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: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
August 16, 2007
PASSING OF JIRAIR S. HOVNANIAN; PRELATE WILL OFFICIATE
AT FUNERAL SERVICES TOMORROW
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate, and the Executive Council received
the news of the passing of Jirair S. Hovnanian with deep sadness. Mr.
Hovnanian died on Tuesday, August 14, at his home in Mount Laurel, New
Jersey. He was 80 years old, a devoted deacon of the Armenian Church, a
pillar of the Eastern Prelacy, and a life-long member of St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, and a generous supporter of the Armenian
Sisters Academy and the Hovnanian School.
The family will receive visitors tonight at Bradley Funeral Home, Route
73 and Evesham Road, Marlton, New Jersey, 6 to 9 pm, and tomorrow morning
9:30 to 11:00 at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, 8701 Ridge Avenue,
Philadelphia. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m., with the Prelate,
Archbishop Oshagan, officiating. Interment is at Lakeview Memorial Park in
Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
Mr. Hovnanian had an optimistic outlook on life that served him well in
his business and personal life. Born in Kirkuk, Iraq, where his father
Stepan K. Hovnanian, an Armenian refugee, was a well-known successful
builder, Mr. Hovnanian was the first of the Hovnanian brothers to come to
the United States in 1948. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School in 1952. His marriage to Elizabeth Vosbikian produced two
sons, Stephen and Peter, both of whom are executives in the building
business founded by their father, J. S. Hovnanian and Sons.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Lil), his sons and
daughters-in-law, Stephen and Nancy, and Peter and Theresa, six
grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He is also survived by his three
brothers and two sisters and their spouses: Kevork and Sirvart Hovnanian,
Hirair and Anna Hovnanian, Vahakn and Hasmig Hovnanian, Ano and Raffi
Missirian, Dido and Sarkis Krikorian, and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers donations are being accepted for The Jirair S. and
Elizabeth Hovnanian Family Foundation, 900 Birchfield Drive, Mt. Laurel, NJ
08054. The Foundation supports charitable programs and academic
scholarships.
May his noble soul rest in peace.
WEEK OF PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION
PRECEDES FEAST DAY
The Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
organized daily prayer and contemplation sessions in the Monastery of St.
Mary in Bikfaya, Lebanon, during the week of August 6 to 10. Bikfaya, a
small town in the mountains of Lebanon, is where the Cilician See’s seminary
and summer residence are located. The sessions began at 10 a.m. each
morning, providing the opportunity for the faithful to embrace the
centuries-old values of the Armenian Church. More than 150 believers
participated each day in the contemplation sessions, which included singing
hymns and reciting prayers written by our church fathers.
These sessions became an opportunity for spiritual renewal and
preparation for the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God last
Sunday which was attended by thousands of the Faithful.
PRELATE AND VICAR WILL VISIT WHITINSVILLE
This Sunday, August 19, Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will
travel to Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to the parish of St. Asdvadzadzin
Church. His Eminence will preside over the Liturgy and the Blessing of the
Grapes. Bishop Anoushavan will be celebrant and preacher.
SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNA
Next Tuesday, August 21, the Armenian Church remembers Saints Joachim
and Anna, parents of Mary, mother of Christ. Very little is known about
them. According to tradition, Joachim and Anna were childless through years
of marriage and were reproached for their barrenness. Joachim fasted forty
days in the desert and both of them prayed for a child, but they placed
their trust in God’s will, whatever it may be. An angel appeared to each of
them, telling them they would be the parents of a child. That child was
Mary, who became mother of Jesus.
IN CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE.
