1 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

The Stained-Glass Windows of the Armenian Church of Our Savor

An Interactive Qualifying Project

Submitted to the Faculty of

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science

In

Mechanical Engineering

By

______

Abdullah Al-Shawk

Date: 4/29/2020

Project Advisors:

______

Professor Karen Kashmanian Oates

2 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor Acknowledgments: First, I would like to thank Professor Karen Oates for all the advice and support provided throughout this project.

I also would like to thank all the members of the Armenian Church of our Savior. Special thanks to the priest and his wife who welcomed me to their community with enthusiasm and provided me with accurate timeline and history information of the stain glass.

It is important for me to thank that WPI community who never fails to surprise me with their cooperation and willingness to participate in the surveys required for this study.

3 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor Abstract The goal of this project is to study the meaning behind the stained-glass windows at the Armenian Church of Our Savor in Worcester Massachusetts. The history of these beautiful windows has taught us that the combination of colorful lights not only provides a mesmerizing atmosphere inside the church, but also a lesson for those who believe through symbolism and metaphors. After interviewing the pastors of the church and analyzing the features and figures drawn in every glass, and upon analyzing the answers received from the surveys, we discovered that no more than ten percent of the survey participants understand the educational meaning of the stained-glass windows and each symbolism hidden in them. Even though the participants did not fully understand the meaning behind each glass, almost all of them expressed their desire to learn more if the resources were available to them. Therefore, the booklet created in this study will fill in that gap that has been identified among the members of this church. In other words, every small detail noticed in the surroundings while being in the Armenian church of our Savor, is a small piece that belongs to a bigger puzzle and contributes to our wholeness and spiritual unity and is worth fully contemplating it.

4 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor Executive Summary: The Armenian immigrants started fleeing to the United States of America in the late 1800s and early 1900s during the Ottoman Empire occupation. In this country they found freedom and opportunity for a better life after spending months of travelling with boats in the wide ocean. One of the largest Armenian communities in the US settled in Worcester Massachusetts and is responsible for building the Armenian Church of Our Savior.

The Armenian Church of our savior is the first Armenian Church in the Northern hemisphere which gives it a lot of importance for the Armenian community of the United States. Building this church was a huge milestone for the Armenians since it was a sign of acceptance from their fellow American citizens. Armenians have suffered a lot from the wars throughout the history of their nation since they went through a huge identity and geographically displacement that made them victims of racism. Having a community in the United States and building a Church without fear of approval is something that Armenian Americans are very proud and pleased to have.

The Church, just like any Armenian church around the globe, has a variety of colorful stain glass windows. These windows represent the history of the religion through stories from the bible but in the same time it focuses on key figures who have played an important role in the Armenian Christian Orthodox Church. From Saints and kings who helped to establish and bring the religion to the Armenian people to Saints who created the alphabet and wrote the bible. These windows are more than a beautiful piece of art, they are educational tools for the church members since the early 1800s where they were first found in France as a way of reducing the usage of paper and having a permanent tool that could reach out to more people.

Today’s technological innovations have overcome many old and traditional tools. People can learn more about their religion online and through more exciting methods such as movies and short videos. Therefore, the stain glass windows has become for many people a traditional piece of art.

In this paper we will discuss the detailed meaning behind each of the windows and all the figures and symbols represented. We will also ask people from different communities and backgrounds to participate in surveys and answer questions about the stain glass window they may have at their school, workplaces and churches and identify how much knowledge they have about the windows.

5 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor List of figures Figure Title Photo 1 Pentecost the coming of the holy spirit.

