His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, delivered
the following message at the opening of the Pan-Diaspora Conference
sponsored by the Holy See on Armenian Education in the Diaspora,
August 5-7, 2004. The conference took place in Antelias, Lebanon,
and brought together Armenian educators from various parts of
the world. Gilda Kupelian attended as a representative of the
Eastern Prelacy and the Armenian National Education Committee
(ANEC).
I welcome
you all with pontifical blessings and Christian love to the
spiritual center of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. As
the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, a crucial issue
concerning our national life motivated me to gather you in this
sacred house. Indeed, you have hailed from various communities
in the worldwide Diaspora to evaluate together the current situation
of Armenian Education under Diaspora conditions, and especially
to determine with common efforts its vision for the future.
I would like to express my appreciation to you for your concern
and commitment regarding Armenian Education.
On this
occasion, it is with special joy that I welcome the President
of the Science, Culture and Youth Affairs Committee of the National
Congress of Armenia, and the President of the Writers Union
of Armenia, who gladly accepted our invitation to participate
in the common and public discussion of this matter of utmost
importance and urgency for our church and nation.
Armenian
Education, namely the intellectual and spiritual process aimed
at formation of the Armenian identity is, to me, essentially
a mission of supreme importance. This mission is realized through
common efforts and continuous work, through sacrifice and competence.
My expectation is that we examine the current and impending
issues related to Armenian Education in the Diaspora in this
perspective with renewed awareness.
After the
Armenian Genocide, Armenian Education had its instrumental role
in the reorganization of the Armenian Diaspora in its national,
religious and cultural aspects. Preserving the Armenian ethos
in the alien and alienating conditions of the Diaspora became
a permanent and pivotal concern. And as history attests, the
Diaspora performed tremendous sacrifices to maintain the mission
of Armenian formation thriving and influential by way of our
schools and other community institutions.
Armenian
Education in the Diaspora has never had smooth sailing. Various
storms surrounding our communities have often had their negative
impact on our efforts. Today, more than ever, Armenian Education
is in crisis. Consequently, if we are to attempt to approach
the agenda of this conference with seriousness, critical and
holistic way, it is essential that our approach be anchored
in hard facts, realistic evaluations and accurate diagnoses
(we need to adopt such an approach regarding any issue in our
community life). Otherwise, emotional approaches, bias judgments
and superficial perceptions will lead us in wrong directions
and one-sided conclusions.
Let us first
look at our communities from this vantage point.
• The Armenian school, considered the fortress of Armenian
Education, is in decline despite the huge amount of work being
done there. Evidently, the mission of the Armenian School to
form the Armenian identity has, for many reasons, lost its luster
everywhere. The attrition rate of Armenian school students and
teachers is gradually worsening; the economic situation of the
Armenian school has also become worrisome.
• The moral and ethical value system of the Armenian Family,
considered the heart of Armenian Education, has begun to change,
and the image of the Armenian Family has started to be distorted,
especially with the proliferation of mixed marriages and the
infiltration of alienating values and traditions. That is why,
given the irreplaceable role of the family in the spiritual
and moral growth of our children, we have proclaimed by Pontifical
Decree the current year, the "Year of the Family."
• Armenian Culture, one of the vital factors of Armenian
Education, has begun to fade. Environmental influences and the
negative repercussions of globalization have distanced Armenian
culture from its authentic roots, as well as from its basic
mission of Armenian formation.
• Today, the Armenian Church, considered one of the strongest
structures of Armenian Education, is unfortunately not as commanding
as it was in the past. The growing needs of our Church and the
challenges it faces have shaken the priority of Armenian Education
in the Church’s mission.
• Prior to all of this, and probably above all, is another
aspect that has rendered Armenian Education even more precarious,
and that is the Diaspora environment. I had a teacher who often
said “Being Armenian in Armenia is a natural phenomenon,
you are on its soil, facing Ararat, and you are nourished by
them every day. As for the Diaspora, being Armenian is a matter
of decision, and consequently a matter of struggle.”
Today, the
struggle to remain Armenian is fiercer and more appalling in
the Diaspora, where human and financial resources at our disposal
are so limited and our capabilities so weak. It is essential
that our analyses, evaluations and conclusions emanate from
this existential situation. But our realism should not lead
us to pessimism. Every retreat also motivates new progress;
and each crisis breeds renewed vision. It is with this courage
and wisdom that we need to surmount the crises and challenges
facing Armenian Education in the Diaspora.
