the sheikh to Haghartsin," the
priest, dressed in long black robes, said.
Perched spectacularly amid thickly forested mountains about 100 kilometres
northeast of Yerevan, Haghartsin monastery is a masterpiece of medieval
Armenian ecclesiastical architecture.
Founded in the tenth century, the monastery -- which includes three
churches and once housed some 250 monks -- survived attacks from Arab and
Ottoman invaders and anti-religious campaigns under Soviet rule during its
turbulent history.
But after weathering those storms, decades of neglect in recent years meant
the complex looked headed for collapse as plants twisted through walls and
cracks threatened to send buildings tumbling.
'In need of serious reconstruction'
"The monastery was in need of serious reconstruction but the repairs were
always delayed by the lack of finances," father Aivazyan said.
That was until a fortuitous visit from al-Qasimi, who had been invited to
Armenia by former president Robert Kocharian on a trip set up by the
Armenian business community in the emirate.
"In 2005 his royal highness visited Armenia and generously offered to
renovate the complex during a tour of various Armenian regions," says
Varouj Nerguizian, a Sharjah-based Armenian businessman who has advised the
sheikh.
Nerguizian refused to say how much the sheikh had given for the
refurbishment but local media reported that it could be around $1.7 million.
Now, after years of building work including a new road up to the monastery
to help boost visitor numbers, the refurbished structure was finally opened
last month.
"It falls within the natural context of his royal highness' philanthrophy
as well respect for other religions," Nerguizian.
Perched on the Persian Gulf, after Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Sharjah is the
third largest of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.
Al-Qasimi, 74, -- who came to power in 1972 after his brother, then king,
was killed in a failed coup -- has sought to boost the emirate as a tourist
and cultural hub in the region.
The emirate has a thriving community of Armenian businessmen that now
boasts its own church. But there have nonetheless been few links between
Yerevan and Sharjah.
'The word of God was heard here'
For those working at the monastery, the surprise of seeing an Arab leader
visiting the holy Christian site remains a vivid memory.
"He came with his entourage of about 10 people and looked around for quite
a while at all the churches and stone crosses before asking to go into the
main Church of Our Lady," recalled Artak Sahakyan, who sells candles to
visiting worshippers.
"When he came out he said that he believed that the word of God was really
heard here," Sahakyan said.
Armenia is considered to be the oldest Christian country in the world and
its Apostolic Church belongs to the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch.
The church is hugely influential in Armenia and two monasteries and its
main cathedral are already listed on UNESCO's list of world heritage site.
After a history of conflict between Armenia and its Muslim neighbours of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, those working at the Harghartsin monastery say they
hope the support they have received from a Muslim ruler shows that the two
faiths can get along.
"The sheikh is a deeply religious man so seeing a monastery is such a bad
state it is not surprising that he felt touched," says father Aivazyan.
"It is as if the with this generous gesture the sheikh is saying that we
need to be tolerant of other religions as in the end we all serve one God,"
Aivazyan said.
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/94287?tid=10
From: Baghdasarian
Nov 30 013
Armenian monastery finds unlikely saviour in Arab sheikh
- Features
2013-11-30 15:33
By Mariam Harutyunyan
HAGHARTSIN MONASTERY, November 30, 2013 (AFP) -- Standing next to a newly
refurbished bell tower, priest Aristakes Aivazyan says it needed divine
intervention to save Armenia's medieval Haghartsin monastery.
But it also took a lot of money from a very unlikely benefactor -- the
Muslim ruler of the resource-rich Arab emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan
bin Mohammed al-Qasimi.
"I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history that
some Arab sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an Armenian
Christian church," Aivazyan told AFP.
"Without doubt it was God who brought the sheikh to Haghartsin," the
priest, dressed in long black robes, said.
Perched spectacularly amid thickly forested mountains about 100 kilometres
northeast of Yerevan, Haghartsin monastery is a masterpiece of medieval
Armenian ecclesiastical architecture.
Founded in the tenth century, the monastery -- which includes three
churches and once housed some 250 monks -- survived attacks from Arab and
Ottoman invaders and anti-religious campaigns under Soviet rule during its
turbulent history.
But after weathering those storms, decades of neglect in recent years meant
the complex looked headed for collapse as plants twisted through walls and
cracks threatened to send buildings tumbling.
'In need of serious reconstruction'
"The monastery was in need of serious reconstruction but the repairs were
always delayed by the lack of finances," father Aivazyan said.
That was until a fortuitous visit from al-Qasimi, who had been invited to
Armenia by former president Robert Kocharian on a trip set up by the
Armenian business community in the emirate.
"In 2005 his royal highness visited Armenia and generously offered to
renovate the complex during a tour of various Armenian regions," says
Varouj Nerguizian, a Sharjah-based Armenian businessman who has advised the
sheikh.
Nerguizian refused to say how much the sheikh had given for the
refurbishment but local media reported that it could be around $1.7 million.
Now, after years of building work including a new road up to the monastery
to help boost visitor numbers, the refurbished structure was finally opened
last month.
"It falls within the natural context of his royal highness' philanthrophy
as well respect for other religions," Nerguizian.
Perched on the Persian Gulf, after Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Sharjah is the
third largest of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.
Al-Qasimi, 74, -- who came to power in 1972 after his brother, then king,
was killed in a failed coup -- has sought to boost the emirate as a tourist
and cultural hub in the region.
The emirate has a thriving community of Armenian businessmen that now
boasts its own church. But there have nonetheless been few links between
Yerevan and Sharjah.
'The word of God was heard here'
For those working at the monastery, the surprise of seeing an Arab leader
visiting the holy Christian site remains a vivid memory.
"He came with his entourage of about 10 people and looked around for quite
a while at all the churches and stone crosses before asking to go into the
main Church of Our Lady," recalled Artak Sahakyan, who sells candles to
visiting worshippers.
"When he came out he said that he believed that the word of God was really
heard here," Sahakyan said.
Armenia is considered to be the oldest Christian country in the world and
its Apostolic Church belongs to the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch.
The church is hugely influential in Armenia and two monasteries and its
main cathedral are already listed on UNESCO's list of world heritage site.
After a history of conflict between Armenia and its Muslim neighbours of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, those working at the Harghartsin monastery say they
hope the support they have received from a Muslim ruler shows that the two
faiths can get along.
"The sheikh is a deeply religious man so seeing a monastery is such a bad
state it is not surprising that he felt touched," says father Aivazyan.
"It is as if the with this generous gesture the sheikh is saying that we
need to be tolerant of other religions as in the end we all serve one God,"
Aivazyan said.
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/94287?tid=10
From: Baghdasarian