2 The Ascension of Jesus

3 Saint Mesrob and Saint Nerses I

4 The Resurrection

6 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

5 Saint Sahag and Saint Gregory of Nareg.

6 The Assumption

7 The transfiguration of Jesus.

7 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

8 Saint Bartholomew/ Saint Tiridates, Saint Ashkhen, Saint Khosrovitoukht/Saint Hiripsime

9 The Birth and Baptism of Jesus

10 Saint Gregory the Enlightener/Saint Thaddeus

8 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

11 Saint Mark

12 Saint John

13 Saint Luke

14 Saint Matthew

9 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

15 Survey 1 Question 1

16 Survey 1 Question 2

17 Survey 1 Question 3

18 Survey 5 Question 1 and 2

19 Survey 5 Question 3 and 4

10 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor Table of Contents Acknowledgments: ...... 2 Abstract ...... 3 Executive Summary: ...... 4 List of figures ...... 5 1.0 Introduction ...... 12 2.0 Background: ...... 13 2.1 Armenian Immigration ...... 13 2.2 The Armenian Church establishment history ...... 14 2.3 The history of Stained-Glass Windows ...... 15 3.0 Method ...... 16 3.1 Photographs of the windows ...... 16 3.2 Stained Glass Figures ...... 16 3.2.1 Unstructured Interview ...... 16 3.2.2 Using the WPI Gordon Library resources ...... 17 3.3 Survey of the Church Members ...... 17 4.0 Results: ...... 19 4.1 Photography ...... 19 4.2 Stain Glass Figures and symbols ...... 19 4.2.1 Figure 1 Pentecost the coming of the holy spirit...... 19 4.2.2 Figure 2 The Ascension of Jesus ...... 20 4.2.3 Figure 3 Saint Mesrob and Saint Nerses I ...... 20 4.2.4 Figure 4 The Resurrection ...... 21 4.2.5 Figure 5 Saint Sahag and Saint Gregory of Nareg...... 21 4.2.6 Figure 6 The Assumption ...... 22 4.2.7 Figure 7 The transfiguration of Jesus...... 22 4.2.8 Figure 8 Saint Bartholomew/ Saint Tiridates, Saint Ashkhen, Saint Khosrovitoukht/Saint Hiripsime ...... 23 4.2.9 The Birth and Baptism of Jesus ...... 23 4.2.10 Saint Gregory the Enlightener/Saint Thaddeus ...... 24 4.2.11 Saint Mark ...... 25 4.2.12 Saint John ...... 25 4.2.13 Saint Luke ...... 25 11 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

4.2.14 Saint Matthew ...... 26 4.2 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Alden Hall Survey Results ...... 26 5.0 Discussion ...... 29 Appendix ...... 31 The Armenian Church of Our Savior in Worcester Massachusetts ...... 31 The Armenian Cross ...... 31 Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan Armenia ...... 32 References: ...... 35

12 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 1.0 Introduction

The Armenian church of Savor is an Armenian Apostolic church originally built in 1890 making it the first Armenian church of the Western Hemisphere. This church was consecrated on January 18, 1891 as "Soorp Purgich" (Holy Saviour) due to the contributions of dozens Armenian descanted citizens of the Northeastern region in the United States. Today, the most current sanctuary was consecrated in 1952 and is located on 87 Salisbury Street in Worcester Massachusetts. Similarly, to many other churches the Armenian Church of Our Savor, is organized in a certain manner: it has a wide entrance, several aisles leading to the altar as well as many seats for the people. The most impressive though details about this church in particular, are the numerous stained-glass windows alongside the aisles and the history behind each one of them.

Historically, stained glasses are widely used by Churches, Temples and other religious homes. The origin of the stained glasses dates to the Egyptians who were advocating that the real beauty of the glass can be best admired when light passes through it. It wasn’t though until the Middle ages that coloring glass became a form of art. That is when the Gothic style architects started using stained glass windows in the cathedrals and churches providing a beautiful interior atmosphere by combining the sun light and the colors of the stained-glass windows for the worshipers to admire. However, why are stained-glass windows so important for the church and the people?

In order to answer this question, we aim to conduct research in order to create a general knowledge booklet that explains each window’s symbol and figure. The booklet will contain a picture of the window as well as its own history. In order to fully contemplate the value of this material, the members of the church community will be interviewed. Their knowledge and opinion will be fundamental for our research since we will establish the basis on how they use these windows as educational tools.

13 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 2.0 Background:

Stained glass windows are colorful windows that are admired as a form of art as well as educational tools since the Egyptians times. During the middle ages it started to be a symbol of Cathedrals and Churches in Europe especially in France. They were used to be as educational presentation due to the lack of books. Later on, they became a symbol of religious houses.

2.1 Armenian Immigration Just like many countries that go through wars and occupation, Armenians suffered from the Ottoman Empire occupation that lasted for centuries. The occupation was more than just political. Armenians lives were damaged since they were victims of racism, torture and geographical displacement. The Ottoman Empire was forcing them to change their religion and pay high taxes for not being Muslims. Moreover, the Ottoman empire forced hundreds of thousands to flee the country and immigrate to the Middle East, rest of Europe and mostly to the United States. Many Armenian families and individuals decided to leave their homeland and immigrate to another country looking for a better life, safety and a better future.

