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Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR)
Sept 23 2004
ARMENIA'S NUNS: A RARE BREED
In devout Orthodox Christian Armenia, only four women have become
nuns - but they don't regret it.
By Karine Ter-Saakian in Echmiadzin
When the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated its recent great Feast
of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Echmiadzin, the seat of the
church's Catholicos or spritual leader, there were four particularly
unusual members of the congregation: nuns.
For all the popularity and influence of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, to which the overwhelming majority of Armenians belong, nuns
and convents are extremely rare. In fact the four attending the
liturgy in Echmiadzin's Saint Hripsime Church in September were the
only nuns in Armenia.
Convents all but disappeared from Armenia after the fourth century,
when King Pap ordered their closure, saying that women should marry,
not dedicate their lives to God in the closed institutions.
The seventh century Saint Hripsime church stands on the traditional
site of a massacre of Hripsime and 32 other women in the fourth
century - all because Hripsime reputedly refused to marry the king at
that time, Trdat.
At the Saint Hripsime convent, another unusual aspect is that there
is no mother superior. A man is in charge. "We are all God's children
without sex or age differences," the prior, Archimandrite Martiros
Pogosian, told IWPR.
Father Martiros, whose name means "martyr", is a "black monk" and
cannot marry. He said the women might have also chosen a rare way of
life, but had done so freely, "Leaving the world is an entirely
voluntary matter, and no one forced these women."
Becoming a nun, he said, is a simple process, but it is a step only
for those who are totally dedicated.
"The convent is not a place to solve your social problems, we can't
give people jobs or means for existence," he said. "We don't even
have a monastic hierarchy, unlike the Russian Orthodox Church, or
acts of penance, or a ceremony of taking of monastic vows. We believe
that if a person came to God, he or she has consciously taken that
decision.
"I am also a human being and I understand that their coming to the
convent is a sort of escape from the abnormal life, problems and
maybe even from oneself."
Of the four nuns, the youngest one is 42-years-old and the oldest is
56.
They rarely socialise with lay people, but this is not prohibited.
They can visit their relatives or go to town. However, one of the
nuns, Elizaveta, told IWPR there was not much need to go to Yerevan.
"We live quietly, don't need anything, they even pay us salaries: 40
US dollars a month by the order of Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II," she said.
The nuns' living quarters are small and are surrounded by a small
orchard and kitchen garden. Vegetables and fruit grown here are quite
enough for the sisters, father superior and deacon of the church.
They also keep chickens; in other words, it is quite a big farm
considering that just four women - none of them especially youthful -
look after it.
"We always take part in all services and help the father any way we
can," Sister Aida said.
"You know, a regulated life has its advantages. A day that is
precisely scheduled doesn't leave any time for idle thoughts. There
is always work here: prayers in the morning, then dining, doing
household work, praying again, and then off to bed. We also have a
television set so you can't call us hermits. Incidentally, there is
no 'religious censorship' as to what we watch."
While talking to the prior in the yard of the convent, a delicious
smell of freshly baked bread came from the kitchen. "Yes, we make
everything ourselves," he said.
The nuns are governed by the statute of the church, which is
constitutionally separated from the state. They are not entitled to
state benefits, but do not have to pay for anything. "They are freed
from worldly troubles and they are not threatened by a miserable
pension," Father Martiros said.
There are mixed feelings among ordinary Armenians about the role of
these few nuns.
Astkhik Pogosian, told IWPR she was sceptical, "Maybe these women
just didn't have a choice but to become nuns, they didn't have enough
strength to face up to social problems. But on the other hand, it is
simply running away from reality. Somehow I don't believe in their
desire to serve God."
Garegin, the manager of a computer firm, agreed, "One must be really
tired of life voluntarily to renounce all its worldly joys. ... I
wouldn't wish such a lot for my loved ones." He blamed the state for
failing to provide the women with an alternative.
Even a guard at the church was critical. "Women are preordained to
get married, give birth to children, in other words - create
families," he said. "King Pap did the right thing 16 centuries ago
when he shut down all nunneries."
However, there are many who admire and even envy the nuns' vocation.
"I would be glad to become a nun, not because life is hard, but
because of lack of spirituality. Although I am often told that it is
all a figment of my imagination, I think I am right," Onarik
Asatrian, a mother of two, said.
Gayane Minasian, a student, said there should be more nuns, "What do
we see in life: emptiness and pursuits of material well-being, and
there is no time to think about the soul. Well done for these women.
If there were more of them it would have been better for all of us."
Sister Aida said it was for individuals to decide. "We don't thrust
our choice on anyone. If somebody wants they can come to the convent,
and if he, I mean she, comes to us consciously, we will only be
happy. If not, then we will have to say goodbye. No one keeps grudges
here against other people, we don't force people to take vows, and
maybe we are freer than other citizens of Armenia."
Karine Ter-Saakian is a freelance journalist and frequent IWPR
contributor in Armenia.
