Republic Square Cross: good, bad, or ugly?
By Narine Matinyan
AIM Correspondent
YEREVAN, Armenia -- On New Year's Eve hundreds of people were gathered in the
heart of Armenia's capital, Yerevan, to become a part of history-building.Government-sponsored events marking the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity were getting underway and would continue throughout 2001. The open-air theatrical performance reflecting Armenian history was filled with pageantry and spectacle, though some spectators complained that equipment could have worked better.
The air was filled with expectation. And with fog.
People complained that they could see nothing, as fireworks and laser lights could barely penetrate for the dense, cloudy skies. Only one thing was visible - a cross, 23.5 meters (about 77 feet) tall that took 60 workers to build and was lit by 496 lights and two klieg-type searchlights -- and standing exactly where a full-sized statue of I.V. Lenin once stood.
Many were in awe of the structure and posed to have their pictures taken beneath the big cross. Religious leaders praised its presence and called it an appropriate symbol for this special year.
Catholicos Garegin II views the celebration as a great occasion to enhance the role of religion in the daily life of Armenians who forgot many Christian rites and traditions during 70 years of Soviet atheist rule.
"It is good to see that Armenia has turned its thoughts to the importance of the Christian faith and institutio
ns in our lives, said Rev. Rene
Leonian,
President of Evangelical Church of Armenia. "I do not see any problem
putting a cross in a public place."But even the preacher understood that not everyone might see it his way. "We cannot make people accept it as they had to accept Lenin and Communism," he said.
Despite the short history of this cross, it has already raised much controversy, appreciation, discontent, joy, anger.
"The cross as the symbol of Christianity is the source of inspiration for every baptized child of the Church," said Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Executive Director of the 1700th Anniversary Celebration Committee of the Holy See Echmiadzin. "It has been the vision of our people to see the life-giving cross in public places."
But placing such a monument where Lenin first stood has angered Communists - who were not happy to see the oligarch's statue removed in the first place.
Others have philosophical and even artistic objections.
Gevorg Gevorgian, 30, a professor of History of Religions at the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian University, who also holds a Master of Arts degree in Theology, from Fuller Theological Seminary, sees another threat: "Our people are going to fetishism. Almost every other Armenian wears a cross. But it does not make him or her more Christian. They continue to rob and lie."
The short-term program of making Armenians more Christian might seem a bit of shock therapy. And so the controversy surrounding the 1700th anniversary events and the Cross is part of a broader problem.
Hajkuhi Vardanyan, 46, a mother of two sons and currently unemployed, is happy to see that Armenia is free and out of Soviet rule, so that today Armenians can see a cross in the capital's main square. She, however, said: "Our Church drives to bring about a religious rebirth in Armenia. But I don't believe that the
secular government is capable of supporting such mission."Other cross issues on which most of the people agree is the esthetic look of the cross and the place it is situated. Some esthetes have even said that Armenia no more can be proud of its cross-making art.
"It's ugly and tacky," said Zhorajr Sahakyan, 35, a computer programmer. "Waste of time and money."
Only an eight-year old boy, David, who was begging money from the people coming out from the HSBC/Armenia Bank, (next to the cross), seemed optimistic "I like the Cross, it reminds me a Christmas tree with a lot of nice lights."
According to Tsovinar Sargisyan, a spokeswoman for the commission in charge of preparations for the Christianity Jubilee, the Cross either will be removed or relocated soon. The commission, in cooperation with the City's Urban Development Council, is discussing the issue.