PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

June 2, 2006
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EASTER CELEBRATION IN THE HOLY LAND: SPIRITUALLY MOVING PILGRIMAGE

By Jake Goshert

Growing up, Anna Martin’s father always told her that visiting Jerusalem was
important.

“When I was a little girl, my father explained that the best time to go to
Jerusalem was the Easter season,” said the North Carolina resident and
native of Egypt whose father was an Armenian Genocide orphan from Khapert.
“And he said that every Armenian should go.”

So when the opportunity came this year to join an Easter pilgrimage to the
Holy Land organized by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern), Martin signed up quickly. Like the other pilgrims, she found the
trip educational and spiritually moving.

Fresh from the success of that spring trip, the Diocese is organizing
another pilgrimage this August, for Sunday and Armenian School educators and
parish youth workers.

WALKING IN CHRIST’S FOOTSTEPS

The focus of any pilgrimage to the Holy Land is to walk in the places where
Christ ministered. Every morning, the 35 participants in the Diocese’s
pilgrimage, which ran from April 17 to 24, held a prayer session. When they
reached their daily destination, they would stop to read appropriate Bible
passages and discuss the importance of the location.

“One of the most moving experiences was on the boat trip into the Sea of
Galilee,” said Martin, a member of the St. Sarkis Church of Charlotte, NC.
“We got to the middle of the sea, and the engines stopped. It was very quiet
and we had a moment of prayer and read from the Bible. That was a powerful,
emotional experience I will never forget.”

The most recent pilgrimage was made more special as it coincided with the
celebration of Easter, which was marked by the Armenian Patriarchate of
Jerusalem a week later than it was in the United States. (The Patriarch
goes by the Julian calendar, thus the date difference.)

“It was phenomenal. It is just so special to be there, in Jerusalem,
anyways, and it was even more special to be there during Holy Week and
Easter,” said pilgrim Richard Cherkerzian Jr. from the St. James Church of
Watertown, MA. “It just affected me on a religious level, to read these
passages from the Bible and then actually be in these spots; to reflect and
pray while we’re literally walking in the footsteps of Christ. It was a
very powerful and moving experience to me.”

NO WORRIES

Though the Holy Land has a strong attraction for any Christian, violent
images on the nightly news can sometimes repel visitors.

“Just go, that’s my immediate thought,” said Cherkerzian when asked what he
would tell possible pilgrims. “I didn’t have any concerns. I never once
felt I was unsafe or that I ought not to be there.”

Another pilgrim on the trip, Jacob Krikorian of the St. George Church of
Hartford, CT, agreed with Martin’s advice to wary potential pilgrims.

“I was never scared — maybe slightly apprehensive, but I didn’t have any
fears when I was there,” he said. “I would encourage people to go: don’t
worry about being afraid. There’s no reason to be afraid. The people who
run the trip take every precaution.”

CONNECTING TO HERITAGE

Armenians have a special connection to the Holy Land: the centuries-old
Armenian quarter and community in Jerusalem.

“I was impressed with the number of Armenian places we visited, sites the
church oversaw,” Krikorian said. “We had a presence in many places I didn’t
know about, and I thought it was interesting to learn about.”

Krikorian had always wanted to travel to the Holy Land, though this was the
first time he was able to go on a pilgrimage.

“I think it’s important for all Armenians to at least try to visit
Jerusalem, if they can,” he said. “We want to show we’re interested in our
heritage, which is so important to us. There’s so much we can learn to
appreciate about our community there, but we need to be educated.”

He was touched by the vitality of the community, noting the participation of
young children in the church services.

“They were so Armenian, so proud to be Armenian, and I was in tears almost
because it was so moving,” he said. “The Armenian spirit is alive and well
in Jerusalem. It really is there.”

He was one of about 10 pilgrims on the trip to follow the venerable Armenian
tradition of getting tattooed with a small cross, as a sign that they made a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

“I have wanted one for 60 years, ever since I met an old man when I was a
kid who was a hadji,” Krikorian said. “I kept thinking about him and where
he went. When I look at it, the tattoo reminds me of Jerusalem, reminds me
that I was a pilgrim.”

It is that unique mixture of religion and Armenian heritage that makes the
Holy Land a constant dream destination for Armenian pilgrims.

“I think everybody should go there at least once,” said Sarkis Gennetian of
the St. James Church of Watertown, MA, who traveled on the pilgrimage with
his wife Jeanette. “It gives you a feeling of the Armenian Quarter and a
sense of Christianity. It is a great opportunity to see the base of our
Armenian Christianity. I think the Holy Land ties together being an
Armenian and Christian, it ties them together.”

IT’S YOUR TURN

This summer can be your turn to travel to the Holy Land with the Eastern
Diocese. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of New York City’s St. Vartan
Cathedral, will lead a special pilgrimage uniquely tailored for Armenian and
Sunday School educators and local parish youth leaders.

“This will be a unique trip, designed to give those Armenians teaching and
leading our youth a strong historical understanding of the Holy Land,” Fr.
Chevian said. “It will also, no doubt, strengthen their personal faith.”

The educational pilgrimage will run from August 20 to 29, 2006. The cost of
$1,848 per person includes round-trip air from New York City, two meals
daily, first-class accommodations, and guided bus tours.

The trip is perfect for Armenian and Sunday School teachers and parish youth
ministry workers who want to experience and understand the historic Armenian
presence in the Holy Land.

For more information or to join the educator pilgrimage, contact Elise
Antreassian, coordinator of Christian education, by calling (212) 686-0710
ext. 57, or by e-mailing elisea@armeniandiocese.org.

6/02/06

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Pilgrims on the Eastern Diocese’s Easter pilgrimage to
the Holy Land meet with His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Armenian
Patriarch of Jerusalem.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Holy Land pilgrims outside the Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem.