Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I APPOINTS DR. YEGAVIAN AS CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR

In a special Pontifical letter sent to Dr. Zaven Yegavian, the director of
the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,
His Holiness Aram I appointed him an advisor to the Catholicosate of Cilicia
in cultural and educational issues.

His Holiness writes in the letter: “It is the first time in the history of
our Holy See that such an honor is granted.” “The Armenian culture and
Armenian schools have been the most essential fields of the mission of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia’s centuries-old See. In face of the increasing
spiritual-intellectual needs of our people in the present, it is important
that our Holy See continues to make Armenian culture and schools priorities
with increasing commitment,” he continues.

Referring to the expanding work of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in the
cultural and educational fields, the Armenian Pontiff praises the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation in general and Dr. Zaven Yegavian in particular for
their pivotal role in the efforts to spread Armenian cultural values and
progress Armenian education.

His Holiness states that the cooperation between the two sides has led to
the enrichment of Armenian culture both in Armenia and the Diaspora. He
expresses hope that this cooperation will continue with renewed commitment
for the benefit of the Armenian culture and schools.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 5, 2006 Wednesday

ONE SOLDIER OF THE AZERBAIJANIAN ARMY PERISHED AND ONE WAS INJURED AS
A RESULT OF AN ATTACK FROM ARMENIA

GLONASS: STATUS- ACTIVE; The president signed the decree on February
18, 1999 to consider GLONASS as a double-purpose system. This is the
key element of the joint navigation system the conception of which
was approved by the government in October 2004. Russia realizes a
special federal program aimed at restoring the navigation system.

Armenian troops opened fire at the positions of the Azerbaijanian
Army near the village of Ashagy Abdulrakhmanly at 9:00 a.m. on April
2. Private Shaban Yagubov was killed, and private Niyameddin Shirinov
was injured. Armenia again attacked the positions of the
Azerbaijanian Army near the village of Jafarli at 11:05 p.m.
Azerbaijanian servicemen were forced to open fire. (…) Private
SHaban Yagubov became the first victim in April. It should be noted
that Armenia denies the attacks. The Armenian military state that the
Azerbaijanian servicemen perished as a result of barrack hazing and
accidents, and the Azerbaijanian military leadership seeks to shift
the blame to Armenia.

ARAZ AZIMOV: “US MAKES STRONG EFFORTS TO SOLVE NG PROBLEM”

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 6 2006

“OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are making serious efforts following
the meeting in Rambouillet to settle the Nagorno Garabagh problem,”
Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov told journalists
(APA). The deputy minister said that especially the United States
are making strong efforts to solve the Nagorno Garabagh problem.

“Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov will focus on the
Garabagh issue in his talks in the US,” Mr.Azimov said.

Reporting that French co-chair of Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier will
visit the region next week, Azimov noted that in his meetings in
Azerbaijan and Armenia, the co-chair will discuss further steps to
settle the Nagorno Garabagh problem after the Rambouillet meeting.

ZNet | Europe

Against All Odds
Human Rights Activism in Turkey

by Khatchig Mouradian; April 05, 2006

`I refuse to buy my freedom of speech by paying money,’ said Eren Keskin,
the Head of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey,
during a press conference in Istanbul on the 22nd of March. A few days
earlier, a Turkish court had sentenced her to 10 months’ imprisonment for
insulting the country’s military. The sentence was then converted to a fine
of 6000 New Turkish Liras, which Keskin is refusing to pay, however, saying
that she will go to prison instead. Moreover, she asserts: `I will continue
to express both verbally and in writing my thoughts, which are banned
unlawfully by the ruling powers, because we are not the ones who should
change; they are.’

`The case will be heard by the Court of Appeals. It will take several months
before it reaches a verdict. In the meantime campaigns in support of freedom
of speech in Turkey both at home and abroad will help a lot to influence the
general climate in Turkey for greater democracy,’ told me Ayse Gunaysu, an
activist in the organization headed by Keskin.