Even though the situation was unbearable, things were going to become harder for the Armenian population. While being occupied by the Ottoman Empire, tensions started to rise in the region in the late 1800s leading to the start of the War World I in 1914. More than 50,000 Armenians immigrated from their homeland to North America (Takooshian, 2020) before the beginning of the first world war. Between 1915 to 1918 over 1.5 million Armenian were killed by the Ottoman Empire Army. The occupation worsened during the period between 1890s and 1908 (Markarslan, 2020) which caused massive Armenian immigration to America in three waves.

First, from 1890-1914, 64,000 Turkish Armenians fled to America before World War I. Second, after 1920, some 30,771 survivors fled to the United States until 1924, when the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act drastically reduced the annual quota to 150 for Armenians (Takooshian,2020). The third wave to America began following World War II, as the 700,000 Armenians who earlier had been forced from Turkey into the Middle East faced paroxysms of rising Arab/Turkish nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, or socialism. The large and prosperous Armenian minorities were driven westward to Europe and America—first from Egypt (1952), then Turkey again (1955), Iraq (1958), Syria (1961), Lebanon (1975), and Iran (1978) (Takooshian, 2020) 14 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

The first wave of Armenian immigration to the US was to the greater New England mostly New York and Boston region where 90% of the Armenian received help by other family/friends and country mates who fled to the US before. The Northeastern part of the United States was not the final destination for most Armenians since they continued travelling west. Due to these immigration patterns, Los Angeles has undoubtedly the largest Armenian community in the United States, and probably the most diverse Armenian community in the world. There are fourth or fifth generation American- Armenians, as well as Armenians born across the Middle East, Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Africa and Latin America. The Armenian community in the United States today is second only to that of Russia in numbers, and likewise the size of the diaspora community in Los Angeles is second only to that of Moscow. (Embassy of Armenia to the United States of America, 2011)

2.2 The Armenian Church establishment history The Armenian Church was established in the first century with the work of many saints that we will learn about their role later in this study. One of the most important elements of bring Christianity to Armenia is the Language and Alphabet. Armenian people started to convert to Christianity in a very early time of the religion however the bible was written in Hebrew and Greek so many saints tried their best to translate it to a Language that the people of Armenia can understand. Saint Mesrob invented the Armenian Alphabet after studying the Greek literature all his life. He had got help from Saint Sahag the son of Saint Nurses I. Before the development of the Armenian alphabet, Saint Nersus wrote the prayers which they are used up until today’s prayers.

The first Armenian church was built by Saint Thaddeus who had a dream (Vision) about the shape of the Armenian church. He designed the church and also helped with the construction of it. Today this church is considered a holly place of Armenia and is one of the major tourist attractions. The religion became very common and spread very fast after the king of Armenia at that time Saint Tiridates with his sister and wife converted to Christianity and declared it as the official religion of Armenia. Saint Gregory the Enlightener became a very important element due to his missionary work to spread the religion in different regions of Armenia and became the person who convert people to Christianity.

15 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 2.3 The history of Stained-Glass Windows "Stained glass" is the term used for pieces of colored glass joined together by strips of lead to form a picture or design. Stained glass is most often used for windows, because the beauty of the glass is best seen when light passes through it (Hayward,2019). The process of coloring glass was probably invented in ancient Egypt. But it was during the Middle Ages that the making of stained-glass windows developed as a major art. Stained-glass windows were an important feature of churches built in the Gothic style, which first arose in the mid-1100's. The windows filled the church interiors with light and color, delighting worshipers with their beauty (Hayward,2019).

The oldest complete stained-glass windows were those of Augsburg Cathedral in Germany, constructed in the late 11th century. The Medieval church funded most of the stained-glass windows of the time. Abbot Suger of Saint Denis was a famous patron of stained-glass art and lived just outside of Paris. He used the wealth of the abbey to make windows larger and more beautiful, because he considered light the manifestation of God himself. Subjects of stained-glass windows being made during this time were mostly religious in nature and served to tell Biblical stories to lay people that could not read, as well as beautifying the churches. It has been speculated that the stained-glass windows probably had a more profound impact on the people than the sermons themselves. Some of the windows used symbolic icons that scholars of today study to learn about daily life of the time. Gothic windows were generally tall and spear-, wheel-, or rose-shaped. Good examples of Gothic stained-glass windows are those of the Notre Dame chapel, which holds one of the largest rose shaped windows in the world (American Vision Windows,2005).

