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A Cathedral on the Verge of Collapse:The Campaign to Save Mren
by Lucine Kasbarian - author, syndicated
journalist/political cartoonist.
http://www.atour.com/~aahgn/news/20130213a.html
Posted: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 04:53 PM UT
------------------------------
Mren Cathedral was constructed circa 638 AD, a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Photographs
Courtesy of Gagik Arzumanyan.
*An Interview with Dr. Christina Maranci*
Medford, Massachusetts, USA - Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and
Ara T. Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts
University in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to
save the 7th century Mren Cathedral of Western Armenia, located in the Kars
region of present-day Turkey. Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include
Byzantine art and architecture, and the art and architecture of the
Transcaucasus - principally Armenia. She is considered one of the world's
authorities on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, `the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic- - the
True Cross - to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material evidence for
one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented moments in history. It
is also the largest domed basilica surviving from the region, and a key
example of the architectural achievements of the seventh century.'
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
`Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century show
the progressive collapse of the south façade. Now the entire south aisle
lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the domed
superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its wall
paintings to the elements,' she says. `The prospect of stabilizing what is
left is at present doubtful, however, because of Mren's position within a
military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars province) next to the closed
Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the site is forbidden.'
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. `Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world history on
its walls,' she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic loss to human
knowledge.'
Following is an interview with Dr. Maranci.
Mren Cathedral was constructed circa 638 AD, a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Photographs
Courtesy of Gagik Arzumanyan.
* **Lucine
Kasbarian:* For years, scholars and travelers have been unable to obtain
official permission to visit this site. When was the last time that
architectural experts had access to Mren?
* Christina
Maranci:* The last time anyone was able to do substantial scientific work
there was in the 1960s when Nicole and Jean-Michel Thierry visited multiple
times. I have never been there although I have tried to get permission.
*LK:* Observers say that Mren Cathedral seems to rival in size the Great
Cathedral of Ani, and contains bas-reliefs and remnants of frescos not
unlike those at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Aghtamar. Is forbidden
access the reason why Mren is not as well known as these other two
monuments?
*CM:* Mren and Ani are comparable in size, and Mren probably served as a
local model for Ani Cathedral in its domed basilica layout and form,
although Ani exhibits typical features of the 10-11th century Armenian
architectural tradition. Mren has sculpted bas-reliefs on its portals and
over some windows, and preserves fragments of wall painting in the eastern
end. However, it bears nothing like the program of figural reliefs at
Aght'amar-something that makes this church anomalous even in the Armenian
tradition. Aght'amar's wall painting is also better preserved. But the
inaccessibility of Mren surely shaped its scholarly reception and public
awareness about it. Toros Toramanyan, known as the father of Armenian
architectural historiography, tells us that he himself was only able to
visit it for one day.
*LK:* The website VirtualAni.org describes Mren as being one of four
structures similar in design and which were likely built around the same
time, the other three being the St. Gayane Church-built between 630 and 641
AD at Etchmiadzin; the church of St. John at Bagavan-built between
632 -
639 AD and north of the Lake Van region but now destroyed; and the Odzun
Basilica-probably built in the first half of the 7th century AD in
the
Odzun region of Armenia. How does Mren compare in historical importance to
these other structures?
*CM:* Gayane is obviously important for its connections to the conversion
to Christianity tradition and because of its connections to the Patriarch
Ezr, who is thought to have built it. If the church of Bagavan were
standing today, it would have been, by far, the largest domed basilica in
the region. Odzun is difficult to discuss, because it has been renovated so
many times. While it dates to the early medieval period, it is generally
thought to have a 9thcentury phase and perhaps even later ones. Mren is the
only one of these monuments that is linked to the broader global world via
its epigraphy and sculpture. It speaks directly to the network of
relationships between empire, frontier, and local Armenian nobility. There
is much more to say but this is a start, one hopes.
*LK:* Even as Mren is on the brink of collapse, would you say that it is
one of the more intact monuments still standing in the Kars/Ani region?
*CM:* Well, it is hard to say. So many are in danger, so many have
collapsed, and so many have been lost to historical record. But it is
remarkable in many ways that a 7th century monument, so isolated and in
such a seismic area, has survived as well as it has-so far.
*LK:* How can readers of this interview help bring attention to Mren
Cathedral so that scholars and restorers might conduct important inspection
and preservation work and so that Mren may become a protected site?
*CM:* I am in the midst of contacting UNESCO and,
of course, nominating the monument to the World Monuments
Fund.
I will also be organizing a global petition in the very near future. In the
meantime, readers who would like to get involved in the campaign to
save Mren Cathedral may signal their interest by contacting me at:
Christina.Maranci [ a t ] tufts.edu
------------------------------
*About the author*
* Lucine
Kasbarian* (Ô¼Õ¸Ö=82Õ½Õ«Õ¶ Ô³Õ¡Õ½ÕºÕ¡Ö=80Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶) is a New Jersey and Massachusetts-based
children's book author and syndicated journalist/political cartoonist whose
comics have appeared in a number of publications including *The Armenian
Weekly**,* *The California Courier**,* and *Blogian.net**.*
by Lucine Kasbarian - author, syndicated
journalist/political cartoonist.
http://www.atour.com/~aahgn/news/20130213a.html
Posted: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 04:53 PM UT
------------------------------
Mren Cathedral was constructed circa 638 AD, a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Photographs
Courtesy of Gagik Arzumanyan.
