BY CATHERINE YESAYAN
In early June of this year, I flew from Los Angeles to Paris to meet the Armenian community and chronicle the legacy of Armenians in Paris.
From Paris, with the same aim in mind, I flew to Cairo, Egypt, and later Yerevan, where I attended the Golden Apricot Film Festival. While in Yerevan, I decided to visit Tiflis, Georgia, to learn about the Armenian heritage there.
Then I traveled to Bulgaria and Romania, where I met with more Armenians. To tell you the truth, after two months of travels, I was a bit tired and hesitant to continue my trip to the Netherlands. However, visiting the Netherlands was a must, because there are traces of Armenian presence there that date back to the 4th century.
Another reason that made me rethink my travel plans was the fact that I had not yet been able to find an Armenian contact in the Netherlands. Instead of canceling the trip, I decided to hit the internet to see if I could find a Dutch Armenian contact.
The Armenian church in Amsterdam has an excellent website. Rev. Fr. Taron Tadevosyan, although out of town, was quick to answer my email. He kindly gave me advice on where to make hotel reservations and how to arrive to the church in Amsterdam. The hotel he suggested was outside of the city center, but had a Metro station right next door, which was very convenient.
I arrived in Amsterdam on a Saturday afternoon, on August 24.
At the front desk of the hotel, a young man gave me instructions on how to take the metro and directions to the church. He even walked me to the Metro station and showed me how to buy a ticket and change lanes.
The following day, on Sunday morning, I took the Metro and easily found the city center. The church was a few hundred feet away from the Metro station.
I was at the Holy Spirit, or “Surp Hoki,” Church, a little past 11 a.m.. As I entered, I was quite surprised to see that the sanctuary was packed with parishioners. There was not a single seat available. Even the small chamber, situated right before the main area of the sanctuary, was cramped with young adults, all standing shoulder to shoulder.
After the Divine Liturgy, the ladies’ committee had arranged a reception downstairs. So, I joined them for coffee and sweets.
There, I met a woman in her late forties whose family had moved from a village near Diarbekir, in Turkey, when she was only five years old.
It is documented that, from the 1960s to 1970s, around 800 Armenians from the Diyarbakir area settled in the Netherlands. They were mainly from the village of Shirnak, Ghozghat, which borders Turkey to the southeast of Iraq.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Armenian community of the Netherlands expanded. Many Armenians emigrated from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. The number of Armenians there also increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Now, a little bit about the history of the church. The building, prior to becoming a church, was used as a warehouse for merchants in Amsterdam.
The Armenian merchants bought the first story of the building, located in Krom Boomssloot 22, from the City of Amsterdam, and the Holy Spirit Church was opened in 1714. Johannes de Minas was the first Bishop to lead the congregation.
“Prior to the establishment of the Church of the Holy Spirit in 1714, Armenians conducted their prayers and liturgies in the Saint Karapet Chapel, which was located not far from the Holy Spirit Church,” said Rev. Tadevosyan. He also mentioned the use of a significant altar stone in the religious practices, which was later taken to Marseille by Rev. Oskan Yervantsi.
“Currently, the [altar] stone is kept in the Armenian Church of Marseille,” he added.
Adjacent to the church was a narrow street. After the liturgy, I walked there to see the building where, in the early days of the church, the clergy used to live. On the header of a window in the building, I noticed Armenian inscription. “This was built in 1765,” was engraved on the arch. I can assume that the building was built while Rev. Johannes de Minas was still alive. He died in 1768.
Later, I walked to a bridge a few steps away, known as the Armenian Bridge (Armeesebruge.) I spent the rest of the day meandering around, enjoying my stroll through the canals and bridges of Amsterdam. As I walked, I had a surprising encounter. I met a couple visiting Amsterdam from Armenia.
I had lunch at a Syrian restaurant and, later, dessert at another café. I returned to my hotel before dark and started to write about what I had learned on that day.
The church of the Holy Spirit continued to serve the growing Armenian community until 1824, at which time, due to the dwindling number of parishioners, the church stopped conducting services, its doors were closed, and the building was sold to a Catholic congregation. It was later transformed into a school.
