Cyprus, July 2015: Responding to an invitation from the Diyar Consortium/Dar al-Kalima University College for Arts and Culture based in Bethlehem, a group of Christian academicians and young graduates, supported by Muslim intellectuals and academics, gathered together in 2014 to contemplate on the challenges, opportunities, and a possible role within the Arab world. Together they developed a document entitled «From the Nile to the Euphrates: A Call of Faith and Citizenship.”  The document was launched in Beirut on December 5, 2014, which coincided with the establishment of a platform for Middle Eastern thought, communication, and dialogue called The Christian Academic Forum for Citizenship in the Arab World (CAFCAW).

Diyar’s 11^th international conference was held from July 3 to 5 in in Pafos, Cyprus.  Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, the academic arm of Diyar, in cooperation with The Christian Academic Forum for Citizenship in the Arab World organized an international conference entitled “Shifting Identities: Changes in the social, political, and religious structures in the Arab World”.

In the last ten years, several papers, doctoral theses, and books have been published, focusing on certain aspects related to the changes in the Middle East region and their impact on the Christian communities, their quest for citizenship and identity formation. The conference aimed at providing a forum for sharing such research, for interaction and dialogue among scholars and researchers from around the globe.  The conference proceedings will be made accessible to a wider public very soon.

The participation of scholars from different parts of the world not only brought to the event international scope, different persuasions and perspectives but also fostered an ecumenical, interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment, dialogues, and philosophy.  The program gathered a group of scholars, social scientists and anthropologists, and experts in social, religious, political, and economic studies of diverse scholarly, denominational, and national backgrounds. The conference was conducted in English.

H.E. Mr. Leonidas Pantelides, Ambassador Director of Middle East and North Africa Department of the Republic of Cyprus, welcomed the participants in his opening speech and conveyed the greetings of H.E. Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Papers Presented

Specifically, the following are the titles of the papers that were presented during the three-day conference:

• “The Christian presence in the Middle East: A century of shifting Identities” by R Dr. Mitri Raheb, Dar Al-Kalima University College
• “’Disentangling’ some knots: narratives and counter-narratives of the Christian presence in the contemporary Middle East” by Paolo Maggiolini, University of Milan
• “The shifting acculturation orientation of Palestinian Christian adolescents in Israel” by Salim Munayer, Bethlehem Bible College
• “The complexities of belonging: The case of Palestinian Christians and the IDF” by Dr. Pieter Donkers, Protestant Theological University in The Netherland
• Palestinian Jerusalem Christians position on the future status of Jerusalem – results and findings” by Michał Ziemowit Buśko, University of Krakow
• “Towards an ecclesiological anthropology of Levantine Christian ‘identity’” by Mark Daniel Calder, University of Aberdeen
• “Transcultural processes through American missionary work in Lebanon: How Protestants in Lebanon deal with the legacy of their history” by Uta Zeuge-Buberl, University of Vienna
• “Shifting Identities in the Middle East: An Armenian experience in the process of change and the Understanding of the Other” by Hrayr Jebejian, The Bible Society in the Gulf
• “New Christians in the Islamic Republic of Iran: regional and global implications” by Marcin Rzepka, Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakaw
• “Revisions of school textbooks: a mirror image of the conflict parties in Syria” by Viola Raheb, University of Vienna
• “Christians of the Arab World are changing and challenging the religious and cultural discourse in Sweden” by Sune Fahlgren, Stockholm School of Theology
• “Contemporary Feminisms in Lebanon: Lights in the tunnel” by Pamela Chrabieh, American University in Dubai
• “The social media as a means of social and cultural integration for religious communities in the Eastern Mediterranean” by Evangelos Venetis, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy in Athens
• «Apocalyptic view of history and the challenge of Christian presence in the Middle East» Nicolas Abou Mrad, Sorbonne University
• “Psychological profiles of the Arab people: Ingrained paradoxes” by Maya Khadra, Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik in Lebanon
• “Theological responses for the rormation of required changes in the Middle East” by Sylvie Avakian, Near East School of Theology in Lebanon

 Dr. Jebejian’s contribution

This is how Dr. Jebejian, General Secretary of The Bible Society in the Gulf began his paper:

I am a Lebanese-Armenian who has lived with the dual identities and histories that have been examples of struggle and survival: the first one, Lebanese, with its local and regional conflicts, and the second one, Armenian, in its perseverance for a national identity and a solution to a just cause: the recognition of the first ethnic cleansing of the 20^th century, the Armenian Genocide. The two identities have one thing in common: the struggle to build a life in the midst of uncertainties, a life that goes much further than the personal dimension and embraces different aspects of the community at large.