Sept 23 2004
ARMENIA'S NUNS: A RARE BREED
In devout Orthodox Christian Armenia, only four women have become
nuns - but they don't regret it.
By Karine Ter-Saakian in Echmiadzin
When the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated its recent great Feast
of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Echmiadzin, the seat of the
church's Catholicos or spritual leader, there were four particularly
unusual members of the congregation: nuns.
For all the popularity and influence of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, to which the overwhelming majority of Armenians belong, nuns
and convents are extremely rare. In fact the four attending the
liturgy in Echmiadzin's Saint Hripsime Church in September were the
only nuns in Armenia.
Convents all but disappeared from Armenia after the fourth century,
when King Pap ordered their closure, saying that women should marry,
not dedicate their lives to God in the closed institutions.
The seventh century Saint Hripsime church stands on the traditional
site of a massacre of Hripsime and 32 other women in the fourth
century - all because Hripsime reputedly refused to marry the king at
that time, Trdat.
At the Saint Hripsime convent, another unusual aspect is that there
is no mother superior. A man is in charge. "We are all God's children
without sex or age differences," the prior, Archimandrite Martiros
Pogosian, told IWPR.
Father Martiros, whose name means "martyr", is a "black monk" and
cannot marry. He said the women might have also chosen a rare way of
life, but had done so freely, "Leaving the world is an entirely
voluntary matter, and no one forced these women."
Becoming a nun, he said, is a simple process, but it is a step only
for those who are totally dedicated.
"The convent is not a place to solve your social problems, we can't
give people jobs or means for existence," he said. "We don't even
have a monastic hierarchy, unlike the Russian Orthodox Church, or
acts of penance, or a ceremony of taking of monastic vows. We believe
that if a person came to God, he or she has consciously taken that
decision.
"I am also a human being and I understand that their coming to the
convent is a sort of escape from the abnormal life, problems and
maybe even from oneself."
Of the four nuns, the youngest one is 42-years-old and the oldest is
56.
They rarely socialise with lay people, but this is not prohibited.
They can visit their relatives or go to town. However, one of the
nuns, Elizaveta, told IWPR there was not much need to go to Yerevan.
"We live quietly, don't need anything, they even pay us salaries: 40
US dollars a month by the order of Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II," she said.
The nuns' living quarters are small and are surrounded by a small
orchard and kitchen garden. Vegetables and fruit grown here are quite
enough for the sisters, father superior and deacon of the church.
They also keep chickens; in other words, it is quite a big farm
considering that just four women - none of them especially youthful -
look after it.
"We always take part in all services and help the father any way we
can," Sister Aida said.
"You know, a regulated life has its advantages. A day that is
precisely scheduled doesn't leave any time for idle thoughts. There
is always work here: prayers in the morning, then dining, doing
household work, praying again, and then off to bed. We also have a
television set so you can't call us hermits. Incidentally, there is
no 'religious censorship' as to what we watch."
While talking to the prior in the yard of the convent, a delicious
smell of freshly baked bread came from the kitchen. "Yes, we make
everything ourselves," he said.
The nuns are governed by the statute of the church, which is
constitutionally separated from the state. They are not entitled to
state benefits, but do not have to pay for anything. "They are freed
from worldly troubles and they are not threatened by a miserable
pension," Father Martiros said.
There are mixed feelings among ordinary Armenians about the role of
these few nuns.
Astkhik Pogosian, told IWPR she was sceptical, "Maybe these women
just didn't have a choice but to become nuns, they didn't have enough
strength to face up to social problems. But on the other hand, it is
simply running away from reality. Somehow I don't believe in their
desire to serve God."
Garegin, the manager of a computer firm, agreed, "One must be really
tired of life voluntarily to renounce all its worldly joys. ... I
wouldn't wish such a lot for my loved ones." He blamed the state for
failing to provide the women with an alternative.
Even a guard at the church was critical. "Women are preordained to
get married, give birth to children, in other words - create
families," he said. "King Pap did the right thing 16 centuries ago
when he shut down all nunneries."
However, there are many who admire and even envy the nuns' vocation.
"I would be glad to become a nun, not because life is hard, but
because of lack of spirituality. Although I am often told that it is
all a figment of my imagination, I think I am right," Onarik
Asatrian, a mother of two, said.
Gayane Minasian, a student, said there should be more nuns, "What do
we see in life: emptiness and pursuits of material well-being, and
there is no time to think about the soul. Well done for these women.
If there were more of them it would have been better for all of us."
Sister Aida said it was for individuals to decide. "We don't thrust
our choice on anyone. If somebody wants they can come to the convent,
and if he, I mean she, comes to us consciously, we will only be
happy. If not, then we will have to say goodbye. No one keeps grudges
here against other people, we don't force people to take vows, and
maybe we are freer than other citizens of Armenia."
Karine Ter-Saakian is a freelance journalist and frequent IWPR
contributor in Armenia.