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

October 4, 2007

ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL ATTEND
HRASHAPAR SERVICE TONIGHT FOR
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS
The Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan, will participate in the Hrashapar
Service tonight at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York City, to welcome His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, who
arrived in New York yesterday for a Pontifical Visit to the Eastern Diocese.
The service is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm. A public reception will take
place in Kavookjian Hall following the service.

PRELATE WILL ATTEND AFUSA’S 15TH ANNIVERSARY
Archbishop Oshagan will attend the banquet celebrating the 15th
anniversary of the Armenia Fund USA, Saturday evening, at the United Nations
Delegates’ Dining Room, in New York.

82nd ANNIVERSARY OF NEW BRITAIN CHURCH
Archbishop Oshagan will travel to New Britain, Connecticut, on Sunday
and join the parishioners of St. Stephen’s Church in the celebration of
their 82nd anniversary. His Eminence will celebrate the Divine Liturgy on
Sunday, October 7, and preside over the 82nd anniversary banquet which will
take place at the Marriott, Rocky Hill, Connecticut. During the Liturgy His
Eminence will ordain Sub-Deacon Richard Meyer to the rank of Deacon.

BISHOP ANOUSHAVAN IN VENEZUELA
Bishop Anoushavan departed today for Venezuela where he will participate
in the 40th Anniversary of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in
Caracas. His Grace, who is Vicar of the Prelacy and the Ecumenical Officer
in the United States for the Catholicosate of Cilicia, will preside over the
40th anniversary banquet Saturday evening, October 6, and will celebrate the
Divine Liturgy and deliver the sermon on Sunday, October 7.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS
A conference for Sunday school teachers will take place October 26-28 at
the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard, a Coptic Orthodox Retreat Center in
Charlton, Massachusetts. The theme of the conference is "Prayer-Personal and
Communal," and will feature presentations by Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian,
Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, Ph.D., Dn. Shant Kazanjian, and Dr. Mary Olson. A
modest fee of $60 covers all expenses including lodging for two nights, five
meals and refreshments. For detailed information click

N EW SERIES OF BIBLE STUDY AT THE PRELACY
A new five-part series of Bible studies ("from Jesus’ meals with sinners
to the Lord’s Supper") will take place at the Prelacy beginning on October
16 and continue on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, from 7:15 to
8:45 pm. Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian Religious Education
Council (AREC) will conduct the Bible studies. For information and
registration, send email to arec@armenianprelacy.org or telephone
212-689-7810.

FIRST OF A SERIES OF BOOKLETS IS PUBLISHED
The first in a series of booklets on contemporary ethical issues was
published this week. The entire series is being written by Vigen Guroian,
the well-known theologian and professor at Loyola College in Maryland. All
of the booklets are written from an Armenian Orthodox perspective.
The first booklet is, "Homosexuality and Same-Sex Union." Forthcoming
topics include: Marriage and Divorce; Procreation and Reproductive
Technology; Abortion; Genetic Screening and Genetic Technology; Suicide and
Euthanasia; Organ Donation and Cremation.
Professor Guroian will make a presentation on this important series, and
specifically on the first booklet just published, on Friday evening,
November 16, at the Vahakn and Hasmig Hovnanian Reception Hall at the
Prelacy in New York City.
This series of booklets by the Eastern Prelacy’s Armenian Religious
Education Council is being underwritten by Elza and Haig Didizian in memory
of His Holiness Karekin I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians.

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY IN ANTELIAS
The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, visited the
Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, on Friday, September 28,
where he met with His Holiness Aram I. His Holiness hosted a dinner in the
Archbishop’s honor at the Monastery of St. Mary in Bikfaya. Members of the
Archbishop’s entourage, the Cilician Brotherhood, and the Catholicosate’s
Central Executive Committee attended.

CATHOLICOS ARAM DELIVERS KEYNOTE LECTURE IN BERLIN
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I delivered the keynote lecture at the
International Conference in Berlin in honor of Bishop W. Huber, the
Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The Pontiff’s lecture
was entitled, "Catholicity: Its Implications and Challenges." He emphasized
the christocentric nature and missionary dimension of catholicity and
challenged the prevailing perception of catholicity considering it as a mere
mark of the church.

