Mixed marriages and cultural assimilation are today’s norms It was a Sunday, exactly 10 in the morning. From one of the streets in Bucharest, the Rumanian capital, one could hear the lilting strains of a church liturgy being performed. A few older women wearing head coverings walked towards the music. In tow were a few youngsters. They hastened to their destination Hreshdagabedats Mayr Yegeghetsi –“the Holy Archangel Armenian Church. Strada Armenească ("Armenian Street") Ten people were in the church as the priest said mass. I tried to speak to a few of them. I couldn’t make out what the women were saying in their emotional Rumanian response after I told them I had come from Armenia. Only one of them could manage to say, in halting Armenian that she too was of the same race. I later found out that while all the people in the church that Sunday were Armenian, none could speak the language. The woman, who with great difficulty answered “Yes Hye em”, began to weep and quickly left the church. Only 2,000 Armenians remain Outside, in the church yard, a few youngsters were talking. Their main spot to meet is the church. Today, there are about 2,000 Armenians left in Rumania. Their numbers are decreasing since the young people leave for Western Europe. The Armenian Church in Bucharest is quite imposing and the history of its construction is interesting as well. In the spring of 1910 the architect Dimitri Maimarolu came to Armenia. For three months he studied the architecture and sculptures of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. On the advice of Toros Toromanyan, the Rumanian architect built the Holy Archangel Church in Bucharest on an exact replica of the Etchmiadzin blueprint, only smaller. The church grounds remind one of a small Armenian enclave, replete with cultural annexes. On the grounds you’ll find the 7th Grade Misakian-Kesimian School, the Dudian Cultural Center, a fountain I memory of the Shahim Family, a bust of General Antranik Ozanian and a stone-cross dedicated on the 90th anniversary of the 1915 Genocide. There are two Armenian publications: “Ararat” (in Romanian) and “Nor Ghiank” (in Armenian), both subsidized by the government. The Dudian Cultural Center in the church yard houses a library and museum with valuable artifacts. The library was founded in 1927 and was originally housed in the Armenian school.  A separate building was constructed in 1942 and all the books and display items were relocated there. The cultural center was built later on. Valuable library in need of funding Arshaluys Baronian, who manages the Dudian House, told Hetq that many Armenian books and manuscripts were destroyed during the communist reign. In 1963, the cultural center was closed, falling victim to a “nationalist” bout of the local communist regime. All the books and materials were transferred elsewhere. The center was reopened in 1987. Baronian assumed the job of managing the museum in 2002 and has been directing operations at the library for the past 18 months. None of the books had ever been catalogued. She says that job has finally been completed. Many of the old books had been warehoused in the basement for years. Many have been damaged from moisture and frequent moving.”I can’t give an exact figure of the damaged books because the levels of needed repair differ. We’ve already catalogued 1,000 of the old texts. These were printed during the years 1512-1850. Cataloguing them proved to be a difficult tasks since many no longer had face pages and we couldn’t tell when or where they had been printed,” Baronian said. The library has entered into an agreement with the Romanian Metropolitan Library to digitalize the oldest and most valuable Armenian books. Communist rule forced many to flee By 1940 there were about 40,000 Armenians in Romania. It was a rather heterogeneous, but very much alive community, with a long history and a rich heritage. The Second World War brought a new, communist regime to Romania. In 1945 some Armenians from Romania moved to Soviet Armenia. “Tragically, there is little left of the Armenian community of Romania, regarded as one of the oldest with a rich cultural legacy. I say it’s tragic because Armenians never moved back to Armenia but to other countries throughout the world,” Baronian said. She told us there were only 2,000-3,000 Armenian left in the country and that most were getting on in years. This is one of the reasons why so few go to church on Sundays. But they make a point to attend services on the major holidays, Christmas and Easter and for April 24th memorial services. You won’t find many young Romanian-Armenians. Most have left for greener pastures in Western Europe. Only a few scattered Armenians remain in the outlying regions. The community, what’s left of it, is concentrated in Bucharest. Arshaluys Baronian assured us that the Romanian people are very fond of Armenians since the community is quite law-abiding. You’ll never hear of an Armenian being arrested for a crime, she claimed. Armenian language steadily losing ground Mixed marriages are now the norm within the community. While there is no outright pressure on Armenians to conform to the majority culture, Armenian is gradually being spoken less and less. The seniors still can speak in the mother tongue but not the younger generations. In an attempt to stem the tide of assimilation, Armenian language classes are conducted at the cultural house. In Romania, it’s mainly those from the RoA who maintain the Armenian language. Baronian doesn’t see the situation as catastrophic but confesses that the threat that Armenian will be forgotten all together is quite real. “Armenian is preserved much better in Muslim countries. Where there are perceived external threats, people unite and an internal defense mechanism kicks in. Here, Armenians saw themselves as far removed from such threats. No one created problems for Armenians. Thus, the language is slowly dying out,” Baronian said. The Armenian library, according to the will of Hovsep Dudian, belongs to the Armenian Church and is financed by the local Diocesan Council. The church receives financial assistance from the Romanian government and a certain portion of the funds is allocated towards cultural activities. “The Armenian union is also financed by the government, but it’s not enough. I’d like to redesign the museum and the library, but I just don’t have the means. Even though funds are allocated for book restoration and for certain projects, we’re not getting the amount we’d like to,” says the center’s manager. Baronian says that if the necessary funding comes through, the book displays will be improved to present the valuable texts correctly. “Some funding has been made available for refurnishing the library, but the display cases need changing. You can’t continue to store books on 60 year-old cases. We restore a book but then it eventually reverts back to its damaged state after sitting on those old shelves.” Regarding the socio-economic situation of Armenian in Romania, Baronian said that you won’t find an Armenian without a job and in need of a handout.