We and Armenia…
I have been growing up in the Armenian culture. All my childhood I have been listening the history of Armenia, I have been singing, dancing and praying the Armenian way and I never felt that connected with God then the time I sang the Badarak. However, the idea of going in my origin country was scaring me….I don’t understand why…..probably because somehow I was felling, in a harsh way, the pain of a millennial history…probably because I was afraid that the reality could destroy the idyllic IMAGE BUILT UP WITH EVERY SINGLE SONG AND POEM. If one of my best friends, Liviu ( n.r. Meridinian, the president of UAR Constanta), wouldn’t insist, if he wouldn’t tried his best to finally go this year, at least a few members of our community, probably I would postponed this moment as long as possible.
Somehow, everything went grate. I had the chance to work with people that were able to help me into organizing this trip, people DUE TO whom there were no problems/incidents. My family also supported me and so did my work colleagues. At this trip participated all those who wanted from our community…more exactly 25 members- kids, parents, or grandparents. From 6 to 90 years old, here we are together, living one of the most magnificent experience I have ever had….
After a comfortable/cozy, but long flight, Armenians greeted us with their well-known hospitality, with the unmistakable smile from their huge eyes, and the german punctuality, that we are not accustomed to…….The hotel was offering impeccable facilities, but moreover it was situated in the heart of Erevan, and that helped us to visit easily every single historical path from its charming city centre. The day we arrived was a rest day. Somehow, I believe that God wished the first place we visit to be the Saint Ecimiadzin Cathedral. Even if we should visited it in another day, for organizational reasons, I am strongly convienced it was God’s wish to go the moment we arrived at the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, who, through the priest Oshagan Khachatryan, had the amability to share some time with us. The Armenian community from Constanta offered him as sign of gratitude the symbol of the Armenian existence in the harbor town from the Black Sea, the image of the monuments our ancestors had built at the seashore. The Zvartnot and the Sardarabad were a natural sequel of our first contact with Armenia. The ruins of the Temple being the witness of an brilliant era, and the Sardarabad, the proof that we can be brilliant again…The Zvartnot Cathedral was built in the times when Armenia was just conquered by the Arabs, in the 5th century. The Catholicos Nerses begins this construction as a buckler against muslim expansion. Beyond its majesty and arhitectural uniqueness, the building itself seemed to me closer to the sky, to the infinity…So did, but after many centuries,
the edifice built after the battle from Sardarbad. Its sequel was the appearance of the First Republic of Armenia at 28 may 1921. Integrity, courage, achievement- these were the feelings I had during the visiting of this monument…
The second day meant the most to me, due to the ones with cheery voices, who offered us the chance to listen devine liturgical music at Gheghart……Being in that unabated (as our faith) church felt like the souls of all the Armenians from all around the world were the same with mine… The acoustic didn’t allowed us to acclaim, any whisper was amplified many times and somehow, this hold-back made the feelings awakened by the songs even more powerful. The Temple of Garni is the only standing Greco-Roman building in Armenia. The temple dedicated to the sun represents another proof that we preserved the best from each era…..After Armenia’s conversion to Christianity, it was turned into a royal summer house by the sister of Trinitates III, who was in love with its architecture and settlement. Visiting the Matenadaran Museum made me believe that the human kind had the support in my Armenian ancestors, who definied any stage of the human existence on Earth.
The moment we all gather together at the mystic fire from Tzitzernagapert, with fresh flowers out of respect for all the people who died in the Armenian genocide, was gripping and painful. The Noravank Monastery is the ultimate definition of the three aspects of the life of each of us: the past, the present and the future, all but all born and chained/fastened with and for love ….Equally new and old, its charm and stateliness are everlasting.. The Khor Virap and Noravank monastries represent flawless masterpieces of Armenia and they have remembered me how close we are to Ararat, even though others make it seem so far..We couldn’t return home without going to Sevan and Sevanavank, placed somewhere in the mountains, like in another world…where we could admire large, thick woodlands and a sun-drenched/ sun-kissed water. Where the Heaven meets the Hell and the beauty meets the hideousness/awfulness…..this dualism, just like the definition of the human being, represents our Armenia…
I can’t end this piece of writing without mentioning about priest Komidas, who was, 30 years ago, pastor in Contanta…..he is still charmful, exactly how I remembered him….His memory shocked us…he recognized all of us and our families and was still speaking fluently Romanian. We all got emotional when he confessed us that even if he was a pastor in Germany and in France for many years, the quality of the time he had there doesn’t compare with the time he spent in Constanta. For us, he will always remain an exemple.
I don’t know when I will go back there…the memories made by my origin country are still recent and I do not think they will die to soon. I just want for as many of my fellow men to live this amazing, profound and unique experience! I need to thank my mother, Azaduhi Benlian because she proof again that nobody knows the Armenian history like she does. I want to thank The Union Of Armenians from Romania for this initiative every year, in order to bring the Armenians from Romania into their origin country. Thanks to all who have choosed to join us in this awsome trip: Liviu and Cristinei Merdinian, Eduard, Sevinci Diradurian and little Alexandru, Luiz and Alice Platon, Mrs. Virginia Semedichian, Mrs. Madi Simion, Sergiu Simion and Miruna Ștefănescu, Mrs. Carmen Dropol and Cristina, Mrs Madlen Tache, Eduard and Eugenia Măntărău, Mrs. Georgeta Concegulian and Mrs. Ștefania Munteanu (Tacorian), Silviana Ciucă and Mrs Haiganuș Ovanesian, Angelica Terzian and my husband, Sarchis Terzian, who wanted to go in this journey for long time….
Least, but not last, I have to thank my son, Tigran (aged 18), because he gave me the best feeling when he told me he never felt more home than here, in Armenia, where he can’t wait to return….That gave me hope that even if so many generations of Armenians have lived far away from home, we still have children that will always be Armenians. I want to end this article with my son’s words, to whom, in this crazy world, I forced to learn all but foreign languages: I’m pround!” “Yes hbart em!
Luiza Terzian 
Translated in English by Maria Teodora Cojocaru
Posted by MStepan
on Oct 2 2018. Filed under Armenia / Diaspora, News.
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