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
March 15, 2007
PRELATE WILL TRAVEL TO LEBANON
The Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan, will leave New York tomorrow and travel
to Lebanon where he will attend a meeting of all of the Prelates under the
jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. The meeting, called by His
Holiness Aram I, will concentrate on ecclesiastical, liturgical, and
administrative matters. The Prelates will also coordinate the functions that
are planned in celebration of the "Year of the Armenian Language."
The Prelates will participate in the weeklong pilgrimage leading to the
commemoration of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s commitment to the pit, which
is on Sunday, March 24. The week will be marked with daily morning and
evening services and the traditional procession and blessing of the relics
of St. Gregory and other saints. Consecrated relics of St. Gregory are kept
in Holy Etchmiadzin and at the Holy See of Cilicia. Thousands of pilgrims
come to the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Antelias to
participate in the procession.
VICAR WILL BE IN CONNECTICUT
Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, will visit the parish of St.
Stephen in New Britain, Connecticut, this Sunday, March 18, where he will
preside over the Liturgy and attend the parish’s general membership meeting.
Mr. Hagop Khatchadourian will attend the meeting as a representative of the
Prelacy’s Executive Council.
VICAR WILL HOST WCC STAFF MEMBER AT PRELACY
Bishop Anoushavan, Vicar General, will host a reception for Dr. Geiko
Muller-Fahrenholz, a staff member of the World Council of Churches (WCC),
who is currently visiting the United States. The reception will take place
at the Prelacy next Wednesday afternoon, March 21. Dr. Muller-Fahrenholz is
meeting with member churches to discuss the upcoming International
Ecumenical Peace Convocation and other projects related to the WCC’s Decade
to Overcome Violence.
Dr. Muller-Fahrenholz is the author of America’s Battle for God: A
European Christian Looks at Civil Religion, published recently by Eerdman’s
Publishing.
PRELACY LENTEN MEDITATIONS CONTINUE
The third of the six Prelacy Lenten Meditations took place yesterday
evening, Wednesday, March 14. The 2007 Prelacy Lenten program focuses on the
seven vices and seven virtues. Last evening, Professor Michael Papazian,
Associate Professor of Philosophy at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, spoke
about "Sloth and Diligence." Professor Papazian began his lecture with an
explanation of the origins of the vices and virtues, explaining that the
current list of seven sins derived from a list of eight "evil thoughts"
first presented by the fourth century ascetic Evagrius of Pontus. One of
those eight was the sin of akadia, meaning "indifferent" and "apathetic,"
which eventually turned into the modern sin of sloth.
Next Wednesday, Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC), will continue the series on the seven vices and
virtues by offering his meditation on "Greed and Charity."
The annual Lenten series is sponsored by the Prelacy Ladies Guild, the
St. Illuminator’s Ladies Guild, and the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC). All of the programs take place at St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York City, with the following general
schedule: Lenten Service at 7:30 pm; Lecture at 8 pm, followed by a light
Lenten meal and fellowship.
MUSICAL ARMENIA
The 2007 Musical Armenia concert will take place Sunday, March 25, 2 pm,
at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City. Tickets are $25.
Featured artists are bass Serge Barseghyan (accompanied by Evan Solomon)
and the Ararat Trio, comprised of Patil Harboyan, piano; Van Armenian,
violin; and Hrant Parsamian, cello.
Serge Barseghyan has appeared as a soloist in the United States and
Europe, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Barcelona, and Valencia.
Patil Harboyan was awarded first prize at the Margo Babikian Piano
Competition in Lebanon and the Armenian Allied Arts Association Competition
in Los Angeles. Van Armenian has served as concertmaster of the Pacific
Music Festival Orchestra in Japan and of the Colorado-based National
Repertory Orchestra. Hrant Parsamian was awarded highest prizes at the
Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition and the Olga Koussevitzky
Competition.
The Musical Armenia concerts have been presented since 1982. Its goal is
to showcase the talents of young Armenian artists. If you would like to
purchase tickets and/or become a sponsor of this year’s Musical Armenia
concert please contact the Prelacy at 212-689-7810 or by e-mail to
sophie@armenianprelacy.org.
2007 DATEV INSTITUTE SUMMER PROGRAM
The 21st annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute Christian summer studies
program will take place July 1 to 8 in Elverson, Pennsylvania.
40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORDINATION OF
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN CHOLOYAN
The 40th anniversary of the ordination of our Prelate, Archbishop
Oshagan Choloyan, will take place in three different regions as follows:
On Saturday, May 5, the first of the three celebrations will take place
at The Marriott in Providence, Rhode Island, with the participation of all
of the parishes in New England, Connecticut, and Troy, New York.