The court sentence against Keskin was based on the notorious Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code, which states that public denigration of Turkishness,
the Grand National Assembly (Turkey’s legislature) or the Government of the
Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the state, as well as the
military and security structures are punishable by imprisonment of between
six months and three years. In recent months, dozens of Turkish activists
and intellectuals, including the world-renowned author Orhan Pamuk, have
been charged under this article.

Keskin, who is also the founder of the Project for Legal Aid to Victims of
Rape and Sexual Assault Under Custody, had been accused of `insulting’ the
Turkish military big time in 2002, after giving a speech in Köln, Germany
about cases of sexual assault against women inmates by the state security
forces in Turkey. Keskin explains: `In my presentation under the topic
`Sexual Violence Perpetrated by the State,’ I shared with the audience
certain findings of our project, which had been going since 1997. I said
that sexual torture was used as a systematic method of psychological warfare
and that victims of such torture were afraid to file complaints against the
security forces.’

I discussed with Eren Keskin issues related to human rights violations in
Turkey in late March, a few days after the recent court ruling. Taking into
account the oft-repeated assertions that Turkey had made great strides
towards respect for human rights in the last few years in its quest for EU
membership, I asked her whether these changes were radical or cosmetic. `I
don’t believe that the changes that have been made or are being made in this
process are radical,’ she replied. `I don’t think that the state has any
intention to change, because the changes introduced have no power to
transform the essence of the system. Yet we have to admit that they have at
least provided an atmosphere where certain issues are being discussed.’

Thou Shalt not Insult the Army

The generals in Turkey consider themselves the guardians of the country’s
secular constitution and they have an established tradition of directly
intervening in politics, including a number of direct and indirect military
coups since 1960. In Keskin’s opinion, all legislative, executive and
judicial powers in Turkey are still under their control. `The military in
Turkey not only determines both domestic and foreign policy, but also enjoys
huge economic power through one of Turkey’s biggest business groups, OYAK,
which operates literally in all sectors of the economy, from banking to
tourism. Moreover, all OYAK companies are exempt from any tax liability,’
explained Keskin. Hence, she believes that the main impediment to improving
Turkey’s human rights record is the military.

`Today, even those who define themselves as being part of the left in Turkey
do not question the taboos determined by the `red lines,’ which the military
has set,’ she said, noting that overcoming the military’s domination of the
state is extremely difficult in Turkey.

`Domestic Enemies’

As this article is being written, thousands of protesters, mostly Kurds, are
clashing with the Turkish police in the southeast of the country. For
decades, Turkey has failed to find a decent solution to its Kurdish problem.
Ankara is reluctant to grant the most basic of cultural and political rights
to the millions of Kurds, who live mainly in the country’s southeast, where
the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, unleashed an armed struggle against
the Turkish state in the 1980s.

`Kurds are one of the `domestic enemies’ that this system, controlled by the
military, needs to create in order to sustain its domination,’ asserted
Keskin. `Failure in providing any solution to this issue makes the military
all the more powerful. Even the minor progress made lately in this field –
achieved at enormous cost and partly the outcome of the EU accession process
– does not change the fact that `the policy of `non-solution’ still
dominates the government’s approach to the Kurdish issue.’

State of Denial

For decades, the greatest of all taboos in Turkey has been the Armenian
genocide of 1915. In recent years, a number of intellectuals in the country
have started to speak up about this issue, calling upon Turkey to face its
past, oftentimes at the cost of being persecuted or sued under Article 301.
`The Turkish official thesis regarding the Armenian genocide is still very
influential in the street and in academia, although there are efforts to
overcome this domination,’ said Keskin, when asked about Ankara’s policy of
denial towards the annihilation by the ruling Committee of Union and
Progress (CUP) and under the cover of World War I of an estimated a million
and a half Armenians in the dying years of the Ottoman Empire.

The overwhelming majority of genocide scholars and many parliaments around
the world recognize this instance of mass slaughter as a classic case of
genocide. The descendents of the genocide victims, in turn, continue to
demand that Turkey, too, recognize the genocidal intent behind the
decimation of the Armenians, who lived on their ancestral land. The Turkish
government vehemently denies, however, that there was a planned destruction
of an entire ethnic group. It also argues that the number of victims is
vastly exaggerated.

