DANUT MANASTIREANU 

I first visited Armenia in the summer of 2000, as Director of Faith and Development in the Middle East and Eastern Europe Region for World Vision International.1 On the last day of my trip, I asked my colleague Karine if she was aware of the existence of a renewal movement within her own denomination, the Armenian Apostolic Church. I was wondering if they had a movement in Armenia similar to the Lord’s Army (Romanian: Oastea Domnului) in the Orthodox Church of my native Romania.2 While devoutly Oriental Orthodox,3 my colleague was not aware of anything of that kind, but she promised to ask her clergy friends. 

To my pleasant surprise, that very same day I had the pleasure of meeting Hamlet Zakharian, Elder of the Brotherhood (Armenian: Yekhpairakts’ut’yun) of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Oriental Orthodox renewal movement that predates its Romanian counterpart by half a century. Hamlet, who has since become a dear friend, is a former nuclear scientist and a man with a holistic vision for reaching Armenians with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We have met many times since 2000. Every time I have visited the Armenian capital, Yerevan, he has kindly invited me to teach the Brotherhood leaders in their modest training facility, or to preach during their Sunday afternoon worship at Nairit Cultural Center. 

Everything I share with you here I have learned from the many conversations and email exchanges I have had with Hamlet, his dear wife Gemma–a real “mother of the tribe” to the Brotherhood–and their daughter Astghik, as well as my own research. 

The Beginnings

It all started in 1880 in Cilicia, an Armenian-populated region of the Ottoman Empire now in southern Turkey. Elisabeth Labashlyan (1863-1915), a devout young woman with little formal education, received a series of visions in which a divine voice said “You will be my witness; you will be preaching my Word.” In spite of many difficulties, Elisabeth obeyed and started to preach among local Armenians, using both the Armenian and Turkish languages. She was also a gifted poet, and used this talent to compose songs that made the Gospel message memorable: this remains a feature of the Brotherhood to this day. The ministry of Haji (Armenian: Sister) Elisabeth–while not formally tonsured, she lived as a nun–sparked a spiritual revival. The many souls touched were encouraged to stay within the Mother Church; the Brotherhood’s Covenant still proclaims faithfulness to “the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, its rule and discipline, its holy traditions.”4 But they also formed small groups dedicated to prayer, worship, and sharing personal experiences of Christ, known as “unions of love” (Armenian: Siro Enkherut’yun).  

Two important figures were revived in their faith through Sister Labashlyan’s apostolic and prophetic ministry. Archimandrite Grigor Vardapet Voskerchyan (1845-1895) formally organized the “unions of love” and would become the movement’s first martyr. Attacked by a Turkish mob, he was slain by a sword when granted his last wish: to kneel and pray. Fr. Ter Ghevond Jenanyan (1850-1909) was a gifted teacher who also died as a martyr at the hands of the Turks. These three are considered the founders of the Brotherhood. 

Some connect this revival to Protestant missionary activity in regions of the Ottoman Empire with large concentrations of Armenians, which led to the formation of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1846. But as Alexander Agadjanian explains, “the Brotherhood was both an imitation of Protestant forms of piety and mission and, at the same time, a protective reaction against Protestants from within the Armenian Apostolic tradition–a pattern of resisting-through-imitation, common in religious history.”5 This is how the Brotherhood describes a typical “union of love” meeting:  

They used to start [by] standing and praying the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father,” at the end of which one of those present pronounced a whole-hearted prayer, which was closed with [liturgical] singing or [hymnody] from the Divine Liturgy. They often sang “Aravot Luso” (“Morning Light”)6 … Then everybody sat on the floor. At the prayer meeting the shoes had to be off, having in mind God’s command to Moses, “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). They sang, then one of them read the Bible and preached, telling about God’s great works. Afterwards the prayers were followed by singing “Ter Voghormya” (“Lord have mercy”).7 Then standing… they [either sang or] pronounced the Lord’s Prayer [again] and closed [the meeting]. Those who had questions could talk; the others either listened or left.8

Over the following decades, despite an increasingly hostile attitude to various ethnic minorities within the Ottoman Empire, the fire of this revival spread and touched thousands of people wherever Armenians lived. However, there are no credible estimates of the size of the movement by the end of the Ottoman period; a figure of 200,000 mentioned to us at one time seems far-fetched. Nevertheless, the Brotherhood continued to grow until 1915, when many of its members were massacred during the Armenian Genocide. Those who survived were scattered in various places, including Armenia, France, Lebanon, Syria, and the United States. In some small part, what was meted out as curse resulted in blessing, as the revival spread among Armenians living around the world.

