PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: info@armenianprelacy.org
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
APRIL 20, 2006
MONDAY APRIL 24 IS THE 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
DIVINE LITURGY AND REQUIEM SERVICE ON SUNDAY
AT ST. ILLUMINATOR’S CATHEDRAL, NEW YORK CITY;
REQUIEM SERVICE ON MONDAY EVENING
His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan will preside at the Divine
Liturgy and Requiem Service at the Martyrs Altar at St. Illuminator
Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New York City, on Sunday, April 23, beginning
at 10:30 a.m. V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, will
officiate, assisted by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of the Cathedral.
Immediately after the Requiem Service, His Eminence together with the
clergy and faithful will proceed to Times Square to participate in the
commemoration that is expected to attract a large number of people.
His Eminence and clergy of the metropolitan area parishes will offer a
Solemn Requiem Service at the Cathedral’s Martyrs Altar on Monday, April 24,
at 7:30 pm, in memory of the one and one-half million martyrs.
2006 GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION AT CITY HALL
IN NEW YORK CITY WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW
Archbishop Oshagan will participate in the commemoration tomorrow,
Friday, April 21, organized by the City Council of New York together with
the Armenian National Committee of New York, and the Friends of ANC, 6 to 9
p.m. The commemoration is sponsored by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
and City Council members Melinda Katz and Peter Vallone, Jr., and will take
place in the City Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall. In
addition to speakers there will be a musical presentation, and an Armenian
Genocide photo exhibit from the archives of Project SAVE. Buses will depart
from the Armenian Center in Woodside, NY, St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston,
NY, and Baruir’s Grocery in Sunnyside, NY. For details contact the ANC of
New York, 718-651-1530.
GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION AT TIMES SQUARE
We have just been informed that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will join
the many other dignitaries who will attend the Times Square commemoration
organized by the Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan, on Sunday,
April 23, beginning at 2 pm. The event is co-sponsored by ArmenPac, the
Armenian Assembly, the AGBU, with the participation of area churches and
organizations. The Times Square Gathering is supported by 155 members of the
U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues. National, state and local
dignitaries will participate as well as scholars and artists. Political
dignitaries scheduled to attend include Senator Charles E. Schumer;
Representative Frank Pallone, Jr.; Representative Scott Garret;
Representative Anthony D. Weiner; NJ Assemblywoman Joan M. Voss; New York
State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi. Buses will be departing from various areas
in New York and New Jersey. For information: 516-627-6687, 718-777-7765,
201-265-1275.
GENOCIDE OBSERVANCE ON CAPITOL HILL
Archbishop Oshagan will participate in the 11th annual ANCA Armenian
Genocide Observance on Capital Hill, which will take place Wednesday, April
26. Armenian Americans from around the Untied States will join with members
of Congress on Capitol Hill to mark the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.
DOCUMENTARY TO BE SHOWN IN TROY
The Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church and the Albany chapter of the
Armenian National Committee are sponsoring the showing of “The Armenian
Genocide,” the PBS documentary that was shown on most PBS stations this past
Monday.
The showing of the documentary, which will take place Sunday, April 23, 1
pm, at Holy Cross Church, 101 Spring Ave., Troy, New York, will be followed
by a discussion led by Rev. Fr. Bedros Shetilian, pastor of the church, and
Antranig Karageozian, chairman of the ANC Albany chapter.
MERRIMACK VALLEY COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAM
The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of the Merrimack Valley,
Massachusetts, will present “The Denied Genocide,” on Sunday, April 23, 3 pm
at the North Andover High School auditorium. The main speaker is Stephen
Kurkjian, Boston Globe journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner. A cultural
presentation will be offered by the Armenian School students of St. Gregory
Church, North Andover. For information, 978-685-5038.
VICAR ATTENDS WCC-US MEETING
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, attended a meeting of
the United States Conference of the World Council of Churches, which took
place April 18 at the Interchurch Center in New York City.
