Past, Present, and Future

by Van Der Mugrdechian

November 29, 2021

The recognition of the Armenian massacres as Genocide triggered memories of growing up as a second generation Armenian American, which was the start of a long, gradual process of finding my identity related to the past, present and future.

The past was tired to my great grandfather Der Melkiset Der Mugrdechian, who was the Parish Priest at St. Gregory Armenian Church in Fowler. My grandfather Anooshavan Der Mugrdechian, who came to America pre-1915, but led a group of volunteers back to help defend Van. Fortunately, my father Bob translated Anooshavan’s memoirs resulting in a book, Anooshavan: the Intrepid Survivor, to help us remember those stories

The present was my parents, Bob and Norma, first generation Armenian Americans, fluent in the Armenian language, faithful members of the Church. They struggled with identity, discrimination (lasted into the 50’s in Fresno) and assimilation and even dropped the Der in our last name, only to reinstate it a few years later. They wanted us to fit into American life, but didn’t forget our heritage either. Every day we did something connected to Armenians, the Church, and the Family.

The future was my experience to come. The late 60’s say the rise of racial issues, exemplified by the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics. Our church youth group started selling Armenian Power buttons, but were confronted by older members of the congregation who wanted us to stop, worried about the climate in Fresno because of their own experiences growing up in discrimination.

But the early 70’s saw the growth of ethnic awareness, resulting in an effort to establish Armenian Studies at Fresno State. Dr. Arra Avakian was brought in to teach Armenian culture and the Church, and Surpoohi Messerlian taught Armenian language. We were asked to take as many classes as possible and eventually the ASP was established at Fresno State in 1977.

Then came the two years at the Seminary of Etchmiadzin in 1974-1976, during the Soviet Armenia era, where I learned so much and experienced our culture in real time on a daily basis, seeing icons such as Mt. Ararat from the window of my room, praying daily in Etchmiadzin, learning Armenian. I was ordained as a deacon there. Finally, rounding our a decade with an MA in Christian Education at the School of Theology in Claremont, enriching my knowledge of the Armenian Church through the eyes of other Christians.

The next 40 plus years were spent teaching Armenian language, presenting programs on Armenian culture, Sunday School, Armenian genealogy, preserving legacy materials, all the while trying to find a way to tie together all that I had the privilege of experiencing. Although I was comfortable in my identity, I wanted to help others reach that place, based on understanding and knowledge, not just because it “felt right.”

“Although I was comfortable in my identity, I wanted to help others reach that place, based on understanding and knowledge, not just because it ‘felt right.’”

The turning point wad a BBC show called Connections by James Burke, where he traced the connection between an event in the past which resulted in a seemingly unrelated event in the present. How could I connect what I had learned to something I could share of value today?

But I couldn’t find the key to tying it all together until a talk by Megan Jendian on William Saroyan which included his quote: …today is forever, yesterday is still today, and tomorrow is already today.” Time is seamless, not disconnected bits of time, all is connected.

Armenian history and culture did not stop in 1915. It’s still alive and we should experience them as such, not as a distant memory or event we don’t understand, and in spite of that very proud of, but understanding what they mean and how they shaped what we are today, encouraging us to create and add to our history and culture, connecting our past, present, and future.

“Armenian history and culture did not stop in 1915. It’s still alive and we should experience them as such”

So my journey started trying to figure out my identity as relating to past, present, and future. It continues through a fantastic lifetime of experiences, discovered connections, a new understanding of time, to arrive at my “happy place” of identity. Comfortable, confident, creative.

I look into the past to find the who, what, when, where and why; take the info and make the connections to the present, the key being understanding, not just mere preservation (like making tourshee) and transmission of a “completed” history, then passing this on to the future to serve as a basis to create and add to our identity and culture.

The recognition of the Genocide is a time to revisit the concept of identity and culture maintenance. It is enough to remember the Genocide each April 24th, what are we doing on May @4th, June 24th, and so on to make sure that the Genocide was not successful. Is the comfort level that each of us have set for ourselves in identifying as Armenians, enough? Is “feeling” Armenian enough to maintain our “being” Armenian?

Build on the past, understand the present, create the future.