According to Keskin, `there is no real break with the ideology of the CUP
not only among the extremists but also among those who consider themselves
part of the democratic opposition in Turkey. The ideology that led to the
Armenian genocide was a very important element of the founding ideology of
the Republic of Turkey.’

Keskin has little faith that Turkey will come to terms with its past in the
near future. `The general mindset of the majority of Turkish society,
including a significant part of the left, has been shaped under the
influence of this ideology. It is for this reason that I don’t believe much
progress can be made in the short run,’ she said. `However, I believe
recognition of the genocide is crucial. Turkish people should acknowledge
the sufferings of the Armenians, empathize with them and apologize for what
happened in 1915.’

* * *

Eren Keskin and many of her colleagues in Turkey operate in an environment
of intimidation and threats. `We, the human rights activists, have learned,
throughout these years, how to live with fear and to go on despite its
persistence,’ she said. `Up till now 14 executives and members of our Human
Rights Association have been killed by what we call the counter-guerilla
units. I myself have been the target of two armed attacks. I still receive
death threats. Of course all these generate some fear in me, but if there is
one thing, which we have learned by now, is to continue with our struggle
despite fear. I guess we owe this to our faith in what we do.’

Indeed, it is on this faith that many people are counting.

Khatchig Mouradian is a Lebanese-Armenian writer and journalist.

JAVAKHETI NEEDS ARMENIAN PRIESTS

Lragir.am
06 April 06

According to the news agency A-Info, the Primate of the Georgian
Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan
raised the issue of shortage of priests in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Vazgen
Mirzakhanyan informed the Synod of the Holy See of Echmiadzin that
the Diocese finally managed to raise money for the repair of
the two operating Armenian churches of Tbilisi, St. George and
St. Echmiadzin. The repair will be over this year.

IRAN TO RANK THIRD IN GAS PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE

Mehr news agency
4 Apr 06

Tehran, 4 April: Implementation of the existing gas projects and
completion of the South Pars development plans in particular may allow
Iran to be the third major natural gas producer in the next four years.

Based on the current statistics, the world’s annual gas consumption
stands at 2,618.5 billion cubic meters which is equivalent to 50
million barrels of oil per day, the Persian service of ISNA reported
on Tuesday.

Russia and the United States allocate 43.3 per cent of global
production to themselves while Canada, the Great Britain, Algeria
and Indonesia are the other major producers in that order. Iran sits
seventh in the ranking with 70 billion cubic meters per annum.

Given the dispersion of natural gas resources in Latin America
and Asia, Iran is a reliable source of supply being near the
energy-starving India and China. Nevertheless, the country has signed
no long-term gas export contract since 1996, Turkey being the sole one.

But, the promising fact remains that Iran could increase its production
capacity to 255.5 billion cubic meters in four years and maintain a
gradual growth to 360 billion per annum over the next 30 years.

The current gas export projects under way to the UAE and Armenia are
to be operational by yearend and several important talks have so far
been held with Pakistan, India and the EU to this end.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
April 4, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

KNOLLENBERG QUESTIONS SECRETARY RICE OVER ARMENIA-AZERI MILITARY AID
DISPARITY

Rep. Jackson Expresses Concern Over Decrease in Economic Assistance

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly commended Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues Co-Chair Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) today for
questioning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the disparity in
military funding to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Administration’s
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget.

During a hearing before the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee on
Appropriations, Knollenberg questioned Rice over the Administration’s
proposal to provide Azerbaijan with an approximately 20 percent increase
in military funding over neighboring Armenia.

In her response, Rice said that the issue of need and requirement is
handled on an individual basis and that the U.S. is working with both
governments. Rice also noted that the U.S. and Armenia recently signed a
five-year $235 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact which
will help Armenia reduce rural poverty. Rice also added that the U.S.
maintains good relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Knollenberg countered that the U.S. is a leading mediator in the Nagorno
Karabakh peace conflict, pointing out that a disparity in military
funding can damage U.S. credibility in the region.