The Communist Period

After the Russian Empire fell, most of its Armenian populated territory was briefly independent (1918-20) before being incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922. In the aftermath of World War II, Stalin’s policy of repatriating diaspora Armenians resulted in semi-underground Brotherhood communities forming in Soviet Armenia. To the surprise of these small Brotherhood groups, the Communist authorities did not bother them too much. They were mostly Turkish speaking, and consequently not considered a threat given the hostility of Armenians towards Turks after the genocide. This allowed the movement to settle and grow, slowly but steadily. 

After switching completely to the Armenian language, the Brotherhood experienced a new revival in the late 1970s, when some members of the intelligentsia–including Hamlet Zakharian–were converted. Hamlet himself had been an atheist before developing an interest in spirituality, first practicing yoga and later regularly attending traditional liturgies at Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the oldest and most important worship site of the Armenian Apostolic Church. But his faith was really revived when he came into contact with the Brotherhood.9 Such developments obviously attracted the attention of the secret police, who started monitoring the movement more closely. The Brotherhood’s activism also meant that it was not then officially recognized, but rather viewed with suspicion, by the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Yet a new day came under the church leadership of Catholicos Vazgen I. Born in Romania, he was known as a fine scholar and skillful diplomat. One of his senior bishops, Shahe Ajemyan, once described him to me as having “the rare ability to be flexible without giving up on matters of principle.” In October 1981 Vazgen I validated the Brotherhood’s charter and officially recognized it as a legitimate part of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In April 1995 his newly elected successor, Garegin I, listed a number of virtues of the Brotherhood before proclaiming: 

We pray to gracious God that He will strengthen all the members in Armenia, Karabakh and in Diaspora with His heavenly wisdom and the virtue of spiritual [strength]. Jesus said to His disciples. “Be my witnesses.” The same words are addressed to you, our dear brothers and sisters, precious children of the Armenian Apostolic Church… we bless you and your Christ-centered work.10 

Times of Freedom

With the fall of Communism, Armenia became formally independent, although in reality heavily reliant upon the Russian Federation. This dependence is unlikely to change, although the political upset of April-May 2018–which saw opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan elected Prime Minister after a popular uprising forced the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan– may lead to a more genuinely democratic Armenia. 

The new freedom of the 1990s already resulted in major changes for the Brotherhood, allowing it to develop its ministry without any restrictions and so make an impact beyond its confines. As Agadjanian notes, the Brotherhood’s dynamism in the 1990s “affected a large number of people who went on to become leaders in either the religious or sociopolitical realm; many future priests or Protestant pastors, as well as many politicians and other activists passed through the Brotherhood or were close to it.”11 

Besides Armenia, the movement is today present and active in many places in the world: Australia (Sydney), Lebanon (Beirut), Jordan, Egypt (Cairo, Alexandria), Syria (Aleppo, Damascus), Iran (Tehran), Canada (Montreal), the USA (Los Angeles, New York), France, Argentina (Buenos Aires, Cordoba), Brazil (Sao Paulo), Uruguay (Montevideo). There are no credible estimates for the size of Brotherhood membership in this diaspora. In Armenia itself, it is estimated to have 1,500-1,800 members. 

The overall reception of the Brotherhood in the Mother Church is different in different places. Although the last three Catholicoi have been positive towards the movement, its leaders believe that about 20 percent of the clergy view them with suspicion, which is somewhat similar to the situation of the Lord’s Army in Romania. 

General leadership of the movement is provided by a Representative Council (including delegates from different regions: leaders, ministers, Sunday school teachers, and Biblestudy group leaders). The Representative Council elects a Spiritual Council and the Elder of the Brotherhood, who at present and for many years now is Hamlet Zakharian. 

In keeping with the essential role played by Sister Elisabeth Labashlyan at the foundation of the movement, women can preach, teach, or be elected as leaders. While many religious communities, both Christian and non-Christian, are dominated by (un)holy misogyny, women are viewed as equal to men in the Armenian Brotherhood. 

