The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1915-09-24
I,o,1,y SEE OF ARMENIAN
CT RIS T / A N S

.cn.alIowed up in the maelstrom OF
+be southern Caucasus, which Is now
Ne with the strife of the Turks
al The Russians, and near the meet
H'' ooint of Persia, Russia and Tur-
i"s l. situated the most treasured
M ny sacred possession of the Armen-
n9tion. a nation without a Coun-
la. and with the longest record
- brayelv-borne suffering of any
'aor1e. and this possession is the
monastery and cathedral OF kchmia-
HIN. the Holy See of Armenian
Chr;stians, the heart of the Armenian
nation. and the source OF that strength
,,,b;rh has held together and guided
the Armenians through centuries OF
aa'a r warfare and massacre"
Peg;ns a bulletin, issued today by the
Rational Geographic Society.
"Fchmiadzin is the seat of the
C,tholicus, or primate, of the Greg
or;,n Armenian Church, the sustain
no force and the inspiration of a
neonle whose lives and labors have
been PASSED for a thousand years un-
der the shadow of unnatural death.
Yearly a thousand years have gone
bv since the fall of the last definite
noIitical state of the Armenians, yet
heir church has held them i'll their
,,tional consciousness, and has pre-
served in their their distinguishing
ror;,l and social characteristics. AL
most every member of the Armenian
ngtion belongs to the Armenian
Church which counts its martyrs by
the scores of thousands. The Church
1. .o1s,,N, tlo A -
menian; it is his patriotism, his hope
for survival, and the banner under
which he has rallied for progress, ed
ucation and justice for his people,
Mount Ararat, where Noah land
ed, lies Just to the south of the ven
cradle Armenian See. Here runs the
Russo-Turkish frontier, while a few
miles to the southeast lies Persia.
The monastery lies about 5000 feet
above the sea, 40 miles north of Ara
rat, and II miles west of Erivan, the
capital of the Russian government in
which it is situated. The Armenian
Rome is surrounded by massive, grey
mud walls, which enclose the monas-
tery, the cathedral and an academy.
The buildings are arranged around a
great quadrangle, in the center of
which stands the cathedral of St.
Gregory the illumination, church Of
more ancient beginning than even
the far-famed Sancta Sophia OF
Constantinople. 1t has been the
buIwark OF Christianity against
the barbarians of Asia since 302, and,
though its fight has been unusually
severe, long, and heroic, little is
known of Echmiadzin, among the pco-
pies of the West
throughout the years during
which the Armenians have been di-
vidcd between three more or less un-
friendly states, Russia, Persia and
the Ottoman Empire, and during
their centuries Of still more bitter
suffering before the advent of Russia
into the Caucasus, the Armenians
have turned to Echmiadzin for guild
ance and support in all their troubles
and the history of this people gen
orally impresses the student as being
lust one trouble after another will
little justification for hope. The an.
ccnt grey monastery has been the
religious, political and cultural cen
ter of the Armenian world.
"The library of Echmiadzin is {
treasurcr-store of Armenian docu
ments and literature, and among its
shelves are kept some remarkable
manuscripts of the gospels, dating
from the 9th and 10th centuries. The
monks maintain a typefoundry anC
a printing press, and they have &C
complshed great things for the edu
cation of their people and for the de
velopmetnt Of Armenian literature
The academy connected with the Ech
miadzin is one of the first educationa
institutions in the Armenian world
and many of its pupils do eXcellen
graduate work in German and Russian
universities 1t was founded unde
Catholicus George w in 1873 ant
regularly trains between 2G0 and 30
bows yearly
"The Armenian Church is claimed
by its adherents to be the oldest es
tablshed Christian church in tn
world, having been founded in tn
first part of the third century 1t is
probably, the most rational of al
churches in the world, for onl