Rice, answered in part, that slight differences in military assistance
can be tolerated between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Administration’s 2007 funding proposal for Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) calls for $4.5 million for Azerbaijan and only $3.5
million for Armenia. The proposed budget also recommends $885,000 for
Azerbaijan versus $790,000 for Armenia in International Military
Education and Training (IMET) assistance.

Congressman Jesse Jackson (D-IL) expressed concern over the decrease in
U.S. economic assistance to several countries including Armenia. Jackson
noted that the Administration requested $50 million in assistance to
Armenia in FY 2007 while Congress provided Yerevan with just under $75
million in FY 2006.

“We appreciate Congressman Knollenberg’s leadership on this critical
issue,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “Given the
ongoing bellicose statements emanating from Azerbaijan, the Assembly
will continue to fight to ensure that parity is reinstated.”

“We also commend Congressman Jackson for raising concerns about the
decrease to Armenia and will continue to work with our friends in
Congress to increase this request, especially in light of the ongoing
blockades by Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Ardouny continued.

The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#2006-030

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon

Beirut, 26/03/2006

Armenian Paintings
From the Beginning till the Present

During her very short visit to Beirut, the Cultural Hour at Haigazian
University, in cooperation with the Hamazkaine Cultural Association,
succeeded to organize an informative gathering with researcher and art
critic Mayda Saris of Istanbul, Turkey, on her new release `Armenian
Paintings: From the Beginning till the Present’.
Saris acknowledged the interest in her book of the Armenians in the
Diaspora in general, and the Lebanese Armenian public in particular,
thanking her publisher Agos, and promising the audience with more releases
related to contemporary Armenian paintings and artists.
The Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Arda Ekmekji, through the aid of a power
point presentation, briefly covered the book, concentrating on the most
important paintings and artists.
Saris’ work is considered a groundbreaking book, since it’s the first of
its kind in the entire corpus of the Armenian art publications that
explores the Armenian art from Antiquity to modern times.
In the book, Saris gives the reader a comprehensive but brief overview
about the origin of the Armenian people, their folklore, faith, lifestyle,
culture and art which have been the source of inspiration for Armenian
artists, architects, in short the men and women of the art.
By reading the book, one can conclude that obviously the works of the
Armenian painters are not only a part of the Armenian culture, but also a
part of the culture of countries they lived in. Moreover, they are a part
of the world culture where they create their works addressing the feelings
of modern humanity as well as many traditional themes.
Saris considers the Armenian artists not duly recognized in their native
countries. According to her, `there was a big void to be filled=85that should
have been the moral obligation of the Armenians of Turkey’.
Well, `Armenian Paintings: From the Beginning till the Present’, did fill
that void and fulfilled part of that moral obligation.
At the end of the presentation, the audience proceeded to the Mugar
building where Mayda Saris signed her books.

ALMOST NO MONEY WILL BE SPENT THIS YEAR

A1+
[07:09 pm] 31 March, 2006

Armenia will manage to carry out work costing 4-6 million by the
program “Millennium Challenges” if it finishes the preparation
phase till autumn. The SU Fund has allotted 235 million 650 thousand
USD to Armenia to reconstruct the village roads and to improve the
irrigation system.

The Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatryan returned to
Armenia after signing an agreement with the head of the MC Fund John
Danilovich in the USA. He rendered a press conference today about
the details of the business trip.

The Government is ready to carry out all the works financed by the MC
Fund on the highest level as the financing can be ceased if the heads
of the Fund are discontent with anything. The most important part
of the information given by the Minister is that after signing the
agreement the US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice invited the Armenian
Minister Vardan Oskanyan and Vardan Khachatryan to her office and had a
private conversation with them about issues concerning Armenia and the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict for 10-15 minutes. The Minister of
Finance and Economy did not inform any details about the conversation.

According to the report given by Vardan Khachatryan, 945 km of village
road will be reconstructed for which 167 million 100 thousand USD will
be spent. The Government has decided to spend 145 million USD for
the programs “Village Development”, “Irrigation”, and “Construction
of New Water Reservoirs”.

The rest of the sum – 23.5 million, will probably be spent on
consultations, the salaries of the workers of the “Millennium
Challenges” state non-commercial organization and on financing of NGOs.