Underlining his hybrid identities, Dr. Jebejian said,

I often find myself giving a history lesson to whoever asks me, “Where do you come from?”  To put it simply, I usually say, “I am Armenian, but I was not born in Armenia.  I was born in Lebanon.  I have Lebanese nationality, but I am not an Arab.  My father is a survivor of the Armenian Genocide who first sought refuge in Aleppo, Syria, and then settled in Lebanon.”

Enumerating the different significant eras in the Armenian community’s history in Lebanon from 1915 to the present – the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Dr. Jebejian emphasized that for many such a history, punctuated with tragedies, threatens identity, certainty, and authority and thus impacts religious, economic, and social life.

Dr. Jebejian explained that the momentum and the process of change, including the shifting of identities, should not be a surprising phenomenon, especially if it is looked at from a Christian perspective. He quoted Mugambi and Guy who argue that theology requires human progress because Jesus started the change process with his disciples and went on changing each and every person He met. For him, the Christian Church is an integral part of this same human history and is equally responsible for changing history by changing the people they encounter, irrespective of their national, ethnic, and cultural identities.

Dr. Jebejian concluded his paper thus:

As fourth generation Armenians my children carry the pain of the Genocide and so does every Armenian. We carry the pain of our ancestors who were massacred and also the pain of being deprived of living in our homeland. The same pain has enriched my life, though. Also, it has helped me to understand the pain of the Other. This same pain made me realize that it is possible to live, prosper, and dream in the context of multiple identities.

Based on his personal experiences and “the present gloomy, uncertain” political scene in the Middle East, Dr. Jebejian said, “The challenge of the Church in general and in the Middle East in particular is to first understand the Other, the Other in its own context and to experience the dynamism of life within the path of each and every one of the Other.”

Article contributed by: H.K. & Z. Boghosian

The New York-New Jersey area art and stage lovers were treated to a very special performance dedicated to the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Two consecutive performances took place on Friday, June 12^th in New Jersey and on Sunday, June 21^st in Queens Theater in the Park.

The adaptation of the play was based on a novel “You Rejoice My Heart” by a Turkish writer Kemal Yalçin. The novel tells the seldom-discussed story of Armenian remnants; the so-called “secret or hidden Armenians”, whose descendants still live in the provinces of Turkey and elsewhere today.

The play was adapted and directed by the veteran of Armenian Theater, renowned actress of Armenian Stage Film and Television and executive producer of a weekly Armenian television program- Voice of Armenians TVNY: Kariné Kocharyan.

“You Rejoice My Heart” opens with Mr. Yalçin’s personal and emotional apology, saying: My dear Armenian friend, the greatest pain of humanity this century, the mark of black soot on the forehead of history, is the Armenian Genocide! I bow down to the memory of all the Armenians who were killed during those years. I accept your pain as my pain. As a Turkish writer, I speak for myself and the entire world when I ask for your forgiveness. The shame of this great disaster is stamped on the forehead of humanity, and the planners, projectors and perpetrators will be cursed. When justice is finally implemented, when our great pain subsides and when we urge the world finally to ensure this injustice will never happen again, I give my heart to you and my soul will rejoice with you!”

The story then follows as Mr. Yalçin- who through the guidance of his teacher Meliné, embarks on a project to seek out Armenians living in Turkey as Muslims or Turks. Meline was Yalcin’s teacher in Germany as Yalcin and many other Turkish teachers were going through special training to follow the German school’s curriculum for German citizens of Turkish descent. At first some of the Turkish teachers were uncomfortable with a teacher of Armenian descent who was very well versed in Turkish and German- to teach them. Yalcin was one of the few who wanted to know more about Meliné and her history.

Yalcin’s journey takes him on a trajectory that starts with his native village of Honoz, then to Amasya, Askale, the ancient city of Ani, Istanbul.

Karine Kocharyan’s masterful directing and powerful individual performances of the cast, coupled with multimedia, films, sound tracks and slide show which included authentic photography from genocide era made available for the production as courtesy by Armenian Genocide Museum as well as beautiful contemporary imagery of Ani’s churches photographed by the Director of the Parajanov Museum Mr. Zaven Sarkissian carried a powerful visual tone.

