He was a child of war: born to a kingdom under siege. His high-born parents died at the point of an Arab invader’s sword, and little Vahan was taken into custody, brought in bondage to Damascus, and instructed in the tenets of an alien religion. Life in the emir’s court was all he would know as he matured.
But some faint ember of his earlier life remained in his heart. A generation passed, and with it the regime of his captors; and the now-adult Vahan seized a fleeting opportunity to return to the land of his birth: the province of Goghtn in the ancient Armenian stronghold of Vaspourakan. He entered Goghtn as a prince, to rule in the name of the conquerors. Yet once immersed in the folkways of his people, it was Vahan himself who was conquered. He took a wife, embraced the Christian faith anew, and settled into tranquil Armenian life.
This was all too much for his Arab overlords, of course. Vahan was forced to flee Goghtn, and spent endless fugitive days moving from town to town, barely a step away from his pursuers. Eventually, he was seized by the Muslim constable of Armenia and spirited away to Syria—where he was reunited, in martyrdom, with his parents and his Lord.
Though Vahan lived and died in the 8th century A.D., what happened to him 13 centuries ago in Goghtn (a region in present-day Nakhichevan) still resonates with Armenians—perhaps more deeply than ever in this 100th year of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. In time, Vahan of Goghtn was recognized as a saint of the Armenian Church; today marks his feast day. As we honor his memory, let us also give thought to all the other children of war—those of 100 years ago, and those, sadly, among us today.
Detail of a photo of Armenian Genocide refugees, United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
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