Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Sept 22 2004

Expert to lecture on Armenian Christianity

The place of Armenian Christianity within the larger context of world
Christianity will be the subject of a lecture by Dr. Ara Dostourian
on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. at the Center and Headquarters of
the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR),
395 Concord Ave., Belmont.

Dostourian, a retired professor of history at West Georgia State
University and former research fellow in Armenian Studies at Harvard
University, has spent decades studying the development and
characteristics of Christianity as practiced historically by the
Armenian people.

Frequently, when Armenian Christianity is analyzed, it is viewed
without reference to world Christianity and other Christian
traditions. Moreover, the national or ethnic character of Armenian
Christianity is emphasized rather than its position within a larger
Christian context.

Dostourian will present an overview of basic Christianity and
its relationship to the other Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam) as
well as the two major non-Abrahamic world religions (Hinduism and
Buddhism) and place Armenian Christianity within the context of the
three major Christian traditions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and
Protestantism.

A special emphasis will be placed on Armenian Christianity’s
relationship with Orthodox Christianity, as the Armenian tradition is
part of the Oriental Orthodox family of churches (with Syriac,
Coptic, Ethiopian and Indian). Armenian Orthodoxy will be compared
with that of the Eastern Orthodox family (Greek, Russian, Ukrainian,
Serbian, Bulgarian, etc.). Finally, the uniqueness of Armenian
Christianity as a faith that took root in a particular place and
historical context – political, economic and cultural – will be
discussed.

Dostourian received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from Rutgers
University, having earlier received a master of arts degree in
medieval history from Fordham University and a master of divinity
degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge. He is the
author of numerous articles on Armenian history and religion, and is
the translator and editor of “Armenia and the Crusades, 10th to 12th
Centuries: The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa.”

Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The
NAASR bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. Ample parking is available
around the building and in adjacent areas.

For more information call 617-489-1610, or e-mail hq@naasr.org.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress