photo by Jeff Miller; UD Archives

Hagop Nersoyan A Profile in Memory

Professor Hagop Nersoyan was a profoundly influential philosopher; educator and theologian. His influence extended throughout the Academic world and his service to the Armenian Christian faith and nation spanned many decades. This landmark of the 20^th century intellectual Armenian Church history and religious philosophy died on May 3, 2006, at age 86, at his home in Kettering, Ohio. He had been ill with cancer.

A native of Aleppo, Syria, Hagop Nersoyan was the youngest son of Nersess Tavoukdjian and Anitse Sulahian. His father was a priest. His brother was an Archbishop of the Armenian Orthodox Church. He earned his Baccalaureate Degree from the College Champagnet des Freres Maristes in 1939. After traveling many extraordinary paths, Hagop Nersoyan came to the United States in 1946, on a scholarship to become an ordained priest of the Armenian Church.

He completed studies at the Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and was awarded a Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology 1949. He attended Columbia University and specialized in ethics and philosophy of religion while he worked toward a doctorate. From 1951 to 1954 he was appointed the Executive Director of Youth Organizations and Sunday Schools for the Armenian Diocese headquartered in New York. He was proficient in French, German, Turkish, Armenian, Arabic and English.

While at Columbia, he met Marie Mesrobian, a fellow student with similar interests in the arts, theater and literature. They were married in 1954. After a four-month honeymoon in Paris, they returned to New York. Marie completed the requirements of an MA degree in literature at Columbia University with a thesis on Albert Camus.

Hagop continued working on his doctoral thesis. It obligated him to subject his deepest convictions to rational analysis. To address people came easily to him. He enjoyed teaching, the exchange of ideas He gave lectures at youth organizational meetings. He participated on scholarly panels and spoke in many community radio and television interviews on issues dealing with theology, philosophy and morality. He published many articles relating to Armenian issues.

His higher education was divided into two separate domains of discourse: Academics and the Armenian Church. He came to the realization that the closest thing to his creed was philosophy. Hagop completed his Ph.D. at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in 1966. While there, he studied with such luminaries as Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr. His dissertation titled, André Gide: A Critical Study of His Religion and Morality was later published into book form.

In the spring of 1967, he accepted a position in the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. He taught ethics, modern philosophy, eastern philosophy, and philosophy of religion at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. His students admired him for his infectious enthusiasm, rigorous scholarship and for the excellence of his teaching. They always knew that when he walked into a classroom they were about to embark upon a serious intellectual venture. He engaged students in serious philosophical discourse about the history of philosophy, religion and the implications of that thought for contemporary life. He conveyed ideas well and always had good ideas to convey. He was never offended by opposition; on the contrary, he was delighted by it. His mentorship was especially important to many graduate students.

Dr. Nersoyan contributed significantly to the governance and functioning of the University. Throughout his tenure he served on Boards of Trustees, graduate advisory committees, and examining boards. He was a member of the American Philosophical Association and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, where he served for many years on the Board of Directors. His colleagues at the University of Dayton and across the nation respected and praised his meticulous scholarship. He remained at the University for his entire teaching career and became a distinguished professor. He was respected by his students and colleagues. In 1974 he was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. In 1979 he was promoted to Professor. Upon his retirement in 1987, he was promoted to Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Nersoyan was a Distinguished Scholar. He authored three influential books: The Faith of the Armenian Church, A History of the Armenian Church, and André Gide: The Theism of an Atheist.  Selected topics among his numerous published articles and essays and presentations included general issues in philosophy, such as his article on The Fun of Philosophy. He continued his interest in Gide, publishing The Religious Significance of The Counterfeiters. Much of his scholarship focused on his Armenian heritage. His work in this area includes: The Armenian Church within Christendom Some Historical Etchings, A Critical Appraisal of the Theology of Nersess Clajensis, and Role of the Church in the Historical Development of the Armenian Language.

After his retirement, Dr. Nersoyan continued to be active in the life of the Philosophy Department. He attended lectures and the annual colloquium where his questions, critiques, and articulateness contributed to the quality of the intellectual life of the University. He opened his home for social functions for the Department and provided a place for honest and open exchange on a wide range of topics including philosophy, religion, theatre, film, literature, and political concerns. He was a scholar whose life modeled the importance of philosophical engagement for everyday life.

St. Nersess Armenian Seminary was founded by the late Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan in 1961. Its purpose was to train Armenian-American priests for the Armenian Church in the United States to fill the vacuum of church leadership in the early 1900s. Prior to and concurrent with his University of Dayton appointment, Hagop was the motivator and instrumental in the establishing of said Seminary. He prepared a paper entitled: "A Rationale for Creating the Saint Nersess Institute of Armenian Theology and Liturgics, and a sketch of its Structure." He did a vast amount of planning and coordinating of ecumenical activities dealing with staffing, academic curriculums and also preparing the ground for it to become a concrete enterprise. He is one of the founding fathers of St. Nersess.

As a theologian and philosopher he was very much interested in and wrote extensively about theological issues. He was aware of the fact that the present day Armenian Church hierarchy was being challenged by non-Armenian Church leaders to reinterpret what had been concluded as doctrine in the Ecumenical Councils convened in the first five centuries of Christianity. His concern was that by doing so these historical and ancient definitions, if reinterpreted and accepted as such, would change the theological stand and position of the Armenian Church and cause irreparable damage to it. Dr. Nersoyan felt truth is not divisible. He zealously defended the orthodoxy of the Armenian Church insisting that the original teachings of the Fathers of the first five centuries be held true as defined by them. Consequently, no present day Church hierarch had the power, nor should have the authority, to redefine what was set as doctrine during those early centuries. In fact he wrote an extensive essay on Christology: "The Christology of the Armenian Orthodox Church"; wherein, he vehemently refuted what the late pope of Rome was trying to explain away the clearly stated definition of the Council of Chalcedon regarding said question. Dr. Nersoyan's analysis is presented in a study, titled: “H. H. KAREKIN I and H. H. JOHN PAUL II Some Reflections On Their Declaration."

Another subject that bothered Dr. Nersoyan immensely was the undertaking of preparing a Constitution for the Armenian Church by the hierarchy. It was his belief that the Church is not governed by a Constitution but by the Canons promulgated by our Church Fathers, the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. The essay he wrote is titled "Remarks On A Proposed Constitution For The Armenian Church."

Dr. Nersoyan questioned and was concerned about the level of education, the lack of understanding and the shallow faith of the present day clergy. When he saw the clerical ranks full of such men, men who could not comprehend much less articulate and analyze their mission he expressed his dismay. He wondered as to how they would accomplish the mission of the Church.

Being a man of deep faith and conviction Dr. Nersoyan believed that God is in charge in spite of man's inadequacies. This belief gave him the impetus to continue to write and speak with a most sincere optimism about the bright future of the Armenian Church.

For those who love to read travelogues, they will enjoy reading "A Pilgrimage to Aghtaman (Impressions and Comments). This is the story of Dr. Nersoyan's and Marie's pilgrimage to Aghtamar in the company of the late Patriarch of Turkey, Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian.

With death, Hagop's life has been inescapably and indelibly woven into our lives, with less and more visibility. We have lost a very dear and close friend. We must all overcome something of a steep emotional hurdle to utter or write words to the effect that he is no longer with us; nevertheless, his spiritual image is ever before our eyes each and every time we think and speak of him. Hagop's lovely wife Marie was equally a dear friend whose warm personality, intelligence and friendship we will always cherish in our memories. Truly, they are missed.

Dr. Patricia Johnson

Father Shahe Altounian

Dr. Xavier Monasturio

Dr. Leon Kazarian