Stained glass gained recognition as a Christian form of art sometime in the fourth century as Christians began to build churches. The spread of Christianity throughout Europe is directly related to the expansion of stained glass across the globe and made stained glass the dominant art form of the new millennium (History of Glass,2020).

Just like any other Church, the Armenian Church adopted the Stain-glass windows as a form of education and teach lessons to young children about the history of their religion and focus on some saints who have helped to shape the Armenian Christian Orthodox that we have today. The Armenian Church of our Savior have over 20 windows, some of them tell a story such as the resurrection and the baptize and birth of Jesus and the rest recognize special figures of the Armenian Church. These figures will be further analyzed in terms of their symbolism and role in the religion in the upcoming sections of this study. 16 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 3.0 Method

In order to achieve the purpose of this project there will be different methods to collect information about the stained-glass windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor, each method is explained below.

3.1 Photographs of the windows For accuracy of the photographs with the correct location, photos will be taken at the Arminian Church of our Savor using the high-resolution iPhone 8 Plus camera by one of the Church members. The reason behind asking a member of the Church to take the photos is to respect the privacy of the Church and the holiness of the Altar since only a small number of people can stand on it. The photographs will be used as is with no editing in both the research and the booklet.

3.2 Stained Glass Figures The following methods will be used to identify the figures and the symbols of the windows.

3.2.1 Unstructured Interview

A face to face unstructured interview will be conducted with some members of the Church. The main interviewee will be with parish priest Der Aved Terzian who will help to translate the Armenians scripts on the windows to English as well as help with identifying some of the figures on the windows. The interview will be conducted at the Church while walking around the stained glasses to get the most out of the priest’s knowledge about the windows. Questions will be prepared specifically for each window. Ms. Vivian will also be interviewed for more information about the history of the Arminian Church of our Savor and the Stained-Glass Windows displayed at the Church. All the windows on the aisles are stories from the Bible, interview questions will be formatted specifically for each window, the questions will aim to learn about the name of the figures in the windows, the bible story and the symbols in the windows. The questions regarding each window are included below:

Figure 1 “Pentecost the coming of the holy spirit” Is this a story from the bible? What is the symbol in the top? Why there is a flame symbol on every Saint head?

Figure 2 “The Ascension of Jesus” Is this a story from the bible? Who are the people around virgin Mary?

Figure 3 “Saint Mesrob and Saint Nurses I” What does the symbol in the center mean?

Figure 4 “The Resurrection” Is this a story from the bible? Is the girl with wings a symbol of an angle? Are the soldiers crying or worshiping? 17 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

Figure 5 “Saint Sahag and Saint Gregory of Nareg” What does the script say? What’s in their hands, the Bible? Is this a story from the bible?

Figure 6 Title for the window? Story behind it?

In figure 7 “The transfiguration of Jesus” questions to be asked on what mountain is showing in the figure? Who are the three people laying on the ground and who are the two men round Jesus?

Figure 8 “Saint Bartholomew/ Saint Tiridates, Saint Ashkhen, Saint Khosrovitoukht/Saint Hiripsime” Is this from the Bible? What is the story behind those saints?

Figure 9 “The birth and Baptism of Jesus” Is this a story from the Bible? Who is baptizing Jesus? What does the star and the dove mean and why they are pointing at Jesus?

In the other figure, there is a dove pointing glare at Jesus while he is getting baptize by Saint John, in the bible it says the dove was representing the spirit of God coming down to Jesus.

Figure 10 “Saint Gregory the Enlightener/Saint Thaddeus” Is this a story from the Bible? What church this is?

Figure 11 Title for the window? Who is being presented in this picture? What is he holding I his hands? What does this symbolize?

Figure 12 Title for the window? Who is being presented in this picture? What is he holding I his hands? What does this symbolize?

Figure 13 Title for the window? Who is being presented in this picture? What is he holding I his hands? What does this symbolize?

Figure 14 Title for the window? Who is being presented in this picture? What is he holding I his hands? What does this symbolize? What do the letters mean?