Making this extraordinary production events more special were the participation of two major stars of the Armenian Theater and Television from Yerevan: Artur Karapetyan and Satik Hakhnazaryan. Both artists were invited for this performance and traveled from Armenia specifically to take part in this play. They shared the stage alongside with the beloved and popular actors from our community.  Artur Karapetyan’s masterful portrayal of Kemal Yalcin was authentic and powerful, delivering the full emotional pain and burden that the author experienced as he uncovered the tragic stories of Genocide and the survivors.

The powerful and outstanding performance of the Armenian star Satik Hakhnazaryan, in the role of Meliné was penetrating in the climatic scene as she was trying to explain to Kemal the reason behind mass atrocities committed by Turks against Armenians.

Highly emotionally charged performances from each cast member added to the overall impact of the play. Particularly noteworthy was the performance of Mr. Hovhaness Voskeridjian, in the role of Vahram Garapet!  Throughout his 75 years of life on stage Mr. Voskeridjian excelled in many tragic and comic roles. In this play, he once again mesmerized the audience with his performance along side with well known actress Mrs. Lucyn Jamgotchian-Djirdjirian, who played his deceased mother.  Also memorable was Mrs. Elizabeth Khodabash’s performance in the role of Sultan Hanum, which received applauds from the audience.

Another excellent performance was delivered by Karnig Nercessian in the role of Yusuf, a peasant who after witnessing the deportations and exiles of Armenians in 1942 decides to tell his story after 50 years of silence.

Also impressive were the performances of Anahit Zakarian in the role of Kemal Yalcin’s Mother, Harout Takvorian in the role of Ali Ousta, Vahram Khojoyan in the role of Soldier, Hasmik Kirakosian in the role of Kemal’s Sister, Micheal Shatvorian in the role of Kemal’s brother and young student Victoria Messikian in the role of Granddaughter.

In addition to her skillful directing of the play, multi talented Kariné Kocharyan appeared on stage in the role of Ms. Jehian.

This historically important book/confession was truly an ambitious production, masterfully transformed to a play to bring it to the attention of the metropolitan audience, by the multitalented Kariné Kocharian, who shined through as a playwright, as well as with her choices of casting, directing and playing the role as Ms. Jehian.

This play came to highlight –once again- an important fact, a seldom spoken subject about the lives of generate of hidden Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere after the Genocide. Armenians who have converted to Islam, or have claimed themselves as Turks to save their lives and the terrible burden that came with the  pressure of hiding their true identity and Armenian heritage was brilliantly delivered on stage.

While this masterpiece opened with Kemal Yalcin’s apology, it concluded with a deep symbolic and emotional meaning with Kemal’s Turkish mother offering sacrificial bread to people of her village as a gesture for forgiveness and mercy for the souls of all Armenians killed during the genocide.

A standing ovation welcomed the actors for a curtain call and yet another surprise was waiting for the great finale of the performance, as the author of the book and his teacher the real life Meliné were invited from the audience seats to the stage along with a thunderous applause from deeply moved audience.

An emotional speech from Mr. Yalcin in Turkish and masterful translation of his words in Armenian by Meliné (both from Germany) culminated the evening to a long lasting memory and well deserved commemoration of the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Mira Yardemian

PR Director

Some 227 students from the schools of Business Administration & Economics and Arts and Sciences (Humanities, Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences) received their undergraduate and graduate degrees, on the evening of July 3^rd, 2015, at Club La Marina, Dbayeh, during the 55^th commencement exercises, which also marked Haigazian University’s 60^th Anniversary.

The seashore courtyard was packed with officials, family and friends gathered to applaud the graduating students, amidst an atmosphere of cheer, sometimes mixed with moments of high emotion.

MP Hagop Pakradouni was there to represent the Speaker of the Parliament, H.E. Mr. Nabih Berry, whereas the President of the Council of Ministers, H.E. Mr. Tammam Salam was represented by the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr. Elias Bou Saab. Among the attendees were Minister of Energy Arthur Nazarian, MPs Jean Oghasabian, Bassem Shabb, Shant Chinchinian representing the head of the Lebanese Forces Dr. Samir Geagea, in addition to the Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Shahe Panossian. The following personalities had sent their representatives: General Michel Aoun, the Commander of the Army, the Head of the General Security Forces, and the Armenian Ambassador.

The ceremony opened by the formal processional march of Haigazian faculty in academic regalia, led by Chief Marshall Dr. Nadim Hassoun, followed by the Lebanese National Anthem and the prayer of invocation offered by Campus Minister, Rev. Wilbert Van Saane.

