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We have many reasons to be optimistic: Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople on Armenian-Turkish relations
The Armenian community in Turkey wishes for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, said this in an interview with journalists who arrived from Armenia in Istanbul.
“Our community supports the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. The community wants relations to become closer. This should also ease the burden on our shoulders. Armenian-Turkish relations have been so tense over the past 100 years that the name Armenian here is equal to a blasphemy. And in Armenia, the name Turkish is equal to a blasphemy. Therefore, if these relations are normalized, the greatest burden will be lifted from our shoulders. We should breathe a sigh of relief in a more friendly atmosphere,” the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople noted, as reported by “Armenpress”.
He emphasized that they constantly follow the meetings of the official circles of Armenia and Turkey, adding, “We receive good news based on the results of these meetings.” In particular, as the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople emphasized, we are talking about the construction of bilateral roads, the restoration of the Ani bridge, and the entry of a Turkish airline into the Armenian market. “All this is in progress. We are short-lived creatures; we want to see everything quickly, but the life of nations and states is long; it moves more slowly. When we look at the relations between Turkey and Armenia, we have many reasons to be optimistic,” he noted.
Speaking about the Turkish authorities' attitude towards the community, the Patriarch stated that the current leadership is quite positive. “In their time, we regained our estates, we gained our freedoms, today we can renovate our buildings, our churches. There was a time when we had to get permission even to hammer a nail. Now, all this is done much more easily. The president and ministers visit us, we are invited to various events, they give us a place in state ceremonies,” said Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, emphasizing the fact that now the voice of the community has become more audible.
Nevertheless, there are problems in the life of the Armenian community in Turkey today, among which perhaps the most pressing is the demographic issue. According to the Patriarch, for every Armenian born within the community, three die.
“If today we are 35-40 thousand, in 25 years we will remain 10-15 thousand. Our community structures serve 125,000 Armenians. We have 50 churches in this city: 33 Apostolic, 12 Catholic, and 4 Protestant. But we can no longer fill them with people. Once we had 50 schools, now there are only 17,” Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan noted. He noted that the same sad picture can be seen when looking at the districts of Istanbul that were once populated by a large number of Armenians. For example, in the Gumgapu district, where the patriarchate and the Mother of God Cathedral are located, about 40,000 people lived about a century ago.
“Meanwhile, now there are not even 40 Armenians living in the Gumgapu district. Therefore, in this changing city, with a population approaching 20 million, the demographic issue has become the biggest problem. Added to this is the emigration among young people,” Mashalyan noted.
Touching on the issue of preserving the Armenian language within the community, the Patriarch noted with regret that both in the Armenian community in Turkey and in other Diaspora communities, preserving the native language is becoming increasingly complex. Although many families send their children to Armenian schools, children generally do not use them outside the school walls. “Losing a language leads to cultural assimilation, because everything about culture is preserved in the language. If you don’t master the language, you can’t penetrate a given culture.
It is in these conditions that we are trying to stay afloat. There are 3,000 students in our schools. The schools are doing a good job; they are helping at least the students remain side by side. We are passing on our literary, linguistic, and cultural heritage to them. With our wealth, we are one of the best centers of the Diaspora. Our prayer is that what we have preserved around the church for about 600 years, we will continue to maintain in the same way,” emphasized Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.
