MEDFORD, MA -- Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T.
Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts
University in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to save the 7t h century Mren
Cathedral of Western Armenia, located in the Kars region of present-day Turkey.
Prof. Maranci’s areas of expertise include Byzantine art and architecture, and
the art and architecture of the Transcaucasus—principally Armenia. She is
considered one of the world’s authorities on the Mren Cathedral. According to
Dr. Maranci, “the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of collapse.
Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art and a
product of the ‘Golden Age’ of Armenian architecture. Bearing an inscription
naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted relief image of
Heraclius returning Christendom’s greatest relic-—the True Cross—to Jerusalem,
Mren preserves precious
material evidence for one of the most dramatic and yet poorly
documented moments in history. It is also the largest domed basilica surviving
from the region, and a key example of the architectural achievements of the
seventh century.”
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
“Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21s t century
show the progressive collapse of the south façade. Now the entire south aisle lies
in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the domed superstructure of the
monument and opening the interior and its wall paintings to the elements,” she
says. “The prospect of stabilizing what is left is at present doubtful,
however, because of Mren’s position within a military zone in Eastern Turkey
(Kars province) next to the closed
Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the site is forbidden.”
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren’s precarious
condition. “Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world history on its
walls,” she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic loss to human
knowledge.”
Following is an interview with Dr. Maranci. Lucine Kasbarian: For
years, scholars and travelers have been unable to obtain official permission to
visit this site. When was the last time that architectural experts had access
to Mren?
Christina Maranci: The last time anyone was able to do substantial
scientific work there was in the 1960s when Nicole and Jean-Michel Thierry
visited multiple times. I have never been there although I have tried to get
permission.
LK: Observers say that Mren Cathedral seems to rival in size the Great
Cathedral of Ani, and contains bas-reliefs and remnants of frescos not unlike
those at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 20 Aghtamar. Is forbidden access
the reason why Mren is not as well known as these other two monuments?
CM: Mren and Ani are comparable in size, and Mren probably served as a
local model for Ani Cathedral in its domed basilica layout and form, although
Ani exhibits typical features of the 10-11th century Armenian architectural
tradition. Mren has sculpted bas-reliefs on its portals and over some windows,
and preserves fragments of wall painting in the eastern end. However, it bears
nothing like the program of figural reliefs at Aght’amar—something that makes
this church anomalous even in the
Armenian tradition. Aght’amar’s wall painting is also better preserved.
But the inaccessibility of Mren surely shaped its scholarly reception and
public awareness about it. Toros Toramanyan, known as the father of Armenian
architectural historiography, tells us that he himself was only able to visit
it for one day.
LK: The website VirtualAni.org describes Mren as being one of four
structures similar in design and which were likely built around the same time,
the other three being the St. Gayane Church—built between 630 and 641 AD at
Etchmiadzin; the church of St. John at Bagavan—built between 632 - 639 AD and
north of the Lake Van region but now destroyed; and the Odzun Basilica—probably
built in the first half of the 7t h century AD in the Odzun region of Armenia.
How does Mren compare in
historical importance to these other structures?
CM: Gayane is obviously important for its connections to the conversion
to Christianity tradition and because of its connections to the Patriarch Ezr,
who is thought to have built it. If the church of Bagavan were standing today,
it would have been, by far, the largest domed basilica in the region. Odzun is
difficult to discuss, because it has been renovated so many times. While it
dates to the early
medieval period, it is generally thought to have a 9t h century phase
and perhaps even later ones. Mren is the only one of these monuments that is
linked to the broader global world via its epigraphy and sculpture. It speaks
directly to the network of relationships between empire, frontier, and local Armenian
nobility. There is much more to say but this is a start, one hopes.
LK: Even as Mren is on the brink of collapse, would you say that it is
one of the more intact monuments still standing in the Kars/Ani region?
CM: Well, it is hard to say. So many are in danger, so many have
collapsed, and so many have been lost to historical record. But it is
remarkable in many ways that a 7th century monument, so isolated and in such a
seismic area, has survived as well as it has—so far.
LK: How can readers of this interview help bring attention to Mren
Cathedral so that scholars and restorers might conduct important inspection and
preservation work and so that Mren may become a protected site?
CM: I am in the midst of contacting UNESCO and, of course, nominating
the monument to the World Monuments Fund. I will also be organizing a global
petition in the very near future. In the meantime, readers who would like to
get involved in the campaign to save Mren Cathedral may signal their interest
by contacting me at: Christina.Maranci@tufts.edu 98th Times Square Armenian
Genocide Commemoration
NEW YORK, NY -- A large throng is expected to participate in the 98th
Anniversary
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide to be held in Times Square (43rd
St. & Broadway) on Sunday, April 21 from 2-4 pm. The organizers invite
people of all backgrounds to join together to commemorate the Armenian Genocide
and subsequent genocides during Genocide Awareness Month and to speak out
against this horrendous crime against humanity.
The theme of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration is “Turkey is Guilty
of Genocide: Denying the Undeniable is Criminal.” This historic event will pay
tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred by the Young Turk
Government of the Ottoman Empire and to the millions of victims of subsequent
genocides worldwide. Speakers will include civic, religious, humanitarian,
educational, cultural leaders, and performing artists. This event is free and
open to the public.
Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, immediate past National Grand Commander of
Knights of Vartan and Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Dr. Mary A. Papazian, President of Southern
Connecticut State University, will preside over the ceremonies.
21
Dr. Dennis Papazian comments, “Recent momentous events encourage me to
believe that the long vigil of the Armenian people waiting for recognition of
their genocide by the Turkish government may be coming to a positive
conclusion. An influential Kurdish leader in Turkey, a member of Parliament and
vice-president of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress, Ahmet Turk,
admitted that the
Kurdish people played a significant role in the “torture and massacre
of Armenians, Assyrians and Yezidis” during the Armenian Genocide and
apologized to the Armenian people.
Dr. Papazian continues, “A second momentous event was the publication
of a book in Turkey entitled “The Armenian Genocide” by Hasan Cemal, the
grandson of Cemal (Jamal) Pasha, one of the three main authors of the Armenian
Genocide. Hasan Cemal, a member of the Turkish establishment and a newspaper
columnist, began his inquiry into the Armenian Genocide following the killing
of Turkish diplomats by a group of young Armenians who went by the name of
ASALA. At first, Hasan Cemal supported the official government point of view,
and as he became more knowledgeable, finally
concluded that indeed there was a genocide of the Armenians perpetrated
by the Young Turk party which controlled the Ottoman government in 1915-1923.
The book has inspired many members of the Turkish elites to reevaluate their
denial of the Armenian Genocide.”
The 98th Commemoration is organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters of the
Knights & Daughters of Vartan, an international Armenian fraternal
organization headquartered in the United States, and cosponsored by Armenian
General Benevolent Union, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian National
Committee of America, Armenian Council of America and the Armenian Democratic
League-
Ramgavars.
Participating Organizations include the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America, Prelacy of the Armenian Church, Armenian Missionary Association of
America, Armenian Catholic Eparchy for US and Canada, Mid-Atlantic ACYOA, AYF,
Armenian youth organizations, Armenian university and college clubs.
LOUSSAPATZ THE DAWN [loussapatz.n@gmail.com]
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