University President, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian welcomed students and their families and the distinguished guests, and addressed the class of 2015, inviting them to be the change makers of the future, overcoming the shortcomings of our countries.

“If you are given the choice of more money or more productivity, choose the second. If you get to the top, still look up. If you fast from food, focus also on the fasting of the heart. If you wantto protect the cause of your religious or political group, show the highest of ethical standards”, Haidostian told graduates.

He went further inviting them to be inspired by the Phoenicians, saying “our 60^th anniversary commencement is taking place on the shores of the Mediterranean.  Be inspired by the creativity of the Phoenicians.  Build boats that do good, but do not invade.  Ride the boats to meet people and exchange experiences, not to promote your status. Develop your skills to grow and help others live better”.

He concluded by making a reference to the 60^th Anniversary motto “Pride in Merit”, and said, “your pride should be based on hard-work, ethics, and vision, and not connections, majority pressure, religious, social or family privileges as we see in our societies.”

In his inspiring speech, keynote speaker, the Secretary of the UN Committee against Torture, based in Geneva, Patrice Gillibert, focused on two key concepts: Education and Freedom. Sharing a quotation from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”, Gillibert underlined that all fundamental values of respect, equality, justice and freedom are in the core mission and vision of Haigazian University. On “freedom”, Gillibert quoted Charles Malik, the first Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations and the United States of America, saying “If we have any contribution to make, it is in the field of fundamental freedom, namely freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of being. And there is one point on which we wish to insist more than anything else, namely that it is not enough to be, it is not enough to be free to be what you are. You must also be free to become what your conscience requires you to become in light of your best knowledge. It is therefore freedom of becoming, of change that we stress as much as freedom of being”. He concluded by acknowledging the role of Haigazian University in leadership and contribution to human rights, wishing the fresh graduates to shine and inspire the humanity.

Next to speak was the Chairman of the Lebanese Banking Control Commission, 1978 graduate Samir Hammoud, who in the name of Haigazian alumni saluted the graduates, and proudly acknowledged, “all the success I have made is attributed to Haigazian University”. Hammoud encouraged students to travel and discover the world, but never to emigrate, in addition to work towards giving a meaning and purpose to their life.

Minister of Education and Higher Education, Elias Bou Saab congratulated the graduates, praising the role Haigazian has played since its early beginnings, 60 years ago. He acknowledged its high academic standards, the seriousness of its program, in addition to its successful graduates. Bou Saab also pointed out on the motto of the University, “truth, freedom, and service”, giving live examples and considering it as universal values for humanity.

The three guests were bestowed Haigazian University’s 60^th Anniversary Medal, proudly presented by President Haidostian.

It is worth noting that on this special occasion, congratulatory notes were sent by both Ministers of Education and of Diaspora of Armenia.

With a sense of accomplishment, valedictorian Arpa Aintablian looked at this commencement day as “a journey to prosper, persevere and to thrive”. She considered herself and her fellow graduates the “true embodiment of Haigazian University’s Pride in Merit” (the motto of the 60^th Anniversary), whereas for her part, valedictorian Sarah Hatoum, being a University Scholarship Program scholar, expressed her gratitude to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the sponsors of the program, appreciating the multi-culturism and co-existence at Haigazian University, as a reflection of the real Lebanese society.

Finally, after singing the Alma Mater, and upon the benediction offered by Rev. Megerdich Karageozian, President of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, graduates threw their caps high into the air, erupting in loud cheers and shouting.

From Arthur Hagopian

For three centuries, sleuths, scholars and conspiracy advocates have extrapolated over the identity of the «Man in the Iron Mask,» the enigmatic prisoner of the notorious Bastille.

Ever since the legend was immortalized in the opus of the great French writer, Alexandre Dumas, speculation about who the prisoner was, has been rampant, truth and fiction becoming convoluted, their intermingling making it difficult to give credence to Dumas» tale of treason and intrigue.

The prevailing myth held that the prisoner was a secret twin of the French «Sun King», Louis XIV (1643-1715). And last year, French cryptanalyst Etienne Bazeries claimed to have decoded a cipher which purportedly revealed that the man in the iron mask had been a military officer, identified as Vivien de Bulonde, who was punished for his cowardice in the face of advancing Austrian troops by being forced to wear an iron mask.

