BY REV. DR. VAHAN H. TOOTIKIAN
In the Maritime Province of Canada, there is an old fort called queen Ann Fort. It was built by the French and was held some time by the French. Later, it was attacked by the British. After a heroic defense by the French, the fort fell into British hands. On one of the walls of the fort, the British put up a bronze plaque in memory of the brave French commander who finally surrendered the fort. The plaque reads: “In Memory of the French Commander of this fort. Honor to an unsuccessful valor.”
What are we celebrating during Vartanants? A defeat or a victory? Are we paying tribute to an unsuccessful or a successful valor?
Had the Vartanants heroic struggle in 451 A.D. ended with the Battle of Avarayr, the observance of Vartanants would simply be a memorial, by which we “honor an unsuccessful valor,” paying tribute to the memory of Commander Vartan Mamigonian and his comrades. But the Vartanants war was more than a one-day battle.
It all began on May 26, 451 A.D. with the Battle of Avarayr, but it did not end there. It did not end with the martyrdom of Vartan and his 1,035 comrades. Rather, the Vartanants war lasted 33 years and ended with the victorious Treaty of Nuvarsak in 484 A.D. Thus, this heroic war can be described as a chain of events beginning with the defeat on the field of Avarayr and ending with a victory at Nuvarsak.
It was Vartan Mamigonian who led the resistance against the Persian army of 300,000 men, whose king Yazdegert (Hazgert II), demanded that the Armenians deny the Christian faith and embrace his fire-worshipping faith of Zoroastrianism.
The combined militias of several Armenian principalities had formed an army of 66,000 under the command of Vartan who tried to repulse the attacking Persian army.
Although the Armenians suffered a military defeat, their relentlessness eventually scored a victory.
The indomitable, faithful Vartanants spirit, as exemplified in the loyalty of the religious and lay leadership, eventually prevailed. Under the leadership of Vartan’s nephew, Vahan Mamigonian was successful in getting Persia’s new monarch, King Vagharsh signed a treaty known as the Treaty of Nvarsak, granting the Armenians in his dominion religious freedom and national autonomy. The free, unimpeded worship of the Christian faith, the termination of forced conversions, and the right of the Armenian people to live according to their ancestral and traditional laws were granted. Also, the autonomy of the Armenian people, under the sovereignty of the Persian Empire, was recognized.
The Vartanants resistance became a pivotal point in Armenian history and a source of inspiration for succeeding generations.
Having said this, the question that arises in our minds is: What are we celebrating through Vartanants’ heroic struggle?
First, we are celebrating a commitment to freedom. Freedom in all its forms is the cornerstone of a nation, the desire for freedom has always been, and will always be, one of the deepest longings of the human heart. Freedom for individuals and nations means to be themselves—to live their own lives, to think their own thoughts, to seek their own answers, and to decide their own destinies.
Vartan and his comrades were the heroes who tolled the bell for freedom. And they paid a high price for it.
We, their descendants, observe the Vartanants heroic struggle in grateful commemoration of those valiant souls who defied the enemy and who by their valor defended their faith, their homeland, and their human rights.
Freedom can be kept only with great vigilance and sacrifice. It can be lost overnight by a generation that exploits its privileges and renounces its responsibilities. Freedom is a spiritual quality which lives in the hearts and the wills of those who are determined to keep it.
Secondly, we are celebrating a commitment to living above the consensus. Living above the consensus is the capacity to say “no” to something that is not right and is against one’s conscience. Conscience is a gift that God has endowed human beings with. It is an internal sense of right and wrong. It is the built-in “computer” within the human soul that will not allow a person to do wrong and to feel right about it.
Living above the consensus is the heroic dimension to reject that which is reprehensible to human sensibility and conscience. It is the moral courage to reject that which is expedient and to do what is right.
In 451 A.D., the vast part of Armenia was subject to the Persian Empire. Persian King Yazdegerd demanded that Armenians renounce their Christian faith and adopt Zoroastrianism. The response of the Armenian people was, “From this faith [Christianity] no one can separate us, neither sword, nor fire, nor any other force.” This kind of defiance was the courage and determination to live above the consensus.
It is not easy to live above the consensus. Sometimes it is very costly. Vartanants resistance became a baptism of fire, but it eventually kept the Armenians a Christian nation. Christianity became firmly rooted in Armenia thanks to the Vartanants heroic stance to live above the consensus.
Thirdly, we are celebrating a commitment to our Christian faith. Vartan’s faith was more than belief in the existence of God; it was trust and confidence. Vartan and his comrades were faced with a choice: Survival without Christ, or physical death for Christ. Their decision saved the Soul of the Armenian nation.
Vartan spoke very eloquently about his Christian faith. Referring to King Yazdegerd, he said, “He who had conceived that we wear Christianity as one does his garments, now finds that no one can divest us of it than he can of the color of our skin, and let us hope, never will be able to the end.”
Our Christian faith, for which the Vartanants generation made the supreme sacrifice, became, for the Armenian nation, the matrix from which a distinct identity emerged. This identity has affected our nation in such a manner that, today, we can declare that our Christian faith is the assurance for our survival.
The Vartanants Christian faith, however, must be reborn in our generation, and we must come to grips with it in terms of our problems and challenges. It demands of us, in the words of St. Paul, “Standing firm in our faith, being courageous and strong.
Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian is the Minister Emeritus of the Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit and the Executive Director of the Armenian Evangelical World Council.