On Saturday, May 12, the second celebration will take place at the The
Marriott at Glenpointe, in Teaneck, New Jersey, with the participation of
all of the parishes in the Mid Atlantic, which includes New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
The final celebration will take place during the National Representative
Assembly (NRA) which is being hosted by St. Sarkis Church in Dearborn,
Michigan. This will take place on Friday, May 18, at Double Tree Hotel in
Dearborn, with the participation of the parishes in the Mid-West, as well as
the NRA delegates and guests.
SUNDAY OF THE JUDGE
Our journey through Great Lent continues. This Sunday, March 18, the
fifth Sunday of Lent, is the "Sunday of the Judge" (Datavori Kiraki). The
Gospel reading on this day describes the parable told by Jesus about a widow
and a judge (Luke 18:2-5). The judge in this parable is seen as hard-hearted
without principles, fear of God, or regard for people. A widow of the same
town has been ill-treated and she has come to the judge for justice.
Although her cause is just, he does not pay attention to her case. However,
she persists in coming with the same appeal until at last the judge decides
to see that she gets justice. He does this not because he cares for justice,
but in order to get rid of the widow.
The message of this parable is that in life one must persevere and
pursue righteousness relentlessly with confidence that perseverance will be
rewarded. The parable especially teaches the importance of perseverance in
prayer.
FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTIA
This Saturday, March 17, the Armenian Church commemorates the memory of
the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia. Although the background and identity of the
forty young soldiers are not certain, it is believed that they came from
Lesser Armenia. They served in the Roman army in the regions of Cappadocia.
In a general purge of Christians from the ranks, it became rumored that in
Sebastia there was an elite military unit whose members were Christian.
Forty youths of the unit confirmed being Christian and remained steadfast to
their faith. The young soldiers were tried and condemned to stoning.
Miraculously, when the sentence was being carried out, the stones would not
reach the intended targets, but rather came back striking those throwing the
stones. The young soldiers were than thrown into a frozen lake and forced to
stay there, with the admonition that if they would renounce their faith they
would be allowed to come out of the cold water and into a warm bath. Of the
forty, one chose to accept this offer, but he died nevertheless. As one by
one the youths died, halos came down upon them. Seeing this, one of the
guards threw himself into the lake and joined the thirty-nine bringing the
number to forty again.
Subsequently, some of our great church fathers like Basil, Gregory of
Nyssa, Ephraem the Assyrian, and Sisian of Sebastia, wrote panegyrics about
the forty martyrs. Their memory is commemorated each year during Lent on the
Saturday following the Median day of Lent (Meechink), which was yesterday.
The Armenians have also built and named churches in their memory in various
parts of the world.
AREC DIRECTOR WILL LECTURE AT ST. SARKIS
Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian Religious Education
Council (AREC) will lecture at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, on
Sunday, March 18, following the Mid-Lent traditional luncheon prepared and
served by the Ladies Guild. Dn. Shant’s topic is, "Great Lent: A Biblical
Map for our Journey of Faith." For information contact the church office,
718-224-2275.
IN CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE.
"The hymnal of the Armenian Church, known in Armenian as the Sharaknots,
is, above all, a collection of spiritual poetry and sacred songs. No
anthology of ancient Armenian literature can be considered complete without
the inclusion of this genre. Until the tenth century, Armenian written
poetry consisted almost entirely of spiritual songs, the best specimens of
which are preserved in the Sharaknots. It is also a treasure of the Armenian
language. Considering that a significant part of it was created in the fifth
century and thus contains (according to Ghazar Parpetsi) the very first
authentic works written by genuine Armenian authors, it follows that these
very early songs constitute a prime source for the study of the nascent
literary language and shed light on our understanding of the linguistic
characteristics of the Golden Age.
"Of all forms of Armenian poetry, the sharakan (hymn) is more or less
the most singular and mysterious: singular in its nature, mysterious in its
subject matter and spirituality. This unique genre, which expresses
religious emotions and is intended to be sung chorally, has an important
place in the Armenian liturgy and religious literature. Poems included in
this category are dedicated to feast days of the Lord and those of the
apostles and saints; they are intended to glorify God the Creator, the
Incarnation of Christ, and the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Each feast day
has its specific chants, which is probably why the genre came to be called
sharakan." [The word sharakan literally means "arranged in order or
sequence."]
The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Volume II, Wayne State University Press
The Pontifical Message issued by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia, proclaiming 2007 as the Year of the Armenian
Language is on the Prelacy’s web page.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, March 15, is I Corinthians 8:5-9-23.