To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
designated 2007 as the Year of the Armenian Language. In celebration of this
year-long tribute, each week we will offer an interesting tidbit about the
Armenian language and literature:
"In the latter part of the tenth century and especially in the eleventh,
at the height of the period of Armenian independence under the Bagratids and
other minor rulers, sumptuous manuscripts were produced for kings, high
dignitaries of the church and other wealthy patrons. . After a lull of more
than a century following the Seljuk invasion, work was again resumed. The
political center was then no longer in Armenia but in Cilicia, on the shores
of the Mediterranean. Large numbers of the population had migrated there
after the conquest of their mother country and they established a barony
which was raised to the status of a kingdom with the coronation of Leo I in
1198. Soon after their arrival the Armenians founded scriptoria in different
monasteries and at the see of the catholicos, the head of the church, at
Hromkla. The art which flourished in these centers had its roots in the
Byzantinizing style of the luxurious manuscripts illustrated in Armenia in
the eleventh century, but Cilician painting was soon to develop along
original lines. Figural representations had at first been limited to the
portraits of the evangelists and to selected Gospel scenes. The latter
increased in number in the manuscripts copied in the course of the
thirteenth century, particularly in those which were illustrated at Hromkla
during the enlightened rule of the catholicos Constantine I, who was a great
patron of the arts. The head of the patriarchal scriptorium was then the
renowned painter T’oros Roslin. Seven manuscripts, signed by him and ranging
in date from 1256 to 1268, are preserved."
>From An Introduction to Armenian Manuscript Illumination: Selections from
the Collection in the Walters Art Gallery, by Sirarpie Der Nersessian,
Baltimore, Maryland, 1974.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, August 16, are: Proverbs 11:30-12:4; Zechariah
2:10-13; 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Luke 1:39-56.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your
midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that
day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall
know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah
as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah
2:10-13)
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
.
ROBERT FULTON AND THE FIRST STEAMBOAT
The first successful steamboat trip took place 200 years ago on August
17, 1807, when Robert Fulton’s Clermont made the trip from New York City to
Albany, thus beginning commercial steam boating on the Hudson River. That
first trip took 32 hours.
Fulton conceived the idea of propelling boats by steam when he was quite
young, perhaps as young as twelve. While others also had the same idea and
were experimenting, he was the first to demonstrate that it could work with
the maiden voyage in 1807.
It has been said that Fulton proposed the idea of a steam ship to
Napoleon, and after listening to the concept, Napoleon incredulously said,
"You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a
bonfire under her deck? Excuse me, I have no time to listen to such
nonsense." Fulton is buried at Trinity Church in the Financial District in
New York City.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
August 19-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church picnic. For information or 508-234-3677.
September 9-Annual picnic of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley at
American Legion Grounds in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
September 9-St. Stephen Church, New Britain, Connecticut, annual picnic at
Quartette Club grounds, New Britain.
September 9-St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 234th Street, Douglaston, New York.
Annual picnic on the church grounds following church services. For
information 718-224-2275.
September 15-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, "The Moon*The
Stars*and All that Jazz." An evening of music and mezze under the stars,
presented by the Ladies Guild. For information 845-735-8713 or 201-445-6867.
September 25-Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, Worcester,
Massachusetts, 4th annual golf outing at Juniper Hill Golf Course,
Northboro, Massachusetts. Registration at 8 am. Tee off at 9 am. $125
includes golf cart, dinner and prizes. For information 508-852-2414.
September 27-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, 5th Annual Golf
Outing at River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey. Registration
begins at 11 a.m. and tee time at 1 p.m. For information, 201-943-2950.
September 29-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, 50th
anniversary banquet at Pleasant Valley. For information
or 508-234-3677.
October 7-St. Stephen Church, New Britain, Connecticut, 82nd Anniversary
banquet, Marriott Hotel, Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
October 7-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, "Hello Ellis
Island," the latest production of The Way We Were Troupe, hosted by the
Ladies Guild, 1 pm. Lunch served. For information 201-943-2950.
October 18, 19, 20, 21-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Annual Food
Festival and Bazaar.
October 21-St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, Philadelphia, celebrating the
20th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, under the
auspices of the Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan. For information
or 215-482-9200.
November 11-37th anniversary of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley and
ordination of Nishan Dagley to the office of acolyte and stole bearer.
Presided over by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the
Prelacy.
November 10-11-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island, annual
"Armenian Fest," at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island. For
information 401-831-6399.
November 17-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 43rd Anniversary
Banquet.
December 1-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church bazaar. For information or 508-234-3677.
December 9-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
celebration. For information, (617) 924-7562.
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