Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Dustin Vartanian
Staff Writer
On Friday afternoon, September 13, I walked into a classroom with the other students enrolled in Armenian Studies 120T-The Armenian Church weekend class. For most of us, participation in this class would help us understand the Church in more depth, since some already had general knowledge of how the Church operates.
We walked in feeling fairly confident about what the class would consist of the next couple of days. We mostly thought this would be a refresher or reminder of things we learned in the past. However, these feelings abruptly stopped when Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian handed us a quiz to test our knowledge of the Armenian Church. A strong wave of silence hit the classroom with the exception of a few faint pencil sounds from those filling in a portion of the answers. Within a short couple of minutes, the pencil sounds became silent and Prof. Der Mugrdechian assumed we were all out of answers. It turns out the majority of the classroom could not give some kind of answer to even half of the questions on the quiz. We then realized there was plenty more to learn about the Armenian Church. However, if the quiz was given at the end of the class it would have been a completely different story.
The brief two-day, one-unit course covered several aspects of the Armenian Church. We learned about its history and how Armenians were introduced to Christianity by the Apostles St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew. We learned about the beginning of the Church and how St. Gregory became the first Catholicos of all Armenians.
We learned about the services, structure, and current challenges of the Armenian Church. Most importantly every student in our class was able ask and receive answers to any questions they had. It was a unique opportunity to have class time allocated to questions related to the Armenian Church. There were many thoughtful questions asked that benefited the class with new knowledge. These questions generated discussion between all of us. Some brought up their past experiences, while others made comparisons between non-Armenian Apostolic churches. These two days of class was densely filled with information on the many topics we covered during class.
The most exciting part of the weekend course occurred when the entire class took a field trip to St. Paul Armenian Apostolic Church in Fresno. There we all observed the architecture of the church both inside and out. As we entered the church my senses were filled with the aroma of the church incense. The stained-glass windows were gleaming with beautiful multicolor light. The pews were all empty and quiet which created such a peaceful atmosphere.
The main focus was the altar which was dimly lit, and vacant of any altar servers. It was a unique sight to all of us because many of us never witness the feeling of standing inside of an empty and serene church.
After all of us took in the atmosphere of the stunning church, we then learned about the layout of the church and how Armenian churches are built with specific features. Prof. Der Mugrdechian explained the significance of certain artifacts around the church such as all of the crosses and religious objects up on the altar. He also explained unique things about St. Paul, such as the meanings of the stained-glass windows and the murals on the walls. Altogether it was great to take what we learned in the classroom and be able to observe it in person.
The weekend course based on the Armenian Church was a memorable experience for all of us. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about things that interested the entire class.
My classmates and I enrolled in the course because we all had a desire to learn about the Church. Also, it was great to get students involved in the Armenian Studies Program in one classroom. As a whole, our class enjoyed its time together. It felt like more of a gathering of friends than taking a class; however, each of us learned a great amount about the Armenian Church.