Dr. Christopher Sheklian, director of the Zohrab Information Center (Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, New York), will present a talk on “Liturgy and Property in Istanbul: The Armenian Minority in Turkey Today” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium.

The presentation is part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2019 Lecture Series and is supported by the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

Dr. Sheklian specializes in the anthropology of religion and secularism, studying the role of liturgy and law on the lives of religious minorities.

The presentation uses the categories of liturgy and property to trace the status of Armenians in Turkey today. Harmonious or contentious, at hospitals or during church services, Istanbul Armenians lead rich and varied lives in the fabric of the city, proclaiming “Buradayız Ahparig” — “We are here, brother.”

During the Divine Liturgy (Badarak) of the Armenian Church at the small church of St. Gregory, the Illuminator in Kuzguncuk, a beautiful neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul, one often hears the Islamic call to prayer being recited from the mosque next door. Today, the proximity of the properties of the two religious properties results in the auditory interweaving of liturgy as the ezan, the call to prayer, mingles with the singing of Armenian hymns.

Of course, things are not always so harmonious. Armenian properties — vakıf and otherwise — have been systematically expropriated by the Turkish state since its founding in 1923. The vakıf board of the Armenian Hospital of Surp Pırgiç (Holy Savior’s) sued the government in the European Court of Human Rights over some of its properties. Similarly, religious education and liturgical practice have at times been stymied by the Turkish government.

Dr. Sheklian was appointed director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center in September 2018. He is a native of Visalia and earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 2017. His thesis — “Theology and the Community: The Armenian Minority, Tradition, and Secularism in Turkey” — was completed after he conducted two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Istanbul, living and working with the Armenian community there.

As an active scholar, Dr. Sheklian continues to pursue research on secularism, religious minority rights, and the embodied and emotional aspects of religious life.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in Lot P6 or P5 (permits are not required on Friday evenings).

For more information about the lecture, please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559.278.2669, visit the website or the Facebook page.