THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THEOLOGY AND THE COMMUNITY: THE ARMENIAN MINORITY, TRADITION, AND SECULARISM IN TURKEY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY BY CHRISTOPHER NICHOLAS SHEKLIAN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………...……..iii Acknowledgements and Dedication……………………………………………………………...iv Note on Transliteration…………………………………………………………………………..vii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….viii Introduction: Ecclesiology and Community…..…………………………………………………..1 Chapter One: Armenians in Turkey: Millet, Cemaat, Toplum…………………………...............30 Part I: Armenians, Ecclesially and Legally………………………………………………32 Part II: Millet from Theological/Ecclesial to Religious/Ethno-National………………...41 Part III: Modern Secular Representation………………………………………………...76 Chapter Two: The Vakıfs and the Material Basis of the Minority Community in Istanbul...........88 Chapter Three: The Armenian Press and Forms of Presence-Making........................................147 Chapter Four: Choirs and the Community ..................................................................................185 Chapter Five: Affective Urban Engagment and Minority Belonging..........................................233 Conclusion: Christology, Hermeneutics, and Minority Engagement with the City....................270 Appendix 1: Selections from The Book of Questions by Vanakan Vardapet..............................278 Appendix 2: Relevant Articles from the Treaty of Lausanne......................................................280 Appendix 3: Text of the Hymn “O, Holy Gathering” by St. Nersess Shnorhali.........................283 Bibliography................................................................................................................................291 ii List of Figures and Pictures Figure 1: Şişli Armenian Cemetery……………………………………………………………...31 Figure 2: Organizational Structure of the Ministry of Foundations……………………………..96 Figure 3: Newspaper Article Concerning the Feast of Ascension at Holy Saviors’ Hospital….132 Figure 4: Example of Istanbul Typeface from Berberian’s History of Armenia……………….161 Figure 5: Front Page of Daily Newspaper Marmara…………………………………………...163 Figure 6: Differing Headlines Describing the Same Event in the Newspaper Agos…………...168 Figure 7: Section of Newspaper Jamanak Dedicated to the “Feminine”………………………170 Figure 8: Article from Newspaper Jamanak About a Church Visit by a Bishop………………178 Figure 9: Portion of Newspaper Jamanak Announcing Upcoming Events………………...…..181 Figure 10: Program for the Samatya Choir Show……………………………………………....212 Figure 11: Program for Concert in Honor of Shnork Patriarch………………………………...214 Figure 12: Midday Hymn in Multiple Notations…………………………………………….…226 iii Acknowledgements and Dedication I only half-jokingly say that all my research questions derive from a single question I asked myself as a child growing up: “Why do we drive for a half hour past so many churches to go to that church?” As a young man going to church in Yettem, CA—the only Armenian language place-name in the United States—I served on the altar, eventually being ordained a deacon of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Much of this dissertation grew out of this upbringing at the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church, the Western Diocese Church Camp, and the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. I owe those places and everyone associated with them many thanks. The dissertation itself has been made possible by a whole host of wonderful individuals. First and foremost among them is my dissertation committee itself: Hussein Ali Agrama, Julie Y. Chu, John D. Kelly, and Susan Gal. Each of them has pushed me, encouraged me, taught me, and inspired me in so many ways. To my dissertation chair, Hussein, I could not be more pleased that I read your dissertation with Saba Mahmood all those years ago and that when I was applying to PhD programs Charles Hirschkind gave me a little nudge towards you. My thinking and mode of academic engagement owes so much to you. Thank you. At the University of Chicago, I have taken classes across departments, and could not possibly name all the people—professors or otherwise—from whom I have learned. My cohort of 2008 has always seemed a little special, and everyone in it has held me up at various times. To my writing group, made up entirely of brilliant minds from my cohort, Shefali, Xiao-bo, Genevieve, Yaqub, and Natalja: you have shaped this document more than anyone else and much iv of what is sophisticated or interesting in it I owe to you. I fully expect to be asking you for help and edits for many years to come. I have been the beneficiary of several fellowships and grants that have made the ethnographic research in Turkey and the writing of the dissertation possible. These include grants from the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Leiffer Pre-Field Research Grant from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Social Science Research Council, the Social Sciences Division of the University of Chicago, and the Pozen Center for Human Rights at the University of Chicago. A Mark Hanna Watkins Dissertation Fellowship from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago has given me the freedom to complete the dissertation this past year. Istanbul, I truly believe, is the most interesting and vibrant place to be an Armenian. While there, my roommates and friends, Volkan and Emrah, were the best companions I could ask for. Tay Sokak, before, during, and after the “Gezi days,” has been one of the most formative places I have ever lived. I will not try to name by name all of my friends, fellow activists, and fellow altar servers among the Armenians of Istanbul. Many of them will recognize themselves in the pages of the dissertation. I hope that they find their portrayal just. One of the joys of the past decade has been the opportunity to fulfill a promise I made as a seventeen-year-old, when I spent the 2011-2012 academic year at the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. Father Daniel Findikyan, to whom I made the promise, has been a guiding mentor throughout my life. Between his guidance and the incredibly generous academic work and friendship of Dr. Roberta Ervine, I learned so much that year. The pages of this dissertation are suffused with what you have taught me. Though he has been a friend for much longer than our v time together at the Seminary, Ryan Tellalian was an integral part of that year—and many others. Calls to him from Istanbul and discussions of more recent insights have been invaluable. In many ways, this project is a love letter to my family: my parents, Myron and Debbie Sheklian, my sister Melissa, my grandparents—alive to share my joy or not—and all my extended family. My parents encouraged my curiosity, even if they have perhaps been wary of where the sense of adventure which emerged from it has taken me. I love you both immensely. Lizzy, you have seen this project go from my first forays around the city of Istanbul to completed document. You have kept me sane, happy, and focused. I am so glad that we share the love of Istanbul, and that you trounced all over Anatolia looking for old Armenian things with me. I love you and am so lucky to be with you. I can’t wait for the next phase together. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to my aunt Marguerite Sheklian. Though she always knew exactly how to needle me, I think my conversations with her over the years turned me into the critical thinker I am today. Her love and faith are constitutive of who I am. She supported me in innumerable ways: from the use of her home, the infamous “Mary house,” to the conversations about life and my work. She makes a cameo in the final chapter during the discussion of the hymns of the church. A polio survivor, she taught everyone around her what strength of will and dedication could accomplish. She died unexpectedly in 2015 and is not here to share in my accomplishment. I know she would be proud. Thank you, Horkoor. vi Note on Transliteration Throughout the dissertation, I transliterate Armenian words according to the Library of Congress transliteration system. Since the Western Armenian dialect is spoken in Istanbul, I employ the transliteration for the Western Armenian pronunciation, except when transliterating from Classical Armenian sources. In that case, I transliterate according to the Eastern/Classical pronunciation as described by the Library of Congress. Some words associated with the Liturgy, and hence with Classical Armenian, are nonetheless transliterated according to the Western Armenian pronunciation because they are in common use in Istanbul and reflect the ethnographic rather than textual encounter with them. In some cases, the text deviates from the Library of Congress system. This occurs when I am following a published source, in which case I use the transliteration already published. In the case of Armenian proper names that appear in Turkish language sources, I use the Turkish extended Latin alphabet. This extended Latin alphabet, in use in the Republic of Turkey since 1928, adds ç, ş, ğ, ı, ö, ü, and omits q, x, and w. vii Abstract Studying Armenians in the Republic of Turkey ethnographically offers a singular lens into the seemingly intractable secular problem of religious minority political participation and the viability of minority religious traditions.