3.2.2 Using the WPI Gordon Library resources In order to learn about the Arminian Orthodox Church, the figures history and what they meant to the Armenian people, WPI library resources will play an important role to access international online libraries to search books and articles related to the history of the religion.

3.3 Survey of the Church Members To strengthen this project and the impact of the booklet to the community, a survey will be distributed to members of the Church about the stained glass windows, this survey will be anonymous, it will ask the following questions;

1- How long you have been a member of this Church? 18 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

2- How often do you visit the church? a. Once a week b. Once a month c. Twice a month d. Other……………. 3- Have you noticed the Stained-Glass Windows? 4- Do you understand the symbols and know the figures on the windows? 5- Have you ever been curious to learn about them?

Those questions will help to determine the percentage of people who notice the Stained-Glass windows and curious to learn about them.

In order to strength the survey, a second survey will be distributed to the WPI community (Students, faculty and staff) ask the same questions about the stained-glass windows that WPI have at the Alden Hall.

The survey will be anonymously distributed on a physical piece of paper and a digital copy using Google Survey.

The questions will be formatted in the following order.

6- How long you have been a WPI member. 7- How often do you visit WPI Alden Hall? a. Once a week b. Once a month c. Twice a month d. Other……………. 8- Have you noticed the Stained-Glass Windows? 9- Do you understand the symbols on the windows and know the figures? 10- Have you ever been curious to learn about them?

19 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 4.0 Results: 4.1 Photography Photos were taken using iPhone 8 Plus camera with no filters or edits. The photos of the 00 windows were taken during the day when the sun was pointing at them from the back which created a clear vision of figures and shapes.

The photos are attached in List of figures.

4.2 Stain Glass Figures and symbols As mentioned in the methodology, the study of the figures and the symbols will be collected from both the interview of the Priest and the WPI library resources.

4.2.1 Figure 1 Pentecost the coming of the holy spirit. In this figure, virgin Mary is in the center of the window with the twelve apostles appear around her. This story is not from the bible since this even happened after the crucifixion of Jesus. The dove representing the holy spirit is coming from the sky with a very bright light at night and falls on the head of each apostle as fire. A flame is seen on each apostle’s head symbolizing their holiness and blessing from the holy spirit. The disciples started speaking foreign Languages to the tourists and merchants that traveled to Jerusalem which proved that the apostles got the holy spirit as a gift from Jesus as he promised before he was risen to heaven. One more thing to notice in this window is that each saint has a hallow around their heads that distinguish them from other people due to their holiness and devotion to God. 20 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 4.2.2 Figure 2 The Ascension of Jesus This window shows Jesus after he was crucified, killed, reborn and risen to heaven sitting with two angles in heaven on a throne. The clouds symbolize the sky and the bottom of the window shows virgin Mary and six of the apostles around her praying as usual down on earth since after the crucifixion of Jesus the apostles dedicated their lives to God.

4.2.3 Figure 3 Saint Mesrob and Saint Nerses I Saint Mesrob is one of the most important Saints in the Arminian Orthodox church, he was born in the first century and was very focused on Greek literature studies. Through that he started going on missions to southern Armenia inviting people to believe in Jesus until he realized that the Arminian people are missing a crucial element of learning which is the alphabet. He dedicated his time to write the Armenian alphabet, which it is still being used until today. He originally started the Language with 36 letters and later 2 letters were added to the Language. Once Saint Mesrob created the Armenian alphabet in year 405 (armenianprelacy.org, 2019b). He started translating the bible from Greek to Armenian so people would be able to read and understand the holly book.

The symbol of the word we see next to his painting is Proverbs which was the first word he translated from Greek to the new Armenian Language. Proverbs, 2:1, stating “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding” (armenianprelacy.org, 2019b). In the center of the window the Armenian cross can be seen with two small wheat stalks. The bottom part of the window shows Saint Nerses I who was very well educated and dedicated to the Armenian church. Saint Nerses is considered the head of the church due to the prayers that he wrote which are still being used nowadays. He was a 21 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor very grateful person, he lived in the fourth century and a direct decent from Saint Gregory the Illuminator.

