Photo Courtesy of Abraham Terian

Dr. Abraham Terian and his wife, Dr. Sara Kärkkäinen, currently live in Fresno. Terian was born in Jaffa, Israel and raised in Jerusalem. They have three children and four grandchildren.

The Armenian Genocide occurred nearly a century ago, but the Armenian Studies Program is making sure Fresno State students and the Fresno community are still aware of what happened.

Dr. Abraham Terian was chosen by the Armenian studies program to raise awareness of the tragic event through a series of lectures and a three-unit course.

Terian was selected to be the eighth Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor, a position that was created in 1999 to keep students informed about the Armenian Genocide.

“The donor, Mr. Henry Kazan, wanted to establish a position at Fresno State, where the Armenian Genocide would always be taught,” Barlow Der Mugrdechian, the coordinator of the Armenian studies program and director of the Center for Armenian studies at Fresno State said.

The endowment created for this position allows the Armenian studies program to invite an internationally recognized scholar, in contemporary Armenian affairs, to Fresno State for one semester each year, Der Mugrdechian said.

Der Mugrdechian said he hired Terian for the position because his breadth of knowledge and experience made him an ideal candidate.

“The Armenian studies program does an international search for the position,” Der Mugrdechian said. “Dr. Terian is well qualified for the position.”

Terian is a recognized authority on Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity and Armenian studies, and has published extensively in these fields.

He has an undergraduate degree in history and biblical languages, a graduate degree in archaeology and history of antiquity and a doctoral degree in theology, specializing in Christian origins.

Terian said he is proud to take on the role of the visiting professor and collaborate with the Armenian studies program.

“It is an honor to be the eighth Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor, and to be a part of the long-standing Armenian studies program at Fresno State,” Terian said.

As the visiting professor, Terian will present three public lectures on the Armenian Genocide, the first of which, “Armenian Identity and the Genocide,” was held on Wednesday. The lecture was about the history of Armenian people and Armenian Christianity, focusing on how that has shaped modern definitions of Armenian identity.

Sergio La Porta, the Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian studies, said Terian’s first lecture was very informative and thought provoking.

“Professor Terian’s lecture raised a lot of questions, which is always a good thing,” La Porta said. “I thought it was great.”

La Porta also said he is thrilled that Terian was selected to be this year’s visiting professor.

“I think it’s wonderful that he was chosen,” La Porta said. “He brings with him a wealth of experience.”

La Porta has known Terian for several years through various conferences and from teaching a few classes at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New York, where Terian was the professor of Armenian Patristics and Early Christianity as well as former academic dean. He said Terian is very approachable and easy to talk to.

“He is a friendly person and always willing to help out,” La Porta said.

La Porta said he is anticipating Terian’s next two lectures.

“I’m really looking forward to the next lectures and how he is going to develop on what he previously talked about,” La Porta said.

Terian’s second lecture, “The Loud Cry: Early Responses to the Genocide in Armenian Literature,” is on March 11. The lecture will focus on the immediate literary response to the Armenian Genocide, and the struggle to share knowledge of the tragic event.

His third lecture, “The Less-Known Victims of the Armenian Genocide,” is on April 29. The final lecture will focus on less-known writers of the Genocide, and how the Genocide has influenced people today. Terian will discuss the ways the Armenian Genocide has impeded Armenian people’s heritage and language.

All of Terian’s lectures are free and open to the public.

He is also teaching a class, ARMS120T: Literature and the Armenian Genocide, on Monday nights. The class explores Armenian literature immediately before and after the Armenian Genocide.

Terian said he has been enjoying Fresno State, and that the students have made the biggest impact on him.

“I am impressed by the Fresno State students,” he said. “They seem to be studious, dutiful and respectful.”