Turkish Republic Armenian Document #20
Ատենապետ էֆէնտի պատուարժան միացեալ թաղական խորհրդոյ Սկիւտարի ։ Չէնկէլ գիւղի բնակիչներէն եւ իմ ժողովուրդներէս Տիար Լեւոն-Յակոբ Պիպէռեանի որդւոյն Զաւէն-Յակոբի մկրտութեան վկայականին մէջ մականունը փոխանակ պիպէռեան նշանակուելու, սխալմամբ (պէրպէրեան) գրուած է, առ այս կը խնդրեմ որ ըստ պսակադրութեան վկայագրի ճշդել սոյն մականունը ու ի ձեռին ունեցած մկրտութեան վկայագիրը փոխելով, ըստ այնմ նոր վկայագիր մը տալու բարեհաճութիւնը ունենալ ։ Մնամ աղօթարար Սահակ քահանայ 1926 յունիս Բերա
Name/Title
Turkish Republic Armenian Document #20Scope and Content
Honorable Mr. President of the Joint Parish Council of Üsküdar, In the baptismal certificate of Zaven-Hagop, the son of parishioner Mr. Levon-Hagop Biberian, a resident of Çengelköy, the surname has been incorrectly written as “Berberian” instead of “Biberian.” For this reason, I kindly request that, in accordance with the marriage certificate, this surname be corrected, and that the existing baptismal certificate be amended accordingly, with a new certificate issued in its place. I remain your prayerful servant, Priest Sahag June 1926, Pera ________________________________________________________ Zaven Biberyan (1921–1984) was an Armenian writer born in Istanbul (Çengelköy). He was educated in Armenian schools in Istanbul and later attended Saint Joseph High School, followed by studies at the Istanbul Academy of Commercial Sciences. During World War II, he was conscripted into the Turkish Army’s non-Muslim labor battalions, an experience that later informed his literary perspective. He worked as a journalist and writer in Armenian-language press outlets in Istanbul and the wider diaspora (including Beirut, Aleppo, and Paris), and also held various administrative jobs, including at the Ottoman Bank. Biberyan wrote primarily in Western Armenian and is known for novels that focus on working-class urban life in Istanbul, social inequality, and the psychological and social pressures experienced by Armenians in mid-20th-century Turkey. His major works include The Sea (Dzov), The Lonely Ones (Yalnızlar), Penniless Lovers (Angudi Siraharner), and The Dusk of the Ants (Mrchunneru Verçaluysı). He also participated briefly in Turkish political life as a candidate for the Workers’ Party of Turkey in the 1960s. He died in Istanbul in 1984 and is buried in the Şişli Armenian Cemetery. This surviving parish document dated June 1926 (Pera, Istanbul) written by Priest Sahag to the Üsküdar Armenian parish council concerns a correction to his baptismal record. It states that in the baptismal certificate of Zaven-Hagop, son of Levon-Hagop Biberian, the surname was incorrectly recorded as “Perberian” instead of “Biberian.” The letter requests that the baptismal record be corrected in accordance with the family’s marriage certificate and that a revised certificate be issued. This document reflects the administrative process of correcting personal identity records within Armenian parish institutions in Istanbul during the period.Category
Misc. Documents