*An Interview with Dr. Christina Maranci*
Medford, Massachusetts, USA - Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and
Ara T. Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts
University in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to
save the 7th century Mren Cathedral of Western Armenia, located in the Kars
region of present-day Turkey. Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include
Byzantine art and architecture, and the art and architecture of the
Transcaucasus - principally Armenia. She is considered one of the world's
authorities on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, `the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic- - the
True Cross - to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material evidence for
one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented moments in history. It
is also the largest domed basilica surviving from the region, and a key
example of the architectural achievements of the seventh century.'
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
`Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century show
the progressive collapse of the south façade. Now the entire south aisle
lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the domed
superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its wall
paintings to the elements,' she says. `The prospect of stabilizing what is
left is at present doubtful, however, because of Mren's position within a
military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars province) next to the closed
Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the site is forbidden.'
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. `Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world history on
its walls,' she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic loss to human
knowledge.'
Following is an interview with Dr. Maranci.
Mren Cathedral was constructed circa 638 AD, a masterpiece of world art and
a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Photographs
Courtesy of Gagik Arzumanyan.
* **Lucine
Kasbarian:* For years, scholars and travelers have been unable to obtain
official permission to visit this site. When was the last time that
architectural experts had access to Mren?
* Christina
Maranci:* The last time anyone was able to do substantial scientific work
there was in the 1960s when Nicole and Jean-Michel Thierry visited multiple
times. I have never been there although I have tried to get permission.
*LK:* Observers say that Mren Cathedral seems to rival in size the Great
Cathedral of Ani, and contains bas-reliefs and remnants of frescos not
unlike those at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Aghtamar. Is forbidden
access the reason why Mren is not as well known as these other two
monuments?
*CM:* Mren and Ani are comparable in size, and Mren probably served as a
local model for Ani Cathedral in its domed basilica layout and form,
although Ani exhibits typical features of the 10-11th century Armenian
architectural tradition. Mren has sculpted bas-reliefs on its portals and
over some windows, and preserves fragments of wall painting in the eastern
end. However, it bears nothing like the program of figural reliefs at
Aght'amar-something that makes this church anomalous even in the Armenian
tradition. Aght'amar's wall painting is also better preserved. But the
inaccessibility of Mren surely shaped its scholarly reception and public
awareness about it. Toros Toramanyan, known as the father of Armenian
architectural historiography, tells us that he himself was only able to
visit it for one day.
*LK:* The website VirtualAni.org describes Mren as being one of four
structures similar in design and which were likely built around the same
time, the other three being the St. Gayane Church-built between 630 and 641
AD at Etchmiadzin; the church of St. John at Bagavan-built between
632 -
639 AD and north of the Lake Van region but now destroyed; and the Odzun
Basilica-probably built in the first half of the 7th century AD in
the
Odzun region of Armenia. How does Mren compare in historical importance to
these other structures?
*CM:* Gayane is obviously important for its connections to the conversion
to Christianity tradition and because of its connections to the Patriarch
Ezr, who is thought to have built it. If the church of Bagavan were
standing today, it would have been, by far, the largest domed basilica in
the region. Odzun is difficult to discuss, because it has been renovated so
many times. While it dates to the early medieval period, it is generally
thought to have a 9thcentury phase and perhaps even later ones. Mren is the
only one of these monuments that is linked to the broader global world via
its epigraphy and sculpture. It speaks directly to the network of
relationships between empire, frontier, and local Armenian nobility. There
is much more to say but this is a start, one hopes.
*LK:* Even as Mren is on the brink of collapse, would you say that it is
one of the more intact monuments still standing in the Kars/Ani region?
*CM:* Well, it is hard to say. So many are in danger, so many have
collapsed, and so many have been lost to historical record. But it is
remarkable in many ways that a 7th century monument, so isolated and in
such a seismic area, has survived as well as it has-so far.
*LK:* How can readers of this interview help bring attention to Mren
Cathedral so that scholars and restorers might conduct important inspection
and preservation work and so that Mren may become a protected site?
*CM:* I am in the midst of contacting UNESCO and,
of course, nominating the monument to the World Monuments
Fund.
I will also be organizing a global petition in the very near future. In the
meantime, readers who would like to get involved in the campaign to
save Mren Cathedral may signal their interest by contacting me at:
Christina.Maranci [ a t ] tufts.edu
------------------------------
*About the author*
* Lucine
Kasbarian* (Ô¼Õ¸Ö=82Õ½Õ«Õ¶ Ô³Õ¡Õ½ÕºÕ¡Ö=80Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶) is a New Jersey and Massachusetts-based
children's book author and syndicated journalist/political cartoonist whose
comics have appeared in a number of publications including *The Armenian
Weekly**,* *The California Courier**,* and *Blogian.net**.*