But lingering in the forgotten annals of one of Armenia’s greatest historians, Maghakia Ormanian (184-1918), lay a more esoteric plausibility: it is palpable, in fact more than possible, that the prisoner of the Bastille was actually an Armenian clergyman, a prince of the Armenian Apostolic church, a lineage paralleling the royal pedigree of Dumas protagonist prince.

Both princes were contemporaries. Like the mythical twin, the Armenian was an innocent, a victim of political machinations, held in the Bastille and subjected to cruel and abusive punishment. Dumas «Man in the Iron Mask» could thus have easily been inspired by the tale of the misadventures story of the Armenian.

Ormanian recounts that the clergyman, Avedik Yevtogiatsi, had been patriarch of Constantinople and later Jerusalem, around the beginning of the 18th Century, but had fallen afoul of French interests because of his staunch anti-Catholic stance.

In his monumental volume about the lives and times of the Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem, which took him ten years to compile, the late researcher and historian Haig A Krikorian, quotes Ormanian as noting that although Avedik had influential friends and loyal followers in the then Ottoman capital (Constantinople), the machinations of the French envoy to the sultan’s court, Charles Ferriol, Marquis d’Argental, eventually brought about the priest’s downfall.

Ferriol became an «active and enthusiastic supporter of the Jesuit campaign to proselytize Armenians» and encourage them to pledge allegiance to the Catholic pope, rather than the Armenian Catholicos, the head of the worldwide Armenian Apostolic church.

Despite the formidable opposition mounted by Avedik, Ferriol would not give up and contrived to convince the Sultan to exile Avedik to an island on the Mediterranean coast of Syria.

«I will never have peace until somehow I topple him,» Ferriol vowed, Ormanian reports.

Clandestinely, Ferriol enlisted the aid of some malicious clergy and prominent merchants to heap more woe on Avedi’s head, fighting a vicious running battle with Avedik supporters.

But the ebb and tide of politics, and vacillating political sympathies, abetted by generous bribes to Turkish officials, derailed Ferriol’s plots and saw Avedik re-instated as Patriarch of Jerusalem, but not before the Sultan, exasperated by the French shenanigans, had decreed that henceforth Avedik would have to relinquish his Constantinople seat and relocate to Jerusalem.

Stymied, Ferriol promptly counter-attacked. As Avedik waited for a ship that would take him to the Holy Land, he was waylaid by a French vice-consul named Bonald who bribed Avedik’s Turkish escort to disappear, and made the Armenian believe that a ship that had just appeared on the horizon was a Venetian vessel bound for Jaffa.

It was a ruse, and it worked. The ship was actually heading west toward Messina on the island of Sicily which at that time was under Spanish sovereignty, Krikorian writes.

Avedik was handicapped by his lack of French and could not understand what was going on between Bonard and his cohorts, which included the ship’s captain who proceeded to strip Avedik as soon as he boarded, of all his possessions, including a pouch containing 180 gold pieces (a hefty sum in those days), his priestly vestments, episcopal ring and pocket watch.

When they reached Messina, the captain handed Avedik over to a waiting French consul, Paul Soulier «who unceremoniously took him to the Inquisition prison on the island, » where he remained for several months.

Somehow, Avedik contrived to smuggle a message to his supporters with the help of a sympathetic Greek seaman, alerting his flock that he had been kidnapped.

The rage and consternation it spawned, spurred the Sultan to give Ferriol a tongue lashing and a demand to produce the missing churchman.

But the wheels of fortune took a wrong turn again when the French king, at the behest of Pope Clement XI, ordered Avedik’s transfer to Marseilles «where he was subjected to abject humiliation.»

«They shaved his beard, removed his priestly garb and dressed him min typical Frenchman’s clothes,» before transporting him in secret to the island prison of Mont Saint Michel, Krikorian quotes Ormanian.

In the dark, dank dungeon there, Avedik could only ponder the ironic misfortunes of a man whose sole purpose in life was serving a benevolent God.

On September 8, in the year 1709, Avedik was again spirited away in secret, this time to the Bastille, and his undoing.

And this was where the legend and confusion with the Man in the Iron Mask were borne.

«It is impossible not to pause and cast a backward glance on the hard working yet painfully tragic personality of Avedik, who at one time, was confused with the Yergateh Timagov Mart (man in the iron mask),» Ormanian states, according to Krikorian.

What transpired in the Bastille remains a mystery. But according to Armenian historians, the Catholic church intervened again in the person of the cardinal of Paris, Louis Antoine Noyal, who entertained high hopes of converting the Apostolic priest.