As I mentioned, the number of Armenians increased during the last three decades of 20th century. As a result, in 1987, the Armenian community of Amsterdam bought the church building back with donations from the AGBU, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, as well as other benefactors. The consecration of the Church of the Holy Spirit took place in November 1989.
The renovation of the church of the Holy Spirit started in 2009 and lasted for four years. As it was being rebuilt, the parish rented another church to continue offering the community religious services. Rev. Taron Tadevossian moved to Holland in 2012.
I also learned that the Board of directors of the Surp Hoki Church have opened a Sunday school, located at another building within a short distance of the church. The rooms of the Sunday school are rented, to be used only on Sundays.
The Sunday school is named Narekatzi, after 10th century monk who is best known for his mystical book, “Book of Lamentations.”
Today, the Sunday school has around 60 students between the ages of four and 14. It opens its doors to students in September, around the same time day schools open.
On the Wednesday before Easter and the night before the washing of the feet tradition, there is a remembrance day dedicated to Narekatzi, where community members gather at the church and recite lines written by him. The church also offers Bible study for adults. In mid July, the school organizes a barbecue for the students and their families.
The church has around 600 paid members. Each Sunday, close to 200 people attend the liturgy. The participation of the younger generation is very heart warming.
The earliest relations between Armenians and the Dutch dates back to the 4th century. An Armenian missionary, known as Saint Servatius, became the first Bishop of the Netherlands. In Dutch, he is called “Sint Servaas.”
Saint Servatius became the patron saint of the Dutch city of Maastricht. He died in 384. His relics are buried in the main church of Maastricht, in the Basilica of St. Servaaskerk, which was built in his honor.
He was canonized and, to this day, is revered in the Netherlands, with people often making pilgrimages to that church.
There’s a bridge in Maastricht named after St. Servatius, called “Sint Servaasbrug.” During World War II, the bridge was severely damaged by the German army as they retreated from the Netherlands in 1944. The church was rebuilt in 1948. Despite being largely rebuilt after WWII, the bridge is called the oldest bridge in the Netherlands.
The first information about Armenian merchants visiting Amsterdam was registered between 1560 and 1565. In the capital of the Netherlands, they established trading houses, engaged in the sale of paints, spices, carpets, precious stones, and silk. The trade monopoly belonged to the Armenians until 1765.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the bustling port of Amsterdam was an important hub. Armenian merchants came to trade textiles, gems and diamonds, quickly transforming the city into a major center of Armenian commercial and cultural life.
By the 1660s, there was an established Armenian community in Amsterdam. In the first half of the 17th century, a small number of people from Jugha, or Julfa, in Iran migrated to the Netherlands.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Amsterdam became a famous center for Armenian typography. In 1660, a printing house was established in Amsterdam, founded by Matteos Tsaretsi.
The printing shop was headed by Bishop Voskan Yerevantsi, who published the first Armenian Bible. It took him two years, between 1666 and 1668, to finish the job. The Bible was beautifully illustrated, containing 1464 pages. The publishing of Armenian books was carried out by the priests from Holy Etchmiadzin.
In the 1700s, more than 70 Armenian families lived in Amsterdam, including the Armenian representatives of international trading houses. Amsterdam was the center of where they conducted their work and activities. The local Armenians had a market known as the “Eastern Market.”
Also, during the Crusades, Dutch merchants visited Armenians in Cilicia and business contacts were established between the Dutch and Armenian merchants.
By the end of the 18th century, the number of Armenians in the Netherlands reached to 800. However, after the Napoleonic invasions, the number of Armenians began to decline.
In the 18th century, when French troops occupied the Netherlands and the trade routes were closed, most Armenians left Holland for home countries.
Between 1894 and 1896, due to the Hamidian massacres in Turkey, and again in 1915, after the Armenian Genocide, some Armenians found refuge in the Netherlands, but many settled in other countries.
