Gerard PEDERIAN

The essays in this booklet represent a selection from my articles published in Nor Serount ( a publication of Holy Trinity Armenian Church) and Abaka C(a trilingual weekly published in Montreal) over the past ten years.
Most of the articles deal with the faith and traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The three last essays of the booklet constitute a general and broader view pertaining to Christianity. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity is a contemporary issue which unfolds many historical and theological views. Another essay deals with the mystery of the Sacred Number Seven which has been regarded by all religions from time immemorial as an enigmatic digit. The final essay deals with Heaven as regarded by different religions.
I am quite aware of my own limitations as a writer or researcher; I make no pretense that the views I propose will be acceptable to authorites in the biblical field. My essays are but an endeavour to perceive the truth and the great themes of peace, love and hope offered by our Holy Church through the Holy Bible. These are the desires of this and every other generation.
But I do hope that these essays will exhibit to the reader how much spiritual wealth can be discovered in our church. After all we, the Armenians, were the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as the religion of our country in 301 A.D., eighty years before Rome. Notice that France proclaimed Christianity in the 5th century, England in the 6th century, Germany in the 8th century, Bulgaria, Poland, and Russia in the 9th century, and Hungary in the llth century.

CONTENTS

1. Ani Cathedral (989-1989. On the occasion of the millinery of construction of this masterpiece...........3
2. Faith in the Miracles of Our Lord Jesus Christ..........5
3. The four feast days of the Holy Cross in the Armenian Church Calendar.........................................7
4. The Lord 's Prayer.......................................9
5. Armenian Concept of God in the year 451 A.D. (Part I)..17
6. Armenian Concept of God in the year 451 A.D. (Part II)..21
7. The Concept of Truth...................................25
8. The Nicene Creed 325 A.D. "We believe in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of God the Father, only-begotten, that is of the substance of the Father. "...........................................27
9. The Nicene Creed 325 A.D. "We believe in only One (United), Catholic (Universal), Apostolic and Holy Church. "..........................................31
10. To attend Badarak (Divine Liturgy) on Sundays or pray at home........................................39
11. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Chalcedon Council of 451 A.D.....................................43
12. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the formulation of St. Cyril of Alexandria.............................47
13. Armenia under Arab Occupation 640-886 A.D. What would have happened if Armenia, under Arab occupation had embraced the new Islamic religion?......51
14. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity..................55
15. The Sacred Number Seven................................67
16. What is Heaven? A comparative study of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddism, Christianity and Islam...............75

As a young boy in Egypt, deeply fascinated by the glorious history, language, art and culture of Ancient Egypt, I often wondered why the Egyptian people spoke Arabic and not their native language?
The Egyptian language is not spoken at present. It is used only in the Egyptian (Coptic) churches and monasteries. Even so, the common Egyptian's knowledge is minimal, as he recites the Egyptian prayers transliterated into Arabic without comprehending their meaning. In other words, the Egyptians are virtually unfamiliar with their ancestral language, written or spoken.
Referring back to history, we read that Egypt was invaded in 640 A.D. by Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula. The purpose was expansion of their territory as well as the occupation of new lands and appropriation of wealth, while spreading the new Islamic religion.
In the same year the Arabs invaded Armenia. They occupied the country for over two and a half centuries, bringing in many Arab settlers. Yet they left very little influence upon the Armenian people, as Armenia lost neither its religion nor its language.
By no means do I intend to make a comparison between the people of Egypt and of Armenia, as the prevailing conditions in each country were considerably different. Egypt, being a flat country, was easily accessible from one comer to another. Armenia, a country of rugged mountains caused hindrances for the occupying forces. Thus, it was more difficult to control and dominate the whole country.
Armenia was governed by a feudal system composed of 15 feuds or principalities. They were all subordinate to the king of Armenia in the general affairs of the country. Each principality had its own budget and its own army, and it functioned under the control of the feudal prince.
In the absence of a king, as during periods of foreign (e.g. Arab) occupation, each principality was responsible for its own security and survival.
During a war each principality had to provide the king with money, food and military aid. In a sense, Armenia was not a country of strong national unity. The reason for that, I believe, was its geographical features. Armenia, being mountainous, had difficulty in communication and transportation, especially in winter time. The result was that each principality had to protect itself and look after its own welfare.
It was hardly an ideal system of governing a country. Had Armenia been a flat country with easy maneuverability it would have been annihilated long ago, even if it were a firmly united nation. There are numerous examples of nations contemporaneous with Armenia, but are now extinct.
The Armenians did not embrace the new Islamic religion. They had had a previous experience of a new religion being forced upon them by the Persians. The latter wanted to convert the Armenians from Christianity to Zoroastrianism, but completely failed. In fact, to abolish Christianity in Armenia would have Armenia would have meant the annihilation of the whole Armenian population.
The tenacity and adherence of the Armenians to their faith, language and heritage was immense and exceptionally firm. The Arab sovereignty or dominion was sometimes lenient, but often oppressive, and whatever justice or fairness the Arabs showed, it was still an occupation and an overpowering situation.
Nevertheless, we must not fail to mention that while Emir Faisal was the temporary governor of Syria and Lebanon (1915-1918), he addressed the nation to welcome all the Armenians who had been victims of the 1915 Genocide. He also added: "The Armenians are our brothers in the struggle against the common enemy". The Emir asked his people to help the Armenians as much as possible so that they would enjoy all the privileges of citizenship since they had found refuge in the Arab countries. The above is an excerpt from the book, "The National Struggle in the Middle East" by Zein Zein.
Compassionate hospitality was shown by Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Egypt. The Armenian refugees started a new life in their new homes and became loyal citizens of those countries. They worked hard and diligently and enjoyed all the privileges and rights.
Armenia has a history of three thousand years of sorrow and suffering. Armenians were continually persecuted in their own ancestral land by merciless and cruel neighbours. The country has been incessantly devastated and ruined. It enjoyed only short periods of peace. Unfortunately, these sad conditions continue up to this day and age.
Camille F. Macler (1872-1945), the famous French writer and critic of art and literature, and well versed in Armenian culture, literature and history, wrote:-"Armenia! you are in ruins, but in your sorrow you have erected a monument which is unique in the world. This monument is built and sealed with your blood; the pure light that emanates from it glistens and inundates our existence."
This booklet covers the history of the Arab occupation of Armenia, the sources for which emanate from Armenian, Arab, Syrian, and Byzantine contemporary historians.
Let us keep in mind that we cannot erase or change history. We have to accept whatever happened in the past. It is up to humanity to learn from those unfortunate events and prevent them from happening again.

Gerard Pederian.