New ‘Sharagans’ for Martyrs
Armenian churches throughout the world are about to canonize the Armenian Martyrs of 1915 into sainthood. And what better way is there to dedicate the momentous occasion than with sharagans (hymns) composed by the late Archbishop Zareh Aznavorian, a gifted musician and author from Lebanon and a member of the Cilician Brotherhood who lived from 1947-2004.
The declaration of the new saints takes place on April 23 at Holy Etchmiadzin by the two Catholicoi, His Holiness Aram I and His Holiness Karekin II, and is expected to lend new vibrancy to the already rich liturgical calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The book containing all 1,166 canonical sharagans of the Armenian Church—known as Sharagnots—dates back in time to St. Mesrob Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet in 404 AD. It was slowly compiled over the centuries in what was known as Armenian literature’s “Golden Age.” The last recorded hymn in the Sharagnots was composed in 1478 by the monk Giragos—that is, until now.
“No new saints have been added to the list in more than 500 years,” confirmed Rev. Fr. Stephan Baljian, pastor, St. Gregory Church, North Andover. “The liturgical calendar hasn’t been touched in all that time. This is a perfect opportunity, as we recognize the martyrs during this Centennial year, to once again welcome new liturgical developments into our church life.”
The canon of hymns dedicated to the martyrs of April were written by Archbishop Aznavorian (words and music) and published by the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in 1990 for the 75th anniversary of the genocide. Now, 25 years later, it’s being revisited for use as the official canon of hymns of the genocide martyrs.
“In the Armenian Church tradition, the sharagans are written for festal occasions,” Der Stephan added. “The addition of new saints warrants a new feast being added to the calendar and therefore new hymns are needed to be sung.”
For the past five years, a committee of theologians from both Catholicosal Sees has met to address the issues and study the formalities of this canonization from the theological, liturgical, sanctoral, procedural, and practical angles. Among the members is Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, who has made it his passionate call.
“Rather than look elsewhere for a new one to be written for the occasion, I am pleased that the committee decided to adopt the present canon of hymns to be the official canon for the new feast day,” Anoushavan Srpazan indicated.
The new hymns will first be sung at the canonization service on April 23 in Etchmiadzin, and then will be transmitted to churches around the world in places like Boston and New York and sung annually throughout that particular feast day.
Essentially, it will contain an hour’s worth of music spread out over the eight sharagans that are sung throughout the liturgical day. One sharagan will be used as a processional hymn during the Pontifical Liturgy on May 9 in Washington, D.C.
Der Stephan was given the task of making a recording of the hymns by Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, in order to give priests a learning tool for his Prelacy. The task was to get it recorded and distributed before the Washington observances.
“The intent was to get the hymns into people’s ears and oriented into the church,” Der Stephan said. “From a spiritual perspective, the music describes the martyrdom and those who died for their faith. Just as the Jews have a theology of the Holocaust, we now have contained in Zareh Srpazan‘s hymns our own theology of the Armenian Genocide.”
The recording was recently finished by Der Stephan, who took on the challenge immediately and enlisted the support of engineer John Boloian. St. Gregory Church was transformed into a recording studio, all done digitally and mixed by Boloian, a trustee and former audiovisual technician.
“It will be a great help for priests so they can teach their respective deacons and choir directors,” he said. “My hope is that it will reach a wider audience. The music has a lot to offer with beautiful words.”
“Der Stephan is a gifted musician as well as an engaged and dedicated shepherd of his flock. I am grateful to him and to John Boloian for their artful embrace of this project,” said Archbishop Oshagan.
Der Stephan has been ordained for seven years and has shepherded St. Gregory church for the past 18 months after moving there from Granite City. He has a degree in music and has written several compositions.