4.2.4 Figure 4 The Resurrection

In this window we see Jesus Christ getting resurrected after 3 days from his burial. Jesus said “I am the life and I am the resurrected” it is written on the top of the window in Armenian letters. After burying Jesus, the leaders of Jerusalem were worried that his students would dig him out of the grave so they assigned guards to secure his grave at night and not allow anyone to come close. In this window we see the guards getting scared and surprised by the presence of Jesus out of his grave surrounded by a lot of light. In this window an angle flying next to the grave can be seen symbolizing Heaven where Jesus Christ is heading towards

4.2.5 Figure 5 Saint Sahag and Saint Gregory of Nareg. At the top part of the window, we have Saint Sahag, the son of Saint Nerses the great, who grew up as an orphan from a young age. He was a writer and helped saint Mesrob to invent the Armenian alphabet and translate the bible from the Greek old testament. His work was remarkable due to his passion about Christianity and education. He established many schools in Armenia and helped to get the Armenian independent identity since he grew up during the time of Persian and Byzantium empires. ((armenianprelacy.org, 2019)

In the center of the window we notice a copy of his script written in English and Armenian, the book is opened to Proverbs, 1:2, stating “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.”

At the bottom of the window, we have Saint Gregory of Nareg. He is the “Saint” and the “Doctor” of the Armenian church. He was a writer like his family and a poet and is most well-known for his Book of Lamentations, or Prayer Book. He is considered Armenia’s greatest poet and first mystic. (Avakian, F., 2019)

Combining the presence of both saints and the bible in between in the same window not only tells their story about their dedication to the literature and Christianity but also acknowledges their importance to 22 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor the Armenian church. Both saints provided fundamental help to maintain the identity of the Armenian people throughout their lives.

4.2.6 Figure 6 The Assumption This is a significant window that tells the story of the raise of Virgin Mary to heaven after she died. We can notice the hands of Jesus coming from the sky to lift his beloved mother up to heaven where she will join Him. The clouds around the hands represent the sky. While Virgin Mary was risen to heaven, there are two angles by her feet following her during the journey.

4.2.7 Figure 7 The transfiguration of Jesus. This windows symbolizes a story from the bible that talks about the transfiguration of Jesus. When Jesus went to Mont Tabor to pray with 3 of his apostles (Peter, James and John) his apostles got tired at some point during the hike and asked Jesus to take a break. Jesus told them to stay where they were while he went on top of the mountain to pray. During that time, two men appeared from the sky after a huge wave of cloud and smoke approached Jesus. The two men next to Jesus were the prophets Elijah and Moses. After the two prophets appeared, Jesus’s clothes became white and there was a massive glare around him that looked like the sun. The apostles got scared and shocked, and immediately kneed on the floor praying in front of Jesus. A sound came from the sky and said, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased”. God’s voice talking to Jesus made the apostles scared but at the same time grateful they witnessed His presence and even more awed they had the opportunity to join His Son during this journey. One of the apostles wanted to build a statue of Jesus and the two men (Moses and prophet Elijah) but Jesus asked them not to tell anyone about this story until his resurrection. Jesus wanted to teach his students a lesson that one day he will return and save the world. 23 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

4.2.8 Figure 8 Saint Bartholomew/ Saint Tiridates, Saint Ashkhen, Saint Khosrovitoukht/Saint Hiripsime In this window the most important saints of the Armenia Church can be seen since they are all equally responsible for introducing Christianity to the Armenian people and establishing their first churches.

At the top part of the window Saint Bartholomew appears who is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the new testament. He is well known with his missionary work in different countries including Armenia (Franciscanmedia.org, 2006).

In the center of the window we have Saint Tiridates, Saint Ashken and Saint Khosrovitoukht. Saint Tiridates is the king of Armenia who converted to Christianity by Saint Gregogy the Illuminator and since then he declared Christianity as the official religion of Armenia. Next to Saint Tiridates, his wife and sister appear who also converted to Christianity.

The bottom section of the window shows Saint Hiripsime, who was roman and came with nuns to Armenia on a missionary trip. This nun was known for her beauty and King Tiridates wanted to marry her, but due to her strong belief in Christianity, she refused which led to her assassination (Noradounghian, 2019). After her murder, King Tiridates built a church in her honor which still exists until today in Armenia.