Vardan Khachatryan also said that the head of the MC Fund John
Danilovich will come to Armenia in two weeks.

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: [email protected]
Website:

March 31, 2006
___________________

ACYOA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EXPLORES CONNECTIONS OF IDENTITY

By Jake Goshert

The three questions are connected in deep and serious ways. Who is He —
what is the nature of God? Who are we — as Armenians living in the
Diaspora? Who am I — what makes me special?

The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) tackled these
questions during its 7th annual Young Adult Leadership Conference, which ran
from March 10 to 12, 2006, at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Stony Point,
NY. This year 55 young people from 25 parishes gathered with clergy and
Diocesan staff to explore how these three questions shape an individual’s
sense of identity and faith.

“Christian youth ministry is not a new or modern concern; in fact, its seeds
were planted in the gospel accounts of the life of Christ. The questions,
“How should I live my life?” or “To which path should I dedicate my talent
and energy?” are important to human beings at every stage of life; but they
are most powerfully felt during one’s passage through young adulthood,” said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern). During his visit to the conference the Primate also
presented each participant with copies of “The Encyclopedia of Armenian
Christianity” and “The Wonderful Alphabet.”

“In a way, the theme of this conference sums up this matrix of questions
confronting every young life: “Who is He? Who are we? Who am I?” Most of
us confront these questions in the reverse order: each of us begins by
asking, Who am I? And that leads to the question, What is the group I am a
part of, or Who are we? And if one has a genuine openness of heart, I
believe that one will eventually be led to the question, Who is He? Who is
the One who created me, sacrificed for me, comforts and guides me, gives
meaning and purpose to my existence?,” the Primate added.

The annual gathering is part spiritual retreat, part fellowship hour, and
part leadership training. Past participants have gone on to serve not only
on ACYOA’s Central Council but on their local community’s parish council as
well.

“The leadership conference continues to empower the youth in terms of
becoming better Christians as well as becoming stronger leaders in their
communities,” said Maggie Merdjanian, a participant from the St. Sahag and
St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA.

WHO IS HE?

Diocesan Council member Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor of the St. Mesrob Church
of Racine, WI, facilitated a bible study on the topic of “Who is He?”
During the session participants broke off into four groups and were asked to
answer questions on different Bible passages regarding the person of Christ.

Later Fr. Simeon Odabashian, pastor of the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of
Providence, RI, offered the young audience a brief refresher on the basics
of the faith of the Armenian Church highlighting the church’s beliefs and
teachings.

“What an extraordinary experience to come together with these incredibly
inspired young Armenian Christians and have open discussions both on a
personal level and as a group,” said first-time participant Jack Klachian of
the St. Sarkis Church of Dallas, TX. “I have never been with an Armenian
community with this many people my age. And the content of the session
exceeded my expectations.”

WHO ARE WE?

Dr. Roberta Ervine, a member of the faculty of St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary, led an interactive session which helped the participants explore
their sense of identity.

Using baby pictures, she highlighted the fact that who we were in the past
is not who we are today, that people change and evolve. She also spoke
about how individuals define who they are and accentuate different aspects
depending on what type of people they are interacting with at any given
time. Another exercise had different groups reading the same script in
different ways, showing how accentuating one word or idea can change
understanding.

“The leadership conference is an amazing venue to address important issues
within the Armenian Church,” said participant Shant Babikian of the Church
of the Holy Martyrs of Bayside, NY.

WHO AM I?

There was no one speaker providing a concrete answer to the question “Who am
I?” Instead, answers came from the young participants themselves, each of
whom was asked to create a collage using magazine cut outs and other
materials to express who they were.

Daron Bolat and Saro Kalayjian, both from Washington, DC, pulled all three
questions together in an exploration of the underlying topic of the weekend:
“Who am I Called to Be?” This session was followed by a lively question and
answer period with Fr. Daniel Findikyan, dean of the St. Nersess Seminary.
Participants asked a wide variety of questions, form the idea of gay
marriage to premarital sexual relations to if priests get screened at the
airport.

On Sunday morning, Fr. Findikyan celebrated the Divine Liturgy. With
special permission from the Primate, necessary because it is Lent,
participants were able