Freedom and the Story of Akmeşe Armenian Monastery

Freedom and the Story of Akmeşe Armenian Monastery

In the Armenians religion and nationality, church and nation have been intertwined. In fact, the Armenian nation, the Armenian state, the Armenian history of the Armenian church, the Armenian church state should be mentioned. Because the Armenian state is the Armenian church. The Armenian church, along with its religious duties and responsibilities, has accepted itself as a national and political authority for the Armenian nation, and the church and its clergymen have been the greatest power and shape of the lives of the Armenian community from the beginning to the present day. For Armenian clerics, religious and religious institutions have been a tool for achieving political goals. The monasteries and churches have become the cultural centers of the Armenian clergy and other riches and the cultural centers and the organization centers of the ideological formations in the state life (Küçük, 1997, pp. 1-2; Gürün, 1985, p. 30; Cumhur, 2003, p. 1-2).

For the Armenians, who lacked a political structure like the state in history, the church was an institution that filled this gap. Today, the Armenian Patriarchate seems to have assumed the same functions. On 15 May 2001, the general assembly of the priests community of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul held a meeting on several church issues and expressed their determination to fulfill its historical function. The second article of the ”Declaration of the Patriarchs of Istanbul Patriarchate ed published at the end of this meeting is as follows:

The Istanbul Patriarchate of the Holy Patriarchate, the spiritual mission of the Patriarchate, dedicated to the spiritual construction of the congregation; Patriots, especially Hovagim Bursa, Hovagim Bitlisli, Hovhannes Zemarlı, Kagizmanli Zakaria Krivik, Hasköylü Nerses Varjabetyan, Keremetli Horen Aşıkyan, İstanbullu Mağakya Ormanyan, Istanbul's Yeğişe Turyan, Karekin from Trabzon and Karnazli from Trabzon and the spiritual-cultural heritage of Snorkh Kalustyan from Yozgat loyal protectors

(http://www.hyetert.com, 20 May 2003).

According to the report, Veli Mıgırdıç (Hırımyan), Nerses Varjabetyan and Horen Aşıkyan's XIX. century, the studies against the Ottoman Empire by the Turkish historians have been revealed by documents (Arslan 2001, p. 55-66; Karacakaya, 2003, p. 379-394). Another remarkable point in the paper is the Amrdolu Monastery in Bitlis and the idea of ​​continuing the traditions of Armaş Monastery in Izmit.

When and how the Armaş Monastery was established and undertook a function in history? How was the attitude of the Ottoman Empire against the work of this monastery? The answer to these questions is important both for the freedom of the Ottoman Empire and for the demonstration of the role of religious places in the process of the break-up of the Armenians from the Ottoman society.

When the Turks came to Anatolia, the Armenians lived in this geography. After the Turks had these countries, perhaps they were very large in some small areas, but especially in Western Anatolia. century until a dense Armenian population. İzmir, Isparta and Konya are examples of these cities (Baykara, 2004, pp. 12-13). The area around the Marmara Sea was opened to the settlement of the Armenians after the Turks came to the region. The Armenians in the Sancak of Izmit arrived from Iran to Anatolia in the periods of Shah Abbas (1588-1629) and Nadir Shah (1736-1747). They described this settlement as the ”Spiritual Circle of Izmit et. One of the most important settlements in this circle is Ermeşe. 20 km. Ermeşe in the northeast; It was founded in 1608 by 300 families from Iran. In 1611, under the rule of the Gregorian Bishop Thadeos, the Armenians established an important religious center of the Anatolian Armenian community and the monastery of the Gregorian bishops. Polish Simeon provides the following information about Ermeşe in his / her account:

After moving from Iznik to a village named Sakarya, which had 30 Armenian households and a priest; from there we came to a flat with a forest on one side and a rocky mountain on the other. There was a monumental monastery on top of the mountain, and a bishop and two monks from the monastery of Erzincan Kabos. Next to the monastery there were only 3 new villages built with Armenians.

 (Simeon, 1964, p. 22).

The Ottoman Empire has taken the monastery under its protection from the time it was established and protected the region from the feudal lords. The efforts of the Armenians to expand the land, the state that led to conflicts with the people in the 1611, 1717, 1758, 1787 and 1820 has protected the Armenians with the privileges he gave (Oztüre, 1981, p. 134). Hariciye Nezareti sent a letter to the Mutasarrıf of the Izmit on 8 August 1880 and asked that the Armenian monastery in Ermeşe be protected by the government as it has been.

Ermeşe Monastery XVII. It is known that it is a well-known place of visit for Armenians in the 19th century. From 1825 the Ermeşe Monastery became the center of religious leadership, respectively, a guest house and a teaching place for pilgrims. The most brilliant period of the monastery for Ottoman Armenians was between 1889-1914. During this period, the monastery became a faculty of theology. This school has been transformed into the structure of theology theology school which is connected to Istanbul Patriarchate. With an internal tectonics, young people aged 17-22 were recruited as students. In 1896 an orphanage was established for Armenian orphans. Ermeşe Monastery which has existed from 1611 to 1922 in Anatolia, Amasya, Adana, Arapkir, Bitlis, Konya, Urfa, Erzincan, Harput, Malatya, Merzifon, Muş, Sivas, Van, Diyarbakır, Kütahya and outside of Anatolia Athens He trained many Armenians who were religious leaders in Egypt, Baghdad, Bulgaria and Romania. Three of the 36 high-level religious leaders who served in these centers were raised to the Istanbul Patriarchate, one to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and one to the Upper Patriarchate of Sis-Kozan (Minasian, 2000, pp. 33-39; Sabah, 1892).

