Jano's 2 Cents: Armenian Culture Beyond Christianity

By Jano Boghossian
Janoboghossian@ucla.edu


1700 years ago, King Drtad III of Armenia declared Christianity as the official religion of Armenia, making the Armenian Kingdom the first state to do so in world history. What many people neglect to understand was the transition of paganism to monotheism in Armenia, as it was not a peaceful process that happened overnight, but one that caused bloodshed and the destruction of the majority of Armenia’s pre-Christian past.

When we think of the Christianization of Armenia in 301 AD, the history books make it seem as though St. Gregory the Illuminator was a peaceful man who cures King Drtad III of his disease, and proceeds to baptize him to bring peace to the country. Although this does pass as a good story, it is certainly not what took place. St. Gregory destroyed thousands of pagan temples in the name of Christianity, while the King forcibly converted many of the Armenians to Christianity for political purposes. By tearing down our pagan temples, St. Gregory demolished not only ancient Armenian relics and architecture, but also the majority of the links to our past.

I am not here to argue for or against Christianity, nor am I here to speak about my personal religious beliefs. It is just a shame that the trade-off for Christianity in Armenia resulted in the loss of so much Armenian culture. Armenians should not be ashamed of their pre-Christian past – they should immerse themselves in it. Just because we accepted Christianity, does not mean we have to neglect thousands of years of our culture. Some of the most powerful kings in Armenian history ruled over the Armenian Highland long before Jesus, yet we overlook the culture of that time because it was pre-Christian.

The Greek Orthodox Church has been around for about as long as the Armenian Church. The Greeks are one of the oldest people in world history with their ancient mythology and culture having influenced the entire western world. Although he was Macedonian, Alexander the Great spread Hellenistic culture across the Near East that changed the world forever. The Greeks have an amazing history; they are currently known for their devout faith in church. They are not ashamed of what their ancestors worshipped because it was part of the foundation that made Hellenistic culture what it is today. Greeks worship Jesus through the Orthodox Church, yet they exhibit their pagan past with great pride because it is a part of their national identity.

Armenian mythology is what set the Armenian people apart from their neighbors thousands of years ago. Although many of the primary gods and goddesses have similar traits and stories with those of the Persian and Greek gods, the Armenian pantheon was still unique.

What many Armenians are not aware of today is that many modern-day traditions can be traced back to the stories of the ancient gods. For example, Vartevar is celebrated in the summer in honor of Asdghig – the goddess of love and beauty. Some Armenians try to balance lavash (bread) on their shoulders during their wedding ceremony, keeping with the story of Asdghig and Vahakn’s wedding. The temple of Garni, which is one of the few remaining relics of pagan Armenia, is in honor of Mirh – the god of the sun. Even the names of many of these gods are still used today, such as Aramazd, Vahakn, Dzovinar, and Anahid.

Having said this, there is no debate that the Armenian people would not be here today without the existence of the Armenian Church. After the fall of the last kingdom in 1375, Armenians lived on their homeland as a subject nationality within different Islamic empires. After hundreds of years of warfare between Turkmen tribes, Ottomans, Safavids, and Russians, Armenians eventually became a minority population on their own homeland. The Armenian Apostolic Church was the only widespread national institution keeping Armenians united under Muslim rule. Without the church, the Armenian people would have lost their identity and assimilated into any of the cultures in which they lived in across the Diasporas.

Greeks and Armenians have much in common when it comes to their history, language, and culture. Both have ancient cultures, a similar language, have been oppressed by the Ottomans, and still survive today. Greeks are not ashamed to exhibit their pre-Christian culture because not only does it form the basis of their culture, but has influenced the rest of Western and Near East society. We Armenians have a certain mentality about our pagan past, and feel that we’re betraying our church by embracing our pre-Christian history. Since Armenian culture is thousands of years old – much older than Christianity – we should be able to take great pride in what makes us unique and gives us our national identity. Greeks have no problem having their pantheon hand-in-hand with their Orthodox faith, and neither should we.