Hayr Anoushavan was recently appointed Ecumenical Officer for the Eastern
and Western Prelacies by His Holiness Aram I. He will continue to serve as
the Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy.
VICAR WILL ATTEND PRAYER FOR PEACE IN D.C.
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan will attend the 2006 International Prayer for
Peace on April 26 and 27 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The event is sponsored by the Community of San’Egidio, the Archdiocese of
Washington, Georgetown University, and The Catholic University of America.
This gathering will feature religious and civic leaders from around the
world and will mark the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s historic
interfaith gathering for peace in Assisi. This is the first time that this
annual event, the largest regularly held interfaith gathering in the world,
will take place in the United States.
COMMUNION AND EASTER FESTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
AT ST. GREGORY IN PHILLY
Last Saturday, April 15, St. Gregory the Illuminator Sunday School of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, held its annual Easter Communion, breakfast, and
egg hunt. An unprecedented number of students and children, ages three
through eighteen, attended the early morning service.
Prior to the service, the pastor of the church, Rev. Fr. Nerses
Manoogian, using a red dyed Easter egg as a prop, gave a brief history of
the Armenian tradition of the red colored egg and how it relates to the
Resurrection.
Assisting Der Hayr on the Altar for Holy Communion were Derek Dervishian
and Evan Mazmanian. Reading the confession on behalf of the penitents were
three of the older students, Abbie Bass, Rita Komrokian, and Jorin Schug.
Following Holy Communion, everyone convened in Terhanian Hall for a
delicious breakfast, donated, prepared and served by the Ladies’ Guild. The
morning event ended with the traditional Easter Egg Hunt outdoors with the
children running happily to see how many eggs they could collect.
(Reported by Jeanette Nazarian)
TIME MAGAZINE’S SELECTIONS
TIME magazine asked earlier honorees whom they would select as the
world’s most influential people. In the April 17 issue, Pulitzer Prize
winning author Samantha Power nominated Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. She
wrote: “He has acknowledged his homeland’s genocide against the Armenians
and nearly got himself arrested before the Turks decided their commitment to
and pride in their greatest writer exceeded a commitment to killers who died
almost a century ago.”
PAN-ARMENIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE IN ANTELIAS
The Third Pan-Armenian Writers’ Conference ended on April 9 at the
Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. The president of the Writers’
Union of Armenian, Levon Ananian, thanked His Holiness Aram I on behalf of
the participants. Mr. Ananian expressed his gratitude not only for the
organization of the conference, but for the love, support, care and
commitment that the Pontiff shows towards Armenian writers and culture. The
conference was the initiative of the Writers’ Union of Armenia in
cooperation with the Assembly of Lebanese-Armenian Writers. More than 300
Armenian writers from Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh, Lebanon, the Middle East,
Europe, Northern and Southern America, Canada and Australia gathered in
Antelias to participate in the conference.
In his concluding remarks, His Holiness proposed that in the future more
time be reserved for discussion sessions, which should include more
questions than statements. He suggested penetrating into the heart of the
presented topics and bringing problems clearly into the spotlight. His
Holiness said that we must bravely face difficult and sensitive issues
rather than ignoring them. As an example he mentioned the issue of
dictation, noting that as one of the strong factors of the Armenian nation’s
unity, the matter needs to be discussed. He also spoke about the
deterioration in the quality in all fields of Armenian literature and called
for establishing a new level of quality with collective efforts and
commitment.
YELLOW RIBBON CAMPAIGN TO PROTEST
RECALL OF AMBASSADOR JOHN EVANS
A press release we received today informs us of a “Yellow ribbon campaign
to protest the recall of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans for
publicly acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. The campaign is organized by a
recently formed ad-hoc group based in Armenia called, “Armenian Americans in
Armenia and Friends.”
On April 24, when hundreds of thousands of people will converge on the
Tsitzernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan, the Yellow Ribbon Campaign will
commence by participants tying yellow ribbons on 100-meter long ropes
stretched along the walking path leading to the Genocide Monument.
