Mikael Bishop Ajapahian, Shirak team leader, recited a liturgy in the ruined church of Kharkov or recently renamed Nor Shen village, which is divided from the ruins of Ani by just one canyon. The village actually is located in the administrative area of Shirak marz, but is completely abandoned because of the border regime. Over the years, the Russian border guards have banned the inhabitants to host their relatives and friends without special permission. This has become a headache for residents, and they gradually, abandoned the village. The village houses are in ruins, and the only inhabitant left is the 78-year-old Vahandukht. People born in this village, but moved to the neighboring Bagravan settlement, about 10 days ago, on hearing about the liturgy service, tried to get permission to cross to their birthplace. But we witnessed how yesterday the Russian border guards were not allowing one of them to pass to his birthplace, reasoning that he had left the birth-certificates of his children behind. People getting to the area of the village with difficulty, with interference of the Shirak team leader, however, participated in the liturgy service. And the service lasted long enough. Note that ruined and roofless church, according to residents, does not have a fixed name, it was called Noramanuk, sometimes also St. Hovhannes; it has a 100 year history, during the Soviet times it served as a warehouse. The church, according to Kharkov residents, is built by a man named Manuk who rescuing from massacres, carried a cross stone with him from Van. The two cross stones at the entrance to the church are the ones he brought. In the dreams, the holy had prompted Manuk to build a church and place the cross stones brought by him there. Under the entrance to the church, as said by the Kharkov residents, cross stones of the 5-6th centuries are placed. The church door was also brought from Van, it was the door of the church in Van. A woman named Marjan, who escaped the massacres at Van, has thought to take a relic with her. Leaving her husband and children in a safe place, she returned to Van through the turmoil, saw that the church was completely destroyed to grounds, there is no relic to take, only the door is standing, she took it on her back and brought it to Eastern Armenia. Later, when the church in Kharkov was built, Mrs. Marjan donated it to the church. Marjan’s great-granddaughter, Shushanik, told us. And as to why the church is sometimes named St. Hovhannes, according to great-granddaughter, this saint was constantly in touch with her grandmother and her family members, has regularly visited them, even had a room in their house, later the whole house collapsed, and only the said room remained standing. The 50-60 cm depth white and fine stone with carved angels is still preserved in the room, and the scientists have not yet found out what it is made of. Marjan had found the stone from their cattle shed as prompted by St. Hovhannes, the latter came to her in a dream and said, come save me, I am suffocating, I am in the cattle shed under the slab under the left leg of the red ox. After this story, Mrs. Marjan started to be engaged in quackery with the help of this saint, treated people, and earned a great name as a quack. Treated people, in honor of the saint, have named the church after St. Hovhannes. The Shirak team leader Mikael Bishop Ajapahian, after the liturgy service, delivered a brave speech, “My heart is comforted that my years-old desire and my dream is realized, of course, this is not the end of the dream. My dream is to one day see this church rebuilt, prosperous, well-built, and at that time I will recite liturgy in this church with a greater joy. Yet, our today’s joy is not full of joy. Why? Because we too often complain saying that our churches in the Western Armenia are in desperate condition and accuse the neighboring nation, saying that they have desecrated our churches, destroyed our churches, tie their animals on the doors of our churches and other such things. But this church has not bowed to the Turks, this church bowed in our hands, in the hands of people bearing the name of an Armenian. And even today, 24-25 years later after the independence, we have the same deplorable condition. And I do not understand and cannot understand of whom we are complaining, why we are complaining … There is one reality in the world that we should complain about and this is only us, the Armenian nation has no right to complain about anybody except itself, because all those experiences that had come over our heads and all those bitterness that are coming over our heads, they are coming because of is, our mind, our negligence and our impudence. And we try to attribute the blame to somebody. Behold, by whose fault was this village, the historic Kharkov, abandoned? By Turks? By whose fault was this prosperous village abandoned? Some 100 years ago this was a prosperous village, the church was bright, and the church priest was Fr. Tadevos, who was the grandfather of General and Shuhi liberator Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan. It was a prosperous village with its own priest and everything. Turks did not enter here. Who deserted the village and turned this village into ruins, this church? We with our own hands and in these 24 years we have not made a single move of independence to make this village prosper. On the contrary, in these 24 years, the remaining families left because people are sick and tired of this boundary regime called absurdity. When I say a boundary regime, evidently, I do not blame the border guards that there is an accusation for the border guards, not at all, the border guards are performing their duties according to the law, which is given to them. And who has given this foolish law? Our country is already small and this huge territory is behind the barrier, the Russian border guards do not guilty, our people are guilty, we are guilty, our National Assembly is guilty for passing a law on border regime, because of which we are even unable to come, to see our capital and to pray in our church,” said the Bishop with embarrassing. See the Bishop’s complete speech in the video.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
