In 1933, a Boy Scout troop buried a time capsule on the base of the Armenian cross on Mt. Davidson—and after 90 years, the Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California is digging it up.
“Whenever you place a time capsule, it’s an indication that you realize one thing goes to survive you,” stated Mesrop Ash, pastor of St. John Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco. “That’s a robust assertion.”
The ceremony, scheduled for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will embrace the unearthing in addition to remarks and prayers by San Francisco group leaders—and the position of a brand new time capsule.
“We wish to permit for a little bit of anticipation, so we’re not sharing the contents,” stated Kim Bardakian, board member of the Mt. Davidson Cross Armenian Council. “However it’s going to have issues associated to San Francisco.”
The unique time capsule was buried in the course of the first-ever dawn Easter service on the cross on April 1, 1933. That cross—and three different short-term ones product of wooden—have been all burned down and later changed by a cross product of concrete.
Since 1997, the cross has been below the stewardship of San Francisco’s Armenian group, who purchased the Christian image atop Mt. Davidson from the town.
“It’s an actual blessed alternative to turn into a part of one thing that’s woven into the material of the town,” Ash stated. The cross additionally serves as a memorial to the 1915 Armenian genocide, in response to Bardakian.
However the cross has not been with out controversy. In 1991, a number of organizations sued the town for sustaining a non secular image on public property—which ultimately compelled San Francisco to decide: both tear down the cross or promote it.
The Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California bought the cross in 1997 after the Board of Supervisors and voters authorised the sale.
The cross is lit up two instances a 12 months—Easter and April 24, which is the Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.
“The cross offers hope,” stated Ash. “And symbolizes our gratitude for being welcomed to San Francisco.”
Julie Zigoris will be reached at [email protected]