For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as indeed
there are many "gods" and many "lords"-yet for us there is one God, the
Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." I
Corinthians 8:5-6
FILM AT MOMA
A film, Stone, Time, Touch, directed by Garine Torossian and featuring
Arsine Khanjian, is being shown tonight at 6:30 pm, at the Museum of Modern
Art (MOMA) in New York City, and on Monday, March 19, at 8:30 pm. The film
is described as a "richly lensed and layered diary of a filmmaker’s journey
to Armenia to reconnect with her roots." The 70-minute film is in English
and Armenian with English subtitles. The musical score is provided by Zulal,
the popular Armenian a cappella trio.
A CORRECTION
Last week’s item about the Armenian Churches Sports Association (ACSA)
had an error in the teams competing in the Men’s division championship. It
should have read "St. Vartan Cathedral vs. St. Sarkis Church."
BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH
Today, March 15, is the Ides of March. The warning, "Beware the Ides of
March," was a given to Julius Caesar as impending danger before his
assassination.
"What is still more extraordinary, many report that a certain soothsayer
forewarned him of a great danger which threatened him on the ides of March
and that when the day was come, as he was going to the senate-house, he
called to the soothsayer, and said, laughing: ‘The ides of March are come";
to which the soothsayer answered, softy, ‘Yes, but they are not gone.’ "
Plutarch’s Julius Caesar (Langhorne translation).
ARRIVAL OF SPRING!
Next Wednesday, March 21, is the first day of spring. We remember the
words of our late father, an extraordinary gardener, that the sugar snap
peas must be planted by St. Patrick’s Day (March 17).We used to eat the pea
pods right off the vine-raw, sweet, crisp, and so delicious.
SPRING
O mild breeze, all through the early morning
You blow so gently, so soft, so cool,
Tenderly over the flowers
Over the maiden’s fine-spun hair.
Yet if you’re not a breeze from my homeland,
Pass on and away from my heart, be gone.
First stanza of "Spring," by Mgrdich Beshiktashlian (1829-1868)
Translated by Aram Tolegian
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
February 21 to March 28-2007 Prelacy Lenten Program, to be held at St.
Illuminator’s Cathedral, New York City, Wednesday evenings during Great
Lent. Lenten service at 7:30 pm; Lecture and Q/A at 8 pm; Lenten meal and
fellowship at 8:45 pm. Theme: Seven Vices and Seven Virtues.
March 18-Membership meeting, St. Stephen Church, New Britain, Connecticut.
March 18-"Great Lent: A Biblical Map for our Journey of Faith," by Deacon
Shant Kazanjian, director of AREC, at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New
York, following Mid-Lent traditional luncheon. For information 718-224-2275.
March 25-Musical Armenia 2007, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 2 pm.
Sponsored by Prelacy Ladies Guild. Featured performers are: vocalist Serge
Barseghyan (bass); and Ararat Trio (Van Armenian, violin; Paul Harboyan,
piano; Hrant Parsamian, cello).
April 1-Ladies Guild Annual Palm Sunday Bake Sale, St. Stephen’s Church,
Watertown, Massachusetts.
April 14-Ladies Guild Comedy Night featuring Mel Gibson, Meze and dessert
will be served, St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts. For
information, 617-924-7562.
May 5-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in the
New England area will take place in Providence, Rhode Island.
May 6-30th anniversary of St. Illuminator’s Armenian Day School, Terrace on
the Park, Corona, New York, at 5 pm.
May 7-Prelacy Ladies Guild Mothers’ Day Luncheon, St. Regis Hotel, New York
City.
May 12-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in Mid
Atlantic area will take place at the Marriott at Glenpointe, Teaneck, New
Jersey.
May 12-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, 50th anniversary concert
featuring Onnik Dinkjian and John Berberian.
May 12-Armenian Dance party, St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard,
Massachusetts.
May 18-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in
Midwest will take place at the National Representative Assembly.
May 20-"Hello Ellis Island" and Reception, St. Stephen’s Church Hall,
Watertown, Massachusetts. $20 per person. Information, 617-924-7562.
July 1-8-St. Gregory of Datev Institute, 21st annual summer Christian
studies program for junior and senior high school students, at St. Mary of
Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania.
August 7-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual golf
tournament at Blackstone Country Club.
August 19-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church picnic.
September 29-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, 50th
anniversary banquet at Pleasant Valley.
December 1-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church bazaar.
December 9-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
celebration. For information, (617) 924-7562.
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