HOLY PRINCES SAHAK AND HAMAZASP REMEMBERED TODAY
Today, Thursday, October 4, the Armenian Church commemorates the lives
of two princes: Sahak and Hamazasp. The two holy princes lived during the
reign of Emperior Leo and Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople and during
the pontificate of Catholicos Nerses. It was a time of intense Arab
domination. The governorship had been given to Hamazasp, who was from the
Ardzrouni dynasty. He had two brothers, Sahag and Merouzhan. All three were
considered brave men and dedicated Christians, but there were evil forces
against them. The Arab leader, Harun, summoned them, ostensibly in
friendship. Instead when they came before him, the princes were given a
choice of forsaking their faith in Christ or being tortured to death.
Merouzhan renounced Christ and was given authority to rule over the province
of Vasbouragan. Sahak and Hamazasp remained steadfast. Both were martyred.
"I thank you, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made us worthy of
dying for your holy name and kept firm our hope in you. You gladdened us
with your consoling Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Glory to you, holy and
consubstantial Trinity, who made my brother distinguish himself earlier by
defeating the adversary; you likewise hearten me by means of this
overflowing cup, Sahag’s blood. O Lord, listen to my prayer through the
shedding of your servant’s blood, who willingly took it upon himself to die
for your great and glorious name. Listen, Lord, to the supplication of your
servant and make my blood worthy to be mixed with that of my brother in
honor of the holy blood which you shed for us. For your name is indeed
glorified through the witness of this labor of our martyrdom. For yours is
dominion and glory forever and ever. Amen."
Prayer by St. Hamazasp
Translation from, The Light of the World: Lives of Armenian Saints, St.
Vartan Press, New York.

72 HOLY DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
This Saturday, October 6, the Armenian Church commemorates the 72 Holy
Disciples of Christ. The reference comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter
10, verse 1: "After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on
ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to
go." (Some versions of the Gospel say 72, rather than 70).
The tradition of the church confirms that these disciples remained true
to the Lord and their calling, and spread the Gospel. They were not random
choices, but rather true disciples whose labors carried the message of the
Lord throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. All of the saints are
remembered individually in the liturgical calendar of the church, but this
day is set aside to remember them collectively. The number 70 is also
considered to be a reference to Genesis, which speaks of 70 nations of the
world.

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, October 4, are: Wisdom 6:11-21; Jeremiah
17:7-8; Romans 8:18-26; John 16:1-4
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They
shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the
year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
.

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:
F. C. Conybeare, the well-known English scholar and a distinguished
armenologist, was deeply convinced of the high value of the Armenian
translation. Speaking of the Old Testament he says: "For beauty of diction
and accuracy of rendering the Armenian cannot be surpassed. The genius of
the language is such as to admit a translation of any Greek document both
literal and graceful; true to the order of the Greek, and even reflecting
its compound words, yet without being slavish, and without violence to its
own idiom. We are seldom in doubt as to what stood in the Armenian’s Greek
text; therefore his version has almost the same value for us as the Greek
text itself, from which he worked, would possess. The same criticism is true
of the Armenian New Testament as well."
A recent study in the text of the Armenian version, done in a most
thorough and masterly fashion, has confirmed the above statement. This time
an Estonian scholar in exile, Arthur Voobus, professor at the Chicago
Lutheran Theological Seminary, has made an exhaustive investigation into the
Armenian version in his imposing work, Early Versions of the New Testament.
He tells us that "The ancient translators and revisers found this idiom.
(i.e. the Armenian language) to be an excellent instrument. To be sure, the
Armenian language is poorer with regard to some verbal forms, and which are
substituted by others; it is also poorer as to the particles and
participles, but it has many advantages. It has three definite articles; it
displays a great freedom in word-order, in some respects its flexibility
surpassing even that of the Greek. This means that this elegant language was
a good instrument enabling the revisers to render the Greek text as exactly
as possible."
>From A Brief Introduction to Armenian Christian Literature, by V. Rev. Fr.
Karekin Sarkissian (1960)