The ministry of the Brotherhood is extremely diverse. It includes Bible-study groups and larger events for young people, couples, and children; small prayer groups with monthly 24-hour prayer on a particular theme; and visiting the sick. There is also a sports ministry, a microcredit project for small businesses, and a house-building project, which funds the purchase of modest houses, builds new houses and repairs existing houses for the poor. 

In addition, the movement has a publishing arm whose work includes the production of translations. Currently, there are perhaps too many from an American context, but more and more original books are being written by Brotherhood members. They even kindly published an Armenian version of my little book on a Christian view of Communism and postCommunism.12 There are also ongoing efforts to compile for publication poems and songs produced by various members of the movement over its long history. 

For a number of years Hamlet Zakharian has been writing a complete history of the Brotherhood. The first part focuses on the Diaspora, and is already finished. Its first five chapters have been translated into Russian for Armenians within the former Soviet Union, and will soon be uploaded onto the Brotherhood’s website. The second part, which concentrates on the movement’s activities in Armenia, is still in progress. An English translation of this work is also planned, should the necessary funding be available. The aim of Hamlet’s book is to inform Brotherhood members and the wider public of the early and later phases of the movement’s development, as well as its vision and aims. It is also intended to encourage Armenians to remain faithful to their national Church and help her prosper.  

Future Challenges

What does the future hold for this Armenian Apostolic renewal movement? 

First and foremost, there will eventually be a change of leadership. The Brotherhood’s future health and growth depend largely upon the smoothness of that transition and the quality of the man–or indeed woman–who takes over the position of Elder. 

Secondly, much like similar Orthodox renewal movements (including the Lord’s Army in Romania),13 the Brotherhood has not been interested in encouraging theological reflection in its midst, despite the opportunity created by the ecclesiological challenges it presents to the Church establishment. Perhaps the time has come to take things to the next level with mandatory theological development, while being careful not to alienate the structures of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Thirdly, the leaders of the movement need to be careful of the risk of missionary colonialism posed by overly close relationships with, and large funding from, Western Protestants–especially from the United States–as this may well come with strings attached. 

Yet the Brotherhood will certainly overcome these challenges if it continues to be a creative movement of the Spirit dedicated to church unity and renewal, based upon ardent prayer and solid teaching, and expressed through humble service to the poor and marginalized, for the glory of God and his Kingdom.

Notes:

1. World Vision International is the second largest Christian humanitarian organization in the world after Caritas. It is involved in community development, relief, and microcredit activities in almost 100 countries.
2. The author is in the early stages of writing a book on the current state of this movement in Romania, including archival research and interviews. See also Danut Manastireanu, “A Comparison of the Georgian Baptist Church and the Lord’s Army in Romania,” East-West Church and Ministry Report, 24 (Summer 2016), 6-8. 
3. The Armenian Apostolic Church and other Oriental Orthodox are not in communion with Russian and other Eastern Orthodox due to fifth-century disagreement over the nature of Christ.
4. Website of the Armenian Brotherhood, http://bclaac.org/en/.
5.  Alexander Agadjanian, “The Religious Modernity of the Brotherhood: A New Face of Armenian Grassroots Christianity” in Alexander Agadjanian, ed., Armenian Christianity Today: Identity Politics and Popular Practice (Farnham: Ashgate, 2014), 76.
6. A 12th-century hymn composed by Catholicos (leader) of the Armenian Apostolic Church Nerses IV and forming part of the Church’s traditional morning prayers, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=q4LMTREG80w.
7. A chant used in the Armenian Divine Liturgy, https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=-uiwNcmFPY0.
8. Website of the Armenian Brotherhood, ibid.
9. During this period, Hamlet came into close contact with the Russian Orthodox priest Fr. Aleksandr Men’, who believed that movements similar to the Brotherhood should exist in each traditional Orthodox community. Fr. Men’ often sent his disciples to experience the lively faith of the Armenian Brotherhood. 
10. Website of the Armenian Brotherhood, ibid.
11.  Agadjanian, ibid., 79. 
12. Danut Manastireanu, Gerutyunits Anapat [From Bondage to the Desert], (Yerevan: Gasprint, 2007).
13.  On similar Orthodox movements, see Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović and Radmila Radić, eds., Orthodox Christian Renewal Movements in Eastern Europe, (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

Danut Manastireanu is an Anglican theologian living in Iași, Romania, with a keen interest in Evangelical-Orthodox dialogue.