by David Zenian
ESFAHAN, Iran - If some Armenians in the United States trace their "American roots" to Ellis Island, Esfahan is where it all started nearly 400 years ago for the Armenian Community of Iran.
The first settlers were brought to Esfahan by Shah Abbas who was so concerned about the welfare of his Armenian subjects, that he ordered his army to bring stones from the Etchmiadzin area to build a church for them.
According to legend, the first settlers were homesick and constantly threatened to return to their native Armenia, and mainly the Nakhichevan region which is now occupied by Azerbaijan.
"The church has always been the center of Armenian life, and this cannot be more true in Esfahan," says Beirut-born and Oxford-educated Archbishop Gorun Babian, the Prelate of New Julfa - the Esfahan suburb and home of the early Armenians.
"Shah Abbas was convinced that letting the Armenians build a church, and especially with stone brought from Etchmiadzin, would silence their grievances and help their settlement process ... It has worked, and New Julfa has been the cradle of Armenian civilization in Iran for nearly 400 years," Archbishop Gorun said.
But Shah Abbas, a devout Shiite Moslem, was also apprehensive of the dangers of friction between the native Persians and the new Armenian settlers. He made sure that the structures adhered to Islamic architecture.
The two dozen churches built by the early settlers looked more like mosques - without minarets - than traditional Armenian churches. Improvements have been made since, but the Islamic qubbeh - or dome - remains.
"Shah Abbas and other Iranian leaders gave the Armenians their places of worship. They also gave them their schools and other community centers. This has allowed the Armenians to strengthen their roots and establish themselves in the region and spread across Iran," Archbishop Gorun says.
Today, 12 Armenian churches - all built in the 1600's - still function in New Julfa, and the region's Armenians seem as attached to these churches now, as they have been over the centuries.
The Armenian population seems to have stopped shrinking in recent years. Before Iran's Islamic Revolution, an estimated 15,000 Armenians lived in New Julfa and its surrounding towns and villages ... Today, that number is about the same - thanks to a healthy birth rate in the community which has effectively compensated for emigration," he said.
Statistics prepared by the New Julfa Prelacy show that the number of baptisms has always remained considerably higher than funerals in all of New Julfa's churches. At the St. Stephan Church, the 1990 figures show 45 baptisms compared with eight funerals. The 1989 figures for the same church were 32 baptisms and 11 funerals.
The proportion has been the same since 1961, not only for St. Stephan, but the other functioning churches too," a church official said.
If New Julfa is renowned for its historical churches, it is also famous for its schools.
"Today, we have at least 1,700 students registered in our schools here in New Julfa and its environs. This figure is about 150 more than what we had in 1978 ... this is very encouraging," Archbishop Gorun says with pride.
"Here at the Cathedral, the school is 111 years old ... we have 42 Armenian teachers ... We enjoy a special status of which we are proud. The Prelacy is the backbone of our community," he said.
And true it is. The Prelacy in New Julfa has held the Armenian community together, providing it not only with spiritual nourishment, but the basic essentials for their survival.
In recent years, the Prelacy has built more than 400 low-income housing units for Esfahan Armenians. It has also allocated 120 lots for home construction to middle-income families.
"Housing is very important because if people do not have homes, they will leave the city or even emigrate ... the church is providing low-cost housing to encourage people to stay ... and we have been successful," Archbishop Gorun said.