Immediately after WWI, a Dutch Commission for the Relief of Armenian Refugees was established in the Netherlands, which included prominent Dutch state and public figures.
During WWII, a group of Armenians, took an active role in the Dutch Resistance movement against the Nazis. A few of the fighters included: Alexander Hakobyan, Babken Sakanyan, Abraham Abrahamyan, Azat Khachatryan, Andranik Mirzoyan, Sargis Karapetyan. They fought on Dutch soil and their achievements were highly praised by the leaders of the resistance movement.
In 1988, after the Spitak earthquake, Dutch-Armenians set up a committee to help the disaster zone. They organized a fundraiser and sent food, medicine and money to Armenia.
The current Armenian community in the Netherlands was formed after the Second World War. In 1948, about 50 Armenian families emigrated to the Netherlands from Indonesia, a former colony of the Netherlands.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Armenian community of the Netherlands was populated with Armenians who emigrated from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of Armenians in the Netherlands increased sharply, mainly due to immigration from Armenia to several other Soviet republics.
In recent years, several hundred families from Iraq and Syria have settled in the Netherlands.
Currently, close to 40,000 Armenians live in the Netherlands. They are concentrated in Amsterdam, Almelo, Amersfoort, The Hague, Leiden, Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Assen, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Maastricht and elsewhere.
Armenians living in the Netherlands belong to the middle and upper classes. They are old and new businessmen and merchants, intellectuals, engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers, journalists, high school teachers, high-ranking officials, artists, and scientists.
In recent years, young Armenians living in the Netherlands have become involved in politics, joining various parties and even winning elections for sears in state and city councils.
The churches and other Armenian establishments are active in promoting a pro-Armenian stance in the Netherlands in regard to issues of significance to the Armenian people, and countering Turkish-Azerbaijani propaganda.
The following is a list of Armenian educational and cultural organizations in different cities in the Netherlands.
Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Almelo has been operating since 2003. In 1991, with the donations of the Armenian population and the Dutch church in Almelo, a school building was purchased, one of the halls of which was turned into a place of worship. In May 2003, it was consecrated as St. Gregory the Illuminator Church. The pastor of the Armenian community of Almelo is Rev. Fr. Mashtots Baghdasaryan.
St. Garapet Church in Maastricht was opened on January 26, 2013. It is the third Armenian church in the Netherlands, after the Churches in Almelo and Amsterdam. The church was formerly a Catholic monastery, which was handed over to the Armenian community by the Roermond Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. St. Garabed Church was solemnly consecrated by the Primate of the French Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Norvan Zakaryan.
In all, there are 11 Armenian churches throughout the Netherlands.
The following are Armenian establishments and committees active in the Netherlands.
There is the Armenian Revolutionary Federation; the Armenian National Committee; the Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands; the Gladzor Armenian Student Union—founded in 2006 and active in the field of higher education in the Netherlands; and the Armenian-Dutch Medical Center, which has been operating since 2012.
Launched in 2012, the “Niderlandakan Oragir”is an online newspaper that covers significant events organized by the Armenian community in the Netherlands.
In almost all diasporan Armenian communities, there are educational and cultural organizations that offer the local community sports programs and Armenian language classes.
The following are the names of a few Armenian cultural centers spread out in different cities:
- two Anni societies;
- Saint Mesrop Mashtotz society;
- Urartu society;
- Van society.
Each society organizes special activities to help keep the Armenian culture alive in the diaspora.
I was able to learn more about the Abovian Cultural Center in The Hague. The center has been around for 40 years and, through different activities, promotes Armenian culture and traditions.
The center also has a dance group and a choir. Each Sunday, members gather at the center for a coffee hour and to organize different activities for the younger generation, as well as for senior citizens.
This November marks the 40th anniversary of the center. Community members plan on celebrating the anniversary by organizing a day of Armenian movie screenings and another day of concerts.
I hope, with this, I was able to shine a light onto the very interesting Armenian community in the Netherlands.
Catherine Yesayan is a regular contributor to Asbarez, with her columns appearing under the “Community Links” heading. She can be reached at cyesayan@gmail.com.