POLITICS AND GENOCIDE A LA WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Wall Street Journal strikes again with a pro-Turkish, anti-Armenian
Genocide editorial in today’s edition. The editorial begins by stating that
the members of the House of Representatives do not know enough history to
"weigh in on a painful chapter of Ottoman history." It then goes on to
describe all the reasons why the resolution currently endorsed by some 226
members of the House should be stifled, and urges Speaker Nancy Pelosi "to
stop the resolution from reaching the floor for a vote." The editorial
describes the letter written by eight former U.S. Secretaries of State last
week, saying that passage of the resolution "could endanger our national
security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia
and Turkey."
The editorial concludes by quoting from an editorial on the same subject
in the same newspaper in October 1984-yes, the WSJ has been writing against
Armenians for more than 20 years-describing the resolution as "a generous
gesture toward Americans of Armenian descent but is hardly an appropriate
signal to U.S. enemies. Or to our Turkish friends."
Actually, the signal to friend and foe alike is that they can commit
genocide and get away with it. This has been proven time and again since the
Armenian Genocide of 1915.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has been engaged in an
effective campaign to mobilize a "phonathon" to our elected Representatives.
Your Representatives need to hear from you. To get to the ANCA web page and
easy instructions click

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

September 27 to November 29-Christian Education classes at Sourp Khatch
Church in Bethesda, Maryland, 8 pm in the church sanctuary. Topic: The
Badarak. Classes held second and fourth Thursdays of each month, except
Thanksgiving week when classes will take place Friday. Armenian and English.
Prior attendance is not a requisite. For information: 301-229-8742.

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 14-St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, New York City, Celebration of the
Year of the Armenian Language. Cultural program and Book Fair following the
Divine Liturgy. For information 212-689-5880.

October 14-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
commemorative lecture, 3 p.m. Guest lecturer Dr. Abraham Terian, Professor
of Armenian Patristics at St. Nersess Seminary, New York.

October 14-St. Hagop Church, Racine, Wisconsin, 69th anniversary dinner. His
Eminence Archbishop Oshagan will preside. For information 262-632-2033.

October 16 to December 18-"From Jesus’ meals with sinners to the Lord’s
Supper," a five part Bible study at the Armenian Prelacy will begin on
October 16 and continue on the first and third Tuesday of the month, from
7:15 to 8:45 pm. Conducted by Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian
Religious Education Council (AREC). For information and registration, please
send e-mail to arec@armenianprelacy.org or call 212-689-4481.

October 18, 19, 20-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Annual Food
Festival and Bazaar.

October 19 & 20-Annual fall fair/bazaar, St. Gregory Church of Merrimack
Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts, in newly renovated Jaffarian Hall.

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.

October 26-28-National Conference for Christian Educators, a conference for
Sunday School teachers at the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard, a Coptic
Orthodox Retreat Center, in Charlton, Massachusetts. Theme: "Prayer-Personal
and Communal." Presentations by Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, Bishop Anoushavan
Tanielian, Dn. Shant Kazanjian, and Dr. Mary Olson. For more information
click

Oc tober 28-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, presents The Way We Were
group in their new musical "Hello Ellis Island!’ by Hourig
Papazian-Sahagian. Immediately after Sunday services. Refreshments served.
For information 718-224-2275.

November 2-3-Golden Jubilee Annual Bazaar, St. Stephen Church, Watertown,
Massachusetts.

November 7-Soorp Khatch (Bethesda, Maryland) Senior Citizens second reunion
and Thanksgiving luncheon.

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 11-St. Stephen Church, Watertown, Massachussetts, 50th anniversary
commemorative concert, 4 pm., church hall.

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 11-Greater Worcester Armenian Chorale and Armenian Children’s
Chorus, 7th annual gala concert and dinner, Armenian Church of Our Saviour
Cultural Center. Advance tickets only. Barbara Baljian, 508-799-6972.

November 16-Introduction to the new series of booklets on Contemporary
Ethical Issues: An Armenian Orthodox Perspective, by Vigen Guroian.
Professor Guroian will speak about the series and the first booklet newly
published, "Homosexuality & Same-Sex Union." 7:30 pm at the Prelacy office
in New York City. For information arec@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7810.

November 17-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 43rd Anniversary
Banquet.

November 18-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Divine Liturgy
celebrated by the Prelate Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.

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
dinner dance, Marriott Hotel, Burlington. For information, (617) 924-7562.

December 23-St. Stephen’s Day Celebration, Watertown, Massachusetts. The
Golden Jubilee celebration will come to a close with a commemoration of the
church’s patron saint, the first deacon and martyr, St. Stephen.

June 27 to July 6-St. Gregory of Datev Institute, Summer Christian Studies
Program for youth ages 13-18 at St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson,
Pennsylvania, organized by the Armenian Religious Education Council. For
more information click

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