Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-11

here. He is so called because he con-
verified King Tiridates. There are many
| relics of the most famous Of Armenian
saints. Any enc who will take the trou-
BILE to drive eight or ten miles to the
village OF Khorvirab may see we'll in
| which st. Gregory is said to have been
confined by his prosecutors for fourteen
years, having his food and drink lowered
down to him by rope all this time.
In one Of the chapels Of the monastery is
the slab of marble he used to cover
cave into which he drove all the devils
that pestered Armenia in his day. A
picturesque shrine now occupies the spot.
But st. Gregory does not seem to have
been as successful as St. Patrick was
with the snakes in Ireland. Some of the
devils must have been overlooked. be-
| cuted himself. but his followers in Arme-
mia have suffered more for their faith
than the believers in any religion in any
| other part of the world.
The monastery is very large and is sur
| rounded by a massive wall, which has
| sustained many a siege and repealed fire.
quent attacks by kurds. Turks. Tartars.
Persians and Saracens There are several
buildings, the most conspicuous contain
ing the apartments of the patriarch and
the several archbishops. bishops and
clerks who assist him in the performance
Of his duties.
Hospice for Clergy.
There is a hospice for the entertain
| ment of visiting clergy who come here
in large numbers on business and to seek
inspiration. Another, less pretentious, is
for the entertainment of pilgrims. and
| nearby is a bazaar or market where they
can purchase food and other supplies. A
theological seminary, with forty or fifty
students, who are studying for the Ar
menian ministry. is maintained here, and
| the privilege Of attending 1t is quite as
! highly priced as that enjoyed by the
students of the various Roman Catholic
Colleges at Rome. AS rule the Arme-
MAN clergy are not highly educated. The
reason Is that the parishioners are not
| able to pay for the services Of educated
| men. but many brilliant young theolo-
| gians have gone out from this school to
| Armenian colonies in different parts OF
| the world to defend the faith with zeal
and eloquence.
| The library of the institution, however
| does not convey an impression of SchOl-
| arship. The number of books upon its
| shelves is very small, they are all very
| old and most of them are obsolete. There
does net appear to be either demand
| or a supply of literature. theological or
| otherwise. in the Armenian language
Very few of the books are Of any value
There has been an understanding among
Oriental scholars that the library Of Fitch
miadzin is filled with ancient manuscripts
of the greatest interest and value, but
tons here for students and the American
clergy seem to take much deeper inter-
est in certain superstitions and the tradi-
tons attached to the highly venerated
relics in their sanctuary than in the con-
tents of their book shelves.
Duplicate "Holy Lances."
The treasury Of the monastery contains
third Holy Lance" the weapon of
the soldier that pierced the side of the
Savior as he hung upon the cross. There
is duplicate at the palace of the en-
peror of Austria which was brought from
Jerusalem by St. Helena, and once be-
longed to Charlemagne. by whom it was
passed down to his successors as the head
OF the Holy Roman empire. There is still
another in st. Peters at Rome. which
was brought from the Ho Land by the
crusaders, who discovered 1t through
miracle at Antioch.
The Holy Lance here Is said to have
been brought to Armenia by Thaddeus
the disciple, when he came at the in
vitation OF the ing to convert the ma
ton.
A still more interesting relic is a frag-
ment of Noah's ark, ragged and rotten
eighteen inches wide and two inches
thick, which is alleged to have been taken
from the hull Of that we'll known vessel.
There are no written guarantees. and
therefore IL Is lmpOSSiDle 10 eStdDllSI1
identity: but as ii is equally impossible
to disprove the statement, 1t is easier to
accept the faith of these good people
without question.
What is probably more genuine is a
beautifully chased silver reliquary in the
shape of forearm and hand. which is
said to contain the actual right hand and
arm of st. Gregory, and 1t Is used In an
impressive ceremony at the conservation
of the patriarch of the Armenian Church.
At the benediction this silver reliquary
containing the hand of the founder of the
Armenian Church is sOlemn1y placed
upon the forehead of the candidate by
the officiating bishop.
There are many other relics of saints
| and martyrs of the Armenian Iaith whose
! names and history are unknown to US.
Indeed one has to come here to realize
how little the people of the United States
know about one of the great branches of
the Christian Church.
Contains Thirty-Four Cells.
The monastery proper is an ancient
building with cells for thirty-four monks.
who spend most of their time looking
after the business management Of the
institution and. as you can we'll under
stand, are proud of their vocation and
| highly prize the privileges they enjoy.
They are assisted in the cultivation of a
farm and in caring for large focks of
Sneep ana goats Dy village OF peasants,
who increase the dependence of the in
| stitution to several thousand persons.
The architectural attractions are not
great: the buildings are not imposing, and
the chapel. portion of which dates back
| to the fourth and the rest to the seventh
century. is a small. dark, cruciform build
Ing without beauty of design or decora
ton. Still it is interesting because it is
undoubtedly one of the oldest houses Of
worship in all the world. There are two
patrtarchal thrones. one on each side of
the apse. That on the left is occupied on
occasions of ceremony by the patriarch.
That on the right is reserved for the use
of the Savior in case the second advent
should occur without warning.
There are no portraits or paintings OF
interest. but one is struck by the simple,
primitive, earnest dignity of the place
and the transformations manner in which
the inmates live and conduct their affairs.
,, All of them take their meals in one of
two refectories. both low, long rooms with
single narrow table running down the
center between rude benches.
Pulpit and Canopy.
At the ends of the larger refectory is a
| throne under a canopy which the patri-
arch may occupy If he pleases, although
he usually dimes alone: and at the other
end is a pulpit from which somebody al
ways reads aloud from the Bible or from
some volume Of religious literature while
the meals are being served. The same