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 March 2003 - May 2003The Gallery, Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall School of Policy, Planning, and Development University of Southern California Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, 213 740 0350 Supported by an undergraduate research grant from the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California, with funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Sacred Transformation: Armenian Churches in Los Angeles There are thirty-six Armenian churches in the Los Angeles basin, with concentrations in Glendale, Hollywood, Pasadena, and Montebello. There are twenty Armenian Protestant churches, the majority of which adhere to the Evangelical Church; thirteen Armenian Apostolics (five under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of Antelias (Cilicia), eight under the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin); and two Armenian Catholic churches. In their design, the church buildings are a syncretism of traditional Armenian design and twentieth-century California architecture. It is that transformation from tradition and Armenia to modernity and Southern California that is most striking. Armenia is a country with a more than two- thousand year history. Christianity became the state religion in 301 CE, Armenia being the first state to adopt Christianity. Distinctively, the Armenian Apostolic Church accepted only the earliest Christian doctrines. In the nineteenth century, European and American missionizing led to the formation of the Armenian Protestant Church and the Armenian Catholic Church. Throughout the history of Armenia, when it was controlled by external forces (often under the auspices of Islam) and without a state, and in the Diaspora communities, the Armenian Apostolic Church became the enduring symbol of the distinctive Armenian people and their land. More than a hundred years ago, Armenians came to Southern California, at first to Fresno, and then to Los Angeles and San Francisco. They were migrants who had settled first on the East Coast, and only later moved to the West Coast. More recently, many Armenians came directly from the Soviet Union. In building churches in the Diaspora, Armenians wanted to recall the ancient edifices in Armenia, yet those churches were adapted to the styles and realities of their new homes. Those ancient edifices were based on a Roman ground plan and the Greek basilica. The church should be oriented toward the East, it almost always has a pointed pyramidal dome resting on arches extending above the roof, and its proportions and guidelines are set by past Armenian examples. Church architecture is always the presence of the sacred in the everyday world. For the Armenians, the Church is as well a sign of their survival and endurance. Yeghig L. Keshishian Undergraduate Student University of Southern California This exhibit continues our tradition of highlighting work initiated in School of Policy, Planning, and Development courses and projects. We are grateful for our students’ deep commitment to their endeavors. Martin H. Krieger Professor of Planning
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School of Policy, Planning, and Development
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