Ermeşe was the meeting place of many Christian pilgrims during the Ç Holy Feast of the Holy Cross ı, which was at different times all over Anatolia, especially in September. These visits to the Ottoman Empire as me Ermeşe Panayırı i

Ermeşe was the meeting place of many Christian pilgrims during the Ç Holy Feast of the Holy Cross ı, which was at different times all over Anatolia, especially in September. The Ottoman State called these visits as Eylül Ermeşe Fair, and showed all kinds of visitors to the visitors (Tarik, nr. 1970, 9 September 1305/1889).

The work of American missionaries within the spiritual circle of the Izmit commenced in 1845. The missionaries faced difficulties in the first years due to the Gregorian thought. Adapazarı, Izmit and Iznik around Protestantism in the vicinity of some Armenians, were sent to Ermeşe Monastery and imprisoned. Missionary Van Lennep, who traveled around Adapazari and Iznik in 1846, was subjected to insults in these cities and those who met with him were punished. This situation showed the effect of Ermeşe monastery in the region. However, the missionaries increased their training and press activities. With secret night meetings and by publishing various books, they started to operate by opening schools (Dwught, 1854, pp. 208, 252, 301).

There were 60 male and 150 female students in the Protestant school opened in Adapazarı in 1847. The school opened in 1862 in Adapazarı in the missionary school girl, 1879 opened in Izmit American School 97 students were studying. After the establishment of Hınchak and Tashnak societies, the activities of the schools began to be effective in a short time (White, 1995, p. 68; Çetin, 1983, p. 212; Kocabaşoğlu, 2000, pp. 131-140; Nalbandian, 1967, p. 50).

Ermeşe Monastery administrators also took part in the first Armenian incidents in the Ottoman Empire. Apik Uncuyan Efendi, one of the material and moral proprietors of the school, was found guilty on charges of incidents that took place during the raids of the Ottoman Bank on 26 August 1896 by the Tashnak Committee. The school in Galata and the church were found under the supervision of Uncuyan (BOA. Y.A.Res. 83/18). Uncuyan will be released due to his discomfort despite his correspondence with the Tashnak Committee (BOA, A. MKT. MHM. 630/5).

Ermeşe Monastery did not survive in the 1890s when churches and schools were being used as weapons storage and storage. According to a document dated 1894, when the weapons sent from Vienna were found to be hiding in Ermeşe Monastery, the Government initiated this investigation (BOA, Y. PRK. SRN. 4/47).

By 1901, Armenian villages were armed in Geyve and Karamursel. The Trock and Hınchak newspapers, which were published outside the borders of the Ottoman Empire and encouraged the Armenians to rebel, had been secretly coming to this region for ten years (BOA, Y.MTV. 220/46). In response to this mobility in the Armenians, the Ottoman Empire allowed the construction of a church and school in Arslanbey village with a population of 2,300 and most Armenians in 1905 (BOA., Y.A.Res. 132/2).

The fact that the Armenians of Izmit region had been armored and inclined towards the idea of ​​revolution had made the Ermeşe Fair more important. Such activities provided a suitable setting for the idea of ​​revolution. Hinchak and Tashnaks were using these meetings for propaganda and propagandists from abroad and abroad attempted to perform demonstrations (BOA, A.MKT. MHM. 655/41). The monastery bishop Ormanyan Efendi made suggestions to the Armenians who came for Ermeşe Fair in 1895 against the Ottoman State. On the Armenians in Adapazarı and its environs, flare, rovelver and harmful documents were captured (BOA, A.MKT. MHM. 655/2). The State took extraordinary measures every year for the Ermeşe Fair and warned the Mutasarrıflık of Izmit to prevent any incidents. In 1892, the Governor demanded infantry and cavalry soldiers from Istanbul for the preservation of public order (BOA, Y.Mtv. 68/1). Until 1915, the Armenians continued these visits, but it was becoming more and more difficult to ensure peace and seclusion.

II. Together with the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, the Armenian Monastery was able to carry out its activities more easily. However, the freedom of the Constitutional Monarchy also increased the courage of the Armenian administrators. One of the major crises in this period was experienced in 1911. That year, due to the cholera outbreak in the Ottoman cities, all the fairs planned for that year, including the Ermeşe Fair, were banned by the government. The Armenians then asked the Patriarchate to allow them to be allowed (BOA, DH. İD. 59/7). It was decided that those who have arrived so far will be allowed to enter the monastery, but those who have arrived since 18 September will not be released. The monastery priest Hamazb Efendi, who was not satisfied with the decision, opposed the Director of the Ermeşe Sub-district and put forward his position by stating that he would never recognize the government (BOA, DH. İD. 196/57, 114-2 / ​​11). The fact that the monastery administrators failed to implement the law against the state and the decision of the Ottoman Empire increased the courage of the Armenians.