4.2.9 The Birth and Baptism of Jesus There are two paintings in this window, one is the birth of the Christ and the second one is his baptism. At the top part of the window we see Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus. The bible mentions that during the birth of Jesus, a very shiny star appeared in the sky which became a symbol of t. In the birth of our savior. Besides the star, there are also some sheep present as well as some people bowing toward Jesus. The sheep belong to the three men who saw an angle appear while they were working in the desert. The angel told them about the birth of Jesus, so they followed the star that led her to the stable where Virgin Mary gave birth and saw Jesus for the first time. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Therefore, the Star of Bethlehem is represented nowadays as the Christmas Star placed on top of the Christmas tree symbolizing the miracle of Jesus birth. 24 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

In the bottom section of the window, we can see the baptism of Jesus by Saint John. Due to this, Saint John is also known as Saint John the Baptist. It is mentioned in the bible that a dove came from the sky to represent the holy spirit coming down to Jesus. It is important to mention that in Christianity, the baptism is the holy process during which the new members receive the holy spirit and start their new lives as the children of God, spreading his words and following his path until the end of life. Nowadays, Christians baptize their children at an early age so they can enter Christianity as early in their lives as possible and live upon our Savior’s example in the world. 4.2.10 Saint Gregory the Enlightener/Saint Thaddeus In this top part of the window Saint Gregory, the Enlightener who came from Iran to Armenia can be seen. He is called the enlightener since he was the person who convert people to Christianity. He comes from a royal family since his father Anak was a king. He got his education in Greece and that is where he learned about Christianity. He disobeyed the king which led to his imprisonment and torture. One day, the king got very sick and his sister got a vision that only saint Gregory can heal him which he did with the power of Christianity. That is when the king Tridates converted to Christianity and declared it as the official religion of Armenia as mentioned earlier.

In the center of the window, saint Thaddeus, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and was also known as Jude the brother of Jesus is presented. Saint Thaddeus was a writer and a translator; he is known as one of the first people who translated the new testament from Greek to English. and he wrote many books. As a matter of fact in this window you can see him carrying his book as well as carrying the processional cross in his hand. Saint Thaddeus got a dream about the shape and location of a church, so he built it and became the iconic Armenian church which exists until today. Most of the Armenian churches use the same architectural shape of Saint Thaddeus church which is shown in the bottom part of the window.

25 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 4.2.11 Saint Mark Saint Mark is one of the four evangelists who were mentioned in the New Testament and have contributed to Gospel. The lion, that is well-known as symbol of power, pride, magnificence, nobility and courage was associated to Mark because it emphasizes the Resurrection power, the majesty and the regality of Christ and the characteristics of his Gospel (Arte 2000,2019).

4.2.12 Saint John Saint John is one of the four evangelists as it was mentioned before and is presented with a symbol of an eagle next to him. The royal eagle is a fitting symbol for Saint John the Evangelist, known for its grace, strength, keenness of vision and powers of flight above all creatures. Saint John the Evangelist is sublime among all stylists, even the most royal of scriptural stylists, soaring to heaven itself to open his grand profession of faith in his gospel concerning the Eternal God, Creator and Redeemer (Marywood University, 2020).

4.2.13 Saint Luke Saint Luke is one of the evangelists as well and next to him is a sign of an ox with wings. Luke the Evangelist is the author of the third gospel account. The link between Luke and the Ox may be tied in with the idea of sacrifice, especially Christs sacrifice which saved even the gentiles. (Worldpress.com, 2012)

26 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 4.2.14 Saint Matthew The fourth evangelist is Saint Matthew who was more adapted to humanities and humanitarian approach. That is symbolized by the human angle next to him. St. Matthew was one of the twelve apostles of Christ mentioned in the Gospels. He is noted as being a tax collector an occupation which even then wasn’t very popular (Worldpress.com, 2012).

4.2 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Alden Hall Survey Results

As mentioned in the methods, a survey was distributed to the WPI community asking about the stain glass windows that are in Alden Hall, one of the oldest buildings in the WPI campus. Alden Hall is a building that many students visit since it is the home for the Music and Theater department and most WPI performances and cultural events happen on the stage of this building.

The survey collected responses from 65 students the majority of which have been a community member of WPI for at least 4 years. The responses collected met our expectations since from all the participants 20 percent visits Alden Hall at least once a week, 32.5 percent visited the building once a month, 7.5 percent visited twice a month and the majority of 40 percent visited the building on occasions only. 27 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

WPI is a polytechnic Institute and mostly famous about its Engineering and Science departments. Since Alden hall does not have classrooms for any of these department, not many people visit the building often enough unless the building is hosting a cultural event that interests a big portion of the WPI community. .