THIS SUNDAY IS “NEW SUNDAY”
Easter Sunday is followed by a period of fifty days (Hinoonk) during
which there are no fasting days or saints days. This period, from the
Resurrection to Pentecost (Hogegaloost) is dedicated to the glorification of
the Resurrection. Each of the seven Sundays of Hinoonk has a separate name.
This Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, is called New Sunday (Nor
Kiraki), since the first day of the week through Christ’s resurrection
became consecrated and Sunday became a dominical day. By virtue of its being
the eighth day of Easter and a day similar to Easter, it is also called
Second Easter (Grgnazadig).
LET US ALSO REMEMBER THE PRESENT
Certainly we need not remind anyone that Monday is April 24-a solemn day
of remembrance for Armenians all over the world. The first six items in this
week’s Crossroads are directly related to April 24th and the various
commemorations that will take place in our area.
What does need reminding is that genocide, unfortunately, is not just
something of the past, but very much of the present, and we above others
have an obligation to be involved.
The Save Darfur Coalition will have a rally at the U.S. Capitol on April
30, beginning at 1:30 pm. The rally is part of their “Million Voices for
Darfur” campaign which has a goal of one million postcards addressed and
delivered to President Bush, urging him to take steps to stop the genocide
in Darfur. For more information go to:
Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times who is of Armenian
ancestry, last week won a Pulitzer Prize for his many columns that have
brought international attention to the genocide in Darfur. He is a frequent
traveler to troubled areas and a voice for those who have no voice.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April 21-2006 Genocide commemoration at City Hall, New York City, sponsored
by the New York City Council and the Armenian National Committee of New York
and Friends of ANC. For details, 718-651-1530.
April 23-Commemoration of the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at
Times Square-the crossroads of the world. Organized by the Mid-Atlantic
Knights and Daughters of Vartan, co-sponsored by ArmenPac and with
participation of area Armenian organizations. Featuring Prof. Israel W.
Charny, Andrew Goldberg, Edward Korkoian, Asien Surmeian, Annie Totah, Aram
Hamparian, Curtis Sliwa, and more. More details to follow.
April 29-Presentation by comedian Vahe Berberian at St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York. For details 718-224-2275.
May 5-Reunion of all students beginning from the 1930s who attended St.
Illuminator Armenian School in New York. Dinner Dance at Terrace on the
Park, Corona, NY. For reservations or information contact the St.
Illuminator’s Day School, 718-478-4073.
May 7-Mothers’ Day celebration at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.
May 8-Mothers’ Day Luncheon by Prelacy Ladies Guild, St. Regis, New York
City.
May 12-Exhibition of the works of artist Emma Gregoryan at the Prelacy, 138
E. 39th Street, New York City.
May 13-Dinner-Dance organized by the St. Sarkis Church Ping-Pong Club. For
details 718-224-2275.
May 17-19-National Representative Assembly (NRA), hosted by Sts. Vartanantz
Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey. Concluding reception and banquet will take
place Friday, May 19, at the Fort Lee Hilton, Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Reception at 7 pm, followed by dinner. For information/reservations: Sts.
Vartanantz Church office, 201-943-2950.
May 16 and 17-Conference of Yeretzgeens in conjunction with the National
Representative Assembly, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New
Jersey.
May 20-Year-end Hantes for Sunday School and Saturday School, St. Sarkis
Church, Douglaston, New York. For information, 718-224-2275.
June 4-16th Anniversary Celebration of the new St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York. For information, 718-224-2275.
July 22-Ladies Guild of Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island,
and Ani Chapter of Armenian Relief Society co-host gala dance at Greek
Orthodox Annunciation Church. For information, 401-286-8107.
September 28-4th Annual Golf Outing hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey. Bergen Hills Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey.
For reservations and/or information: 201-943-2950.
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