Any living
nation on earth has the right and obligation to preserve its
individual identity and ethos. Prior to being one of the basic
human rights principles, this is a God-given right and at the
same time obligation. The right to remain Armenian has often
been denied to us during history. But we have decided to remain
Armenian, even at the expense of our blood. And we have prevailed.
Today, Armenia, the pivot of the Armenian struggle for survival
has regained its independence. We have the freedom to pursue
our Armenian identity also in the Diaspora. But that is not
enough. We must together transform our hereditary and emotional
‘Armenianism’ to a rational one by making it, in
an organized and practical way, open and responsive to the particularities
of our environment and distinctive conditions of our present
world.
The Diaspora
has always been subject to waning and erosion and will remain
so. Nevertheless, the healthy custody of the Diaspora with its
Armenian image, spiritual, cultural, and political role, is
vital. It is vital for our national claims; vital for the empowerment
of Armenia; vital for the safeguard of our national entity.
Undoubtedly, our nation’s final destination is Armenia,
our homeland. Undoubtedly, among the various and disparate ways,
for the Armenians the only way leading to a safe future is the
road leading to Armenia and Ararat. In addition to making our
national slogan the foundation of our lives, our thinking and
our actions, we are called to reorganize and revitalize the
Diaspora in its communal life, its structures, its thinking
and its performance. This is the primary obligation of the Diaspora
and at the same time it is Armenia’s responsibility. Armenia
and the Diaspora must mutually complement and strengthen each
other in all spheres of our life. Otherwise, our nation will
be doomed to polarization. It is my conviction that the Armenia-Diaspora
cooperation must be organized with this vision. Armenian Education
in the Diaspora must be planned and realized with this approach
as well.
We can overcome
the Armenian Education crisis with courage by transforming it
to a daily struggle, to strategy and vision. Armenian Education
in the Diaspora is not merely teaching certain facts about Armenian
History, or visiting Armenia occasionally or attending community
activities. It is something else, and it should be, in spirit,
in approach and in its purpose. Indeed, the qualitative difference
of Armenian Education and its clear priority vis-à-vis
the other aspects of our lives should transcend rhetorical expressions
and should become practically visible and tangible in our individual
and communal lives. If we want to safeguard the Diaspora—and
we should for a long time to come, its collective and organized
existence, its healthy identity and national claims—it
is essential that the Diaspora prioritize Armenian Education
on its agenda. This is precisely where the significance and
objective of this conference lies.
This is
how the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia understands the crucial
importance and pivotal role of Armenian Education in the Diaspora.
This centuries-old Holy See has always attempted to see the
values of our nation, its challenges and its dreams in a broader
context and in their internal affinities. It is with this approach,
that the Cilician See has given, alongside Christian Education,
special attention to Armenian Education as well. Our dioceses
have offered the best of their human and financial resources
to the Armenian School. It is with special significance that
the National Assembly of our Catholicosate in its last meeting
adopted a working guideline regarding Armenian Education.
Within this
context, the Catholicosate, about a year ago, held a meeting
of the educational bodies of our dioceses. With this conference
here, we wanted to expand the scope of our consultations to
include all of the Diaspora, because Armenian Education concerns
all of the Diaspora, our Church, our nation, and our motherland.
It is the concern of all our organizations and that of the individual
Armenian. No one holds the right to appropriate it, or remain
indifferent to it. That would be akin to national treason. We
have resolved to remain Armenian in the Diaspora. That is the
call of our blood. The independence of Armenia empowers us further
in our struggle, and at the same time, by keeping our "Armenianness"
healthy and strong in the Diaspora, it obligates us to intensify
our active participation in the struggle of nation building.
It is not
enough to diagnose our ailments; it is not enough to underscore
the unique importance of Armenian Education. After all that,
the crucial question remains: What should we do? Enriched with
our experiences and strengthened by the faith and resolve to
open new horizons, we will endeavor to find answers to this
query together. Resting on our laurels will lead us to stagnation
if we do not transform it to vision and commitment to forge
our future. The Diaspora is not a monolithic reality. We live
in different environments surrounded by different values, traditions
and challenges. Consequently, we must not, and it isn’t
right to, have uniform approaches or adopt monolithic points
of view. It is essential, nevertheless, to identify the following
common denominators surrounding our Diaspora communities:
In the first
place, the modern society, of which the Diaspora is an integral
part, has become multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.
As in the religions, nations and churches of most societies,
it behooves us as well to reassess our traditional understanding
and methodologies in both our religious and Armenian Education.
Second,
we are faced with various challenges in different environments
that deal with state curricula, local educational policies,
religious and cultural traditions, socio-political structures,
majority-minority relations, etc. The implications of the above
have generally been detrimental to Armenian Education, despite
the accommodating and cognizant approaches demonstrated by our
communities. How best can we reorganize our Armenian educational
policy in the face of such situations?
Third, beyond
the environmental and local difficulties, we also face another
challenge known as globalization. This global phenomenon that
destroys culture, nation, religion, and values, has also imposed
its philosophy, work ethic and lifestyle on our communities
and it undoubtedly holds its tremendous impact on the formation
of the Armenian identity. It is evidently impossible for a "small
nation" to struggle against the socio-economic, politico-religious
and cultural ideologies hidden behind globalization, and it
wouldn’t be right to do so. Therefore, we must have the
courage and wisdom to coexist and have a critical dialogue with
it, by taking what is positive and enriching for the healthy
preservation of our roots.
Fourth,
a great deal has changed in the internal life of our communities.
The basics and the standards of our self- awareness have also
begun to change. The Armenian language has unfortunately begun
to be distorted in our homes, our churches, our newspapers and
even in our schools; it has become less than essential for the
safeguard of our Armenian identity. The dangerous mentality
of "of Armenian origin" has started to impose its
presence even in major communities endowed with all the capabilities
of living together in a self-organized way. Our children have
slowly started to drift away from Armenian values and traditions.
In the context of this tension between the local and regional,
environmental and international, internal and external realities,
trends and values, our biggest challenge remains to be the following:
"What does it mean to be Armenian? What type of Armenian
should we prepare for tomorrow?
In this
world marked with fundamental changes and new challenges, to
what extent have our understanding and methods in Armenian education
changed? Unfortunately, very little. One of the basic principles
of the Christian faith is to renew the old, and if need be even
to destroy it, in order to construct the new. Isn’t that
what Christ did? During the harsh conditions of its history,
the Armenian people who has made the struggle for survival the
alpha and the omega of its life, has dealt with such issues
with utmost concern and sensitivity. But, in the present world
just keeping the existing, which is tantamount to almost impossible,
simply means losing it. We need to gradually get rid of this
national mentality. The resolve to remain a distinct nation
moves us to carefully consider the special conditions of the
Diaspora and adopt appropriate approaches for Armenian Education.
If we do not set such a thought process and policy today, tomorrow
might be too late.
Consequently,
during this conference, we will not just mourn the crises facing
Armenian Education in the Diaspora; we will not suffice by sharing
our experiences and concern. We must together attempt to formulate
a realistic policy for the future. Such a step entails the following:
First, to
develop a coherent and integrated national educational policy,
where our collective understanding of Armenian Education is
clearly defined at this juncture of our history and in light
of the present imperatives. Further, it is important to outline
the basic values, principles and directions that are indispensable
for the formation of tomorrow’s Armenian. In this effort,
we should distance ourselves from theoretical views and dogmatic
thinking. We need to plan with forward-looking vision, being
at the same time realistic, flexible but not parochial. I expect
that the Armenia-Diaspora Educational conference that will be
held in Armenia August 27 - 29, 2004, will complement the work
of this conference by examining this imminent problem with a
wider scope.
Second,
to initiate a process aimed at re-evaluating the actual educational
systems in the Diaspora. This process must necessarily include
the following projects: preparation of a special curriculum
for subjects taught in Armenian, formation and training of Armenian
teachers, re-evaluation of the administrative and organizational
condition of the Armenian school, raising its educational standard
and amelioration of its economic condition. I am confident that
these and other related issues will be discussed during the
following days, and at the conclusion of the conference we will
adopt a general guideline that should reflect the emerging common
perspectives and concerns.
It is with
these thoughts and expectations that I welcome you all. At the
beginning of the conference, I would like to express my warm
appreciation to all the individuals and organizations that have
participated in the sacred work of keeping Armenians Armenian
in a Diaspora situation by way of the Armenian school, by their
educational, moral and financial help. In this framework, with
profound gratitude, I would like to single out the Caloust Gulbenkian
Foundation and especially its Armenian Department, which, under
the leadership of Dr. Michael Yessayan and Dr. Zaven Yegavian,
continues with renewed vigor to render its important contribution
to our educational work. I would like to express my high appreciation
to all the teachers, who have and continue to perform the sacred
mission of Armenian formation with faith and vision. And lastly,
I would like to express my special appreciation to Messrs. Bebo
Simonian, Jirayr Tanielian and Garo Hovanessian, who brought
an important contribution to the organization of this conference.
My God bless
you and may He crown the work of this conference with success.
Aram I,
Catholicos of Cilicia
