===On the Armenian Identity (3)=== 
 by Hrant Dink, original at Agos 

 Children of Kaç Vartan 

 5 December 2003  

 In the end, the Armenians are also a typical 'Eastern nation'. Therefore, the weight that historically religion holds for Eastern societies is also valid for Armenians.  

 The weight that religion has held in the life of the Armenian nation continued unbroken until the last century. Nationalism and religion completely intersected in this period, and the 'National Church' was taken to be synonymous with the religion and nationalism elements that is required in the making of a nation.  

 This was to such and extent that religion and nationalism came to stand for the same thing and 'one could not exist without the other'.  

 Vartanants Baderazm (the war of Vartanyan) that Armenians had with their pagan neighbors the Persians at the start of the Armenians' Christianity is one of the important examples that show the indivisibility of nation and religion. 

 'Vartanants' is translated in two ways in the Armenian world.  

 The first (and the correct) version is that this is the 'War of Independence of the Armenian Nation' against Persian rule. The second and the one that the Church puts forward is that this is a war in which religion was defended.  

 No matter which version one takes, it is impossible to deny the national and religious role the war of Vartanyan has played in the Armenian identity.  

 The two events that have left their mark on the Armenian identity are the events of 1915, and this war that took place on 451 AD.  

 1915 symbolizes victimization, 451 symbolizes heroism.  

 Heroism and victimization are, again, two main points of Eastern identities.  

 The meaning of Vartanants that has been transmitted to today points out that the Church's version of the event has prevailed. 

 The heroes that died on the battlefield resisting the fire-worshipping Persians rather than renounce their religion, while adding the necessary heroic element to the making of a nationalist identity, have also etched the importance of the Church indelibly on the identity.  

 In the end, the war of Vartanants, even though it ended with the defeat of the Armenians, has become a symbol of not renouncing religion and has made Christianity an unbreakable part of the Armenian identity.  

 The heroism of the Kaç Vartans (Brave Vartans) is a ritual that flows from Armenian history into Armenian identity, repeated continually.  

 In Armenian schools in the Diaspora and Armenia, if one wall is dedicated to 1915, the other wall is dedicated to the Kaç Vartans.  

 Nationalism independent of religion can only be seen in the last century. Experimenting with a 'Non-religious Armenian identity' is a product of the last 3 quarters of a century of the Soviet period. One has to accept that the success enjoyed by the system that tried to eradicate both local nationalisms and religious beliefs with the materialist philosophy of the socialist teaching is crippled. Even though materialist philosophy manages to remove some people from their religion, nationalism does not share the same fate. In the end, the huge Soviet disintegrates and these nationalist resistances turn into new and independent republics on the Asian continent.  

 The Soviet period is a time when, new cultural foundations are laid for Armenians, like other nations that have since won their independence.  

 In this period, the number of socialist, atheist and nationalist intellectuals increase.  

 In Armenian culture and art, works that are independent from the church are created. The Armenian culture and art shifts out of its local roots and meets with universal values. Artists that are able to think and create universally appear during this period.  

 Yes, it is true that the Soviet period has trampled the Church, but it has also led to the Armenian culture aspiring to universal dimensions.  

 Most of the Armenians today that live in Armenia are distant to the Church. Because of this, the Church has concentrated all of its energy on reducing this distance and to win back the social influence that it has lost.  

 Although the efforts of the Church are understandable, it should be accepted that nothing will be the same. 

 From now on, it will not be sufficient to define the Armenian identity with values from the past.  

 If life has scattered close to 5 million of an 8 million strong Armenian world all over the earth, they will not be exactly similar to one another. If they have started to have 'double identities', if even majority of the citizens of Armenia try to leave their independence and look for new lives in other countries, trying t