The Majority of our survey’s participants have noticed the Stain Glass Windows. Sixty five percent of the community have noticed the windows which leaves a 35 percent did not notice them even though the windows are all around the main hall.

From the participants only 10 percent understands the windows which is a very small number, leaving the majority with no knowledge regarding what they are looking at when they look at those windows. This finding 28 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor is not very surprising but should be catching our attention. It is important to take this information into consideration and act accordingly in order to create events that make students utilize the various educational tools around the camps such as the stained-glass windows. This idea is supported by the community’s willingness to learn more about the symbolism behind each stained-glass window. In the results of the survey, approximately 63 percent of the participants expressed some curiosity in learning more about this form of art if the resources are available to them.

29 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor 5.0 Discussion

From the background research and the interview, we can conclude that the Stain Glass windows were generated initially to deliver educational lessons and use art to teach students and communities about their religion and the history of their communities and countries. Specifically, the Armenian Church of our savior uses the stain glass windows to tell a story about Christian figures who have played a very important role in the establishment of the Armenian Church. Those figures have contributed significantly by dedicating all their lives to shape the Armenian Christian Orthodox religion in the form it has today.

Even though the priest of the church confirmed that most stories presented in the windows are not from the bible, he explained that these stories are equally important for the visitors of the church since they happened after the time of Jesus Christ and explain the progress the religion has made to achieve today’s form and audience throughout the world. The windows help the Armenian community of Worcester to learn more about the heroes who stepped up forming the Armenian Language, the Armenian prayers, the shape and architecture of the Church. Most importantly the stories presented help the community travel through centuries and witness the growth and expansion of their religion over the course of almost 2000 years.

The survey conducted at the WPI community are built upon the previous IQP project results which conducted a similar survey at the Armenian Church. Both surveys provided us with critical information, but it is important to mention that they were conducted in two different communities with two different participants age, backgrounds, education and most importantly religions. The survey collected at the Armenian church was for Armenians who have been a member of the Church for many years; people who regularly visited the Church and are part of the same religion and beliefs. On the other side the WPI Alden Hall survey was answered by members of the school who come from different countries, beliefs and do not have a religious desire when they visit the building.

The survey distributed to the members of the Church of our Savior consisted of six questions. The questions were grouped into three categories with two questions each. The first group of questions asked about the familiarity with the stain glass windows of the Church of our Savior and the results were “average knowledge” since the question asked the participants to rank from 1 to 5 and the major answer was 3. However, the majority answered 5 for the question regarding how much interest do you have in the windows leading to the conclusion that the members of the church have the willingness and curiosity to learn but lack the resources.

The third question was about how much the church would benefit from an educational brochure about the stain glass windows, the majority of participants answered 5 since their answer to question four about how much interest do you have in the windows was 5. The figures shown below are taken from previous Interacting qualifying project submitted to WPI in 2019. 30 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

Both surveys however showed similar results since people do not treat these windows as educational presentation but rather as art pieces who reflect a nice mixture of colors when the sun hits them from the outside with images of Jesus, Virgin Mary and some other people who may or may not be historical figures. However, people are uncertain on why they have been selected to be displayed on each window. Neither they can identify the figures presented besides Jesus and Virgin Mary, not they can contemplate the meaning behind each detail of the presented figure.

In conclusion, both surveys’ participants showed an interest to learn more about the windows if resources available so the take home lesson is that both the Church of our Savior and WPI Alden Hall should provide an either physical brochure or online link to a website where audience can go and learn more about each window and the story behind the figures and symbols on them. The physical brochure can be distributed to the members of the church every Sunday during the weekly service since that is the time that the church is visited by most of the believers. However, since everyone nowadays has access to the internet, and virtual education is a very popular phenomenon, investing in a website that can be posted on the church’s page will lead to a wider audience taking advantage of the stained-glass windows as a form of religious and cultural education.

31 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor Appendix

The Armenian Church of Our Savior in Worcester Massachusetts

The Armenian Cross

32 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan Armenia

33 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor WPI IRB Exemption

34 The Stained Glass Windows of the Arminian Church of Our Savor deliverable describing the stain glass windows in a form for the parishioners

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