PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Communications Officer
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:
September 23, 2004
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Week of September 17 to September 23, 2004
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PRIMATE TO CELEBRATE WITH HARTFORD CHURCH

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), will travel to Hartford, CT, this weekend
to help the St. George Church celebrate its name day and its 51st
anniversary.

Fr. Gomidas Zohrabian, pastor of the St. George Church, will celebrate a
special Divine Liturgy at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 25, 2004,
which is the Feast of St. George. That will be followed by the blessing
of the madagh.

The Primate will visit the parish on Sunday, September 26, 2004. He
will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at 10:15 a.m. That will be followed
by a banquet marking the church’s 51st anniversary at the Colonnade
Banquet Center in Glastonbury, CT. The parish’s Armenian School
students will perform Armenian songs and recite poetry, and the guest
speaker will be Jeff Masarjian, executive director of the Armenia Tree
Project.

The St. George Church is located at 22 White St. in Hartford, CT.

(Source: St. George Church, 9/23/04)
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SUNDAY IS THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS OF VARAK

In communion with other churches, the Armenian Church celebrates three
feasts associated with the Holy Cross: the Discovery of the Cross, the
Apparition of the Cross, and the Exaltation of the Cross. But the
Armenian Church has one unique cross celebration, the Feast of the Holy
Cross of Varak, which will be marked on Sunday (9/26).

The feast commemorates the apparition of the Holy Cross near the
historic Armenian city of Van in the mountains of Varak, possibly in the
year 660 A.D. For more, click to our website:
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(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/23/04)
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KHRIMIAN LYCEUM OPENS SATURDAY IN NYC, BOSTON, CHICAGO

The Diocese’s Khrimian Lyceum, a six-year educational program for parish
Armenian School graduates, begins Saturday (9/25). The program started
in New York City, and this year will be the second year for the
program’s expansion in the Boston and Chicago areas. For more
information on the program, and how to sign up, click to our website:
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(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/23/04)
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PRIMATE REPRESENTS CHURCH AT INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

On Monday (9/20), Archbishop Barsamian delivered the benediction during
the annual Appeal of Conscience Foundation Awards Dinner. The
international ecumenical organization presented awards to the prime
minister of Sweeden, the chairman of HSBC Holdings, and the chairman of
the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. For more on the Primate’s
role at this event, click to our website:
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This was one of several recent programs the Primate attended as a
representative of the Armenian Church. On September 13, 2004, he and
Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Vartan Cathedral, were among the 15
clergymen invited to attend a special prayer service to mark the opening
of the United Nations General Assembly. The prayer service, at the Holy
Family Catholic Church, was organized by Edward Cardinal Egan, the Roman
Catholic Archbishop of New York City. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
spoke during the service, which brought together ambassadors, as well as
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, The Vatican’s Nuncio to the United
Nations.

Fr. Chevian also represented the Primate at the 12th “Path to Peace”
award ceremony on Monday (9/20), which honored Roman Catholic Cardinal
Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s secretary of state.

(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/23/04)
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FIND SOMETHING TO DO

This weekend, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and the Diocesan College
Ministry program will both be reaching out to parishes in New Jersey.
The seminary will send its seminarians to the St. Mary Church of
Livingston, NJ; while Jason Demerjian, Diocesan College Ministry
facilitator, will meet with parishioners at the St. Leon Church in Fair
Lawn, NJ.

If you’re not in New Jersey, don’t worry, there’s plenty going on
throughout the Diocese. From a special speaker on the topic of
stewardship in Cambridge, MA, to a performance by the Shushi Dance
Ensemble in Wynnewood, PA, to a gala concert in Providence, RI — find
details on those and many more events throughout the Diocese by clicking
to our website’s Calendar of Events:

If your parish has something to list on the highly viewed Calendar of
Events, e-mail the details to info@armenianchurch.org.

(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/23/04)
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MAKE PLANS FOR COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND

Columbus Day Weekend (10/8-10/11) is fast approaching, and there are
three great events to get involved in this year. But you need to make
your plans today to save your spot.

The St. Nersess Seminary will hold a special weekend retreat exploring
the uniquely Armenian “Service of the Oil-Bearing Women,” a beautiful
weekly remembrance of Christ’s resurrection. The weekend is
specifically designed for deacons and altar servers, but is open to
everyone. It will be at the Diocesan Ararat Center in Greenville, NY.
Registration deadline is October 1. For more information, visit the St.
Nersess Seminary website:

The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) will bring its
Archbishop’s Basketball Tournament to the Holy Trinity Church of
Cambridge, MA, on Columbus Day weekend. With sports, a dance, a Divine
Liturgy, and sightseeing, the weekend is a wonderful chance for 18- to
28-year-old Armenians to make new friends and get together with old
ones. Registration deadline is tomorrow (9/24). For more information
and to register, click to the ACYOA website:

Younger parishioners are invited to attend the ACYOA Jrs. Sports
Weekend, hosted by the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of Providence, RI.
The weekend, for students between the ages of 13 and 18, will feature
games, a dance, an educational session, and a banquet presided over by
Archbishop Barsamian. The official registration deadline is tomorrow
(9/24). For more information, contact your parish priest.

(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/23/04)
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