Hrair Hawk Khatcherian: Inspiration to All

By: Jano Boghossian
JanoBoghossian@ucla.edu

Hrair Hawk Khatcherian was lying on a hospital bed in 1993 counting down the final days of his battle with cancer. He was undergoing chemotherapy on his 32nd birthday as the doctors said there was no hope that he could ever survive. As the days passed, there was nothing to do but simply wait.

In the hospital room where the bland white walls and the smell of pharmaceuticals usually causes the patients to be more depressed, hung a cross that would inspire the Hawk to continue his fight. Time was running out, but Hrair Khatcherians faith kept him physically and mentally strong. He vowed to go to the ends of the earth and photograph every house of God his ancestors had built as a way of expressing his gratification if he ended up surviving.

Khatcherian was born to an Armenian family in Beirut, Lebanon. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to become a pilot, and was able to accomplish that dream later on in life. For this reason, he calls himself Pazeor Hawk in Armenian, which also symbolizes his physical and spiritual rebirth after a near encounter with death. He currently lives in Laval, Quebec, Canada with his wife and two children. As of today, he has been to over 44 countries since his recovery from the hospital, documenting and capturing everything from beautiful landscapes, architecture, and portraits to still lives and nudes. As an avid pilot, Hawk began his quest by regularly flying to the Armenian Highlands to take photos of the region and its people. He eventually released his first book of photographs in 1997 titled Artsakh, which is a chronicle of the survival of a nation caught between the collapse of the Soviet Union and a struggle for independence. He has published various books depicting life in Armenia, and also about the land they live on, but his original project is still in the works.

This project, One Church, One Nation, was started over sixteen years ago and is still in progress. Once published, it will be the first book to have shots of every Armenian Church in the world, seen through the eyes of the Hawk. According to Khatcherian, it was fairly easy to locate most of the churches because they were usually built close to a populated area. The most difficult part was doing research to find churches in remote locations and finding transportation to get to the destination. Friends and other enthusiasts would sometimes contact him to assist in locating various churches in foreign countries, but once he pinpointed the individual churches, the rest was easy.

This long quest consisted of visiting countries in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Khatcherian says each and every single church has its own story and is special in its own unique way. He believes the most interesting church is located in Córdoba, 700 kilometers west of the capital of Argentina, because it was built by the donations made by the poor from the region, which is also the case for several other churches. As for the most spiritual, he felt it was Soorp Hagop (Saint James) in Jerusalem. Khatcherian said he used to wake up at four in the morning, sit in the back of the church, and savor the lighting ritual of oil lamps before prayer time."

Many Armenians are surprised to hear about Armenian merchants in East Asia during the Ottoman Empire, let alone the existence of Armenian churches. The one instance that surprised Hawk himself was Saint Johns Armenian Church in Burma (Myanmar). When he went to visit the country, there was only a soft-spoken Armenian gentleman who kept the church doors open, preserved the interior, and kept it dust-free, so that even a single Armenian who visits from Canada can pray.

Hrair Hawk Khatcherian’s travels were very smooth for the majority of the time, and he felt blessed everywhere he went because he rarely found himself in a dangerous situation. After all, it was a vow he had made while battling cancerhe was only trying to keep his end of the bargain after getting a second chance at life after beating all the odds, even after being given the 10-day dying period granted by the doctor in 1993.

The only dangerous circumstances he found himself in were during his travels in historical Armenia (present-day Turkey). On his first visit to the area in 1997, the late Archbishop Mesrob Ashdjian took him along with a group guided by Armen Aroyan from Los Angeles to visit ancient Armenian ruins. During that trip, and each subsequent one that followed, they came across danger, whether it was physical or verbal.

A group of 13-year-old Turkish children gathered in Bitlis and threatened to slaughter them yet again if they were in Turkey to claim anything from the past. While traveling through eastern Turkey, commandoes raided and circled their location while photographing the only half surviving church of Sourp Sarkis of Khdzgonk, which was once a complex of five churches before they were blown up in the 1970s.
Ever since his recovery in 1993, Hawk has lived a life that many of us can only dream of. Many Armenians envy his countless adventures around the world and the photographs that he has taken along his travels. His current project is almost complete; his only challenge will be to find funding for this unique book. Khatcherian is still very active with his photography, and he has a fearless attitude about his works. He has no trouble traveling to the most dangerous parts of the world because he has already faced death.

His other works include his second book, Karabagh: 100 Photos, published in 2002, which explores the existential mysteries and the eternal paradox of life and death. Yergir, a book about Western Armenia, was published in 2005. Later on that year, he also published Flying Hye, which provides a bird's eye view of Armenia.

Hrair Hawk Khatcherian was as close to death as anybody could be. His encounter with cancer led him to become a stronger person and inspire many others. Sixteen years ago he made a promise, and once he was given a second chance at life, nothing could stop him from carrying it out. He does what he loves best, and truly lives life to the fullest. His photographs compel the viewers to ponder for themselves; for this he will live on through his works forever.