PRESS RELEASE
AGC-Fresno
P.O. Box 28493
Fresno, CA 93729
Email: [email protected]
Web:
FB: facebook.com/agcfresno
BRUCE JANIGIAN TO HEADLINE CENTRAL VALLEY COMMEMORATION
Fresno-Bruce Janigian of the American University of Armenia will be
the keynote speaker for the Central Valley’s commemoration of the
100th anniversary of the Armenia Genocide on April 24th. The event
begins at 7:00pm and will take place in the sanctuary of the St. Paul
Armenian Apostolic Church (3767 N. First Street, Fresno). To
accommodate the large number of people attending the commemoration,
viewing screens will be installed in the church’s social hall and
courtyard; overflow parking will be available at the nearby Pilgrim
Armenian Congregational Church (3673 N. First Street, Fresno).
Janigian is an international attorney whose expertise includes
international trade and investment as well as government and public
policy matters. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the American
University of Armenia Corporation and as the university’s Vice
President for Development and Government Relations.
Along with marking the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, this
year’s commemoration will be the first to recognize the sainthood of
the 1.5 million Armenians murdered at the hands of the Ottoman Young
Turk regime during the period 1915-1923. On April 23, the Armenian
Apostolic Church will canonize the victims, who have already been
acknowledged as martyrs for their faith. The ceremony will observe a
moment of silence at exactly 7:15pm, or 19:15 military time, to
correspond to the year that the Turkish government began their
campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Dr. Matthew Jendian, Professor of Sociology at Fresno State, will
serve as the evening’s emcee. Included in the program are the
Mazmanian family, who will be performing traditional Armenian music,
the Homenetmen Scouts, and the students of the Charlie Keyan Armenian
Community School.
The commemoration is organized by the St. Paul Armenian Apostolic
Church, the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, First Armenian
Presbyterian Church, Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church,
St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church (Fowler), St. Mary’s Armenian
Apostolic Church (Yettem), and Sts. Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Apostolic
Church (Reedley). As is the tradition, the site of the Genocide’s
remembrance rotates each year among the valley’s Armenian churches.
The commemoration is part of a year-long series of events promoted by
the Armenian Genocide Centennial-Fresno Committee, which includes
representatives from the various Armenian religious, educational,
social, and political organizations of the Central Valley. For more
information, please visit the AGC-Fresno website at
and on Facebook at
From: A. Papazian