Congregations Take Different Approaches to Participation in Badarak

By Lisa Natcharian

Imagine your church. You walk in the doors. Are you early or late? You sit in a pew. Do you choose the front or the back? Is there plenty of room, or do you need to search for a place? Do you reach for a liturgy book, or do you sit quietly and think? Do you sing along with the choir, or do you prefer to listen?

There are over 64 parishes, including mission parishes, in the Eastern Diocese and each one has its own personality and particular habits. Just like the different recipes and dances carried to this country by our ancestors from different villages in Armenia, there are different "accepted behaviors" for church-goers in different parishes. For example, in some churches there are no kneelers (fold-out, padded benches to make kneeling more comfortable). As you would imagine, many more parishioners in these churches choose to sit or stand instead of kneel.

There are many spots in the service where the habits of parishioners have developed over the years into "the thing to do." These subtle differences combine to make the atmospheres in each parish noticeably unique. In some places, every person in the congregation bows at the appropriate time in the service. In other places, not one person bows, and if asked, very few would even be able to say where a bow is called for. Like in evolution, where those skills that are not used disappear.

LARGE AND SMALL PARISHES DIFFER

The size of a parish tends to affect the participation in the service. Yn. Lynda Devejian, formerly of Binghamton, NY, recalls how the very small size of the St. Gregory parish prompted Fr. Mikael to encourage the entire congregation to "be the choir." In contrast, at Yn. Lynda's very large childhood parish, St. Leon in Fairlawn, NJ, only a small percentage of parishioners sang along with the choir, preferring instead to sit and listen to the large, well-trained choral group.

"At St. Leon, the service was certainly beautiful. But in the smaller, more intimate setting of St. Gregory, I learned so much more about the badarak," she recalls. "I felt more a part of the service when I sang along."

Brenda Jermakian, choir director at St. Mark church in Springfield, MA, finds a similar effect. At the medium-sized parish, where Sunday attendance can range from 20 ­ 60 people on a given day, Brenda finds more people singing out loud when the choir is missing members.

"When they can see we need help, they sing along," she says. "On the days when the whole choir is present, the congregation tends to sit back and listen. I take that as a compliment!"

Jane Kapoian, who grew up in Watertown at St. James church, recalls that about half of the congregation there participated in the service by singing the choir parts, but that those people were mostly senior citizens.

"I definitely saw an age gap with the singing," Jane says. "But the one thing everyone did do together is follow along with the pew books. At St. James it was easy to because the page numbers were automatically shown on the wall next to the altar."

Jane now attends St. Mark in Springfield, where she has noticed a fewer number of people reading the pew books. Some parishioners are busy holding their children, some read only Russian, and some prefer to watch the action on the altar instead.

MISSION PARISHES AND NEW PARISHES

Chrissie Hagopian, a former member of the Armenian Church of Cape Cod, notes that the congregation at the mission parish was particularly enthusiastic. Church services were held only once a month, except during the summer, when they were held every Saturday.

"The group was small, but the people were so excited to be there, they all participated," she recalls. "There was no choir and no organist, so the whole congregation sang along with the pew books as well as they could. They gave it their best."

"Those people who couldn't sing would help out in other ways, reading the bible & such," she says. A generous donor had purchased new pew books for the entire congregation, which consisted of about 20 people during the year, 30-40 in the summertime.

Similarly, at the Armenian Church of Metro-West, recently a mission parish itself, the very large congregation displays a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. One churchgoer describes the atmosphere this way: "The church is packed, just like on Easter in the other parishes. You can feel that everyone is excited to be there ­ which you don't always feel in other places. Take the Easter example ­ many of those people are there because of a sense of obligation. At Metro-West, it's not that way. These people want to be there." As a result, there is a large percentage of the congregation participating in the service ­ singing, following the pew books, reciting the creed, etc.

FOREIGN-BORN AND NON-ARMENIAN CONGREGATIONS

Papken Maksoudian, former parish council chair of St. Gregory of Narek Church, Cleveland, OH, points out that the participation within their congregation varies between American-born and foreign-born parishioners. "We have a large Bakutsi group, and even though we have the new pew books that include Russian translations, I don't see a lot of people following them," he says. He notes that the foreigners' concept of church is very different from an American's. "Their idea of coming to church is to walk in, light 20 candles, then walk out and smoke a cigarette in the hall until coffee hour. We've had quite a challenge to get them involved in a more religious way."

He also mentions that their parish (about 100 dues-paying members) includes a large number of young couples in mixed marriages. "The majority of our community are parents between 30 and 45 years old, married to non-Armenians." When asked whether the non-Armenian parishioners were able to participate in the service, he noted that anyone who puts in the time necessary to learn about the badarak is able to participate in the service, regardless of language, religious history, or age. Many of the non-Armenians he has seen grew up in a relatively non-religious setting. They have come to church as an act of commitment to their spouse, and a good number have tried hard to learn about the Armenian service and follow along as best they can.

Mr. Maksoudian also notes that the St. Gregory Sunday School has focused on teaching the children about all of the parts of the badarak. After a lesson on a particular part of the service, that class makes a point to be present in church during that part the next week, to see in person what they have just learned.

OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

Participation in the service doesn't only mean singing along with the choir. At St. Peter church, in Watervliet, NY, the older children of the Sunday School have become apprentice church helpers, performing such tasks as making the mas and cleaning the altar linens, along with an adult mentor.

Alice Wildman, a longtime member of St. Peter, is proud to see the children take part. She herself is the mentor for the altar linens. "I hear a few people who come regularly saying the parts along with the choir," she reports. "But I hear all of the kids reciting everything. They come in for the sermon, and stay for about half an hour."

At many churches, members of the congregation are invited to present the bible readings. Oftentimes, Sunday School children march in a procession for a feast day, or carry trays of grapes or basil to help out. Older children will pass the donation plate, or lead the Kiss of Peace.

While there are many small variations in behavior during badarak, it represents the common denominator that links all churches is their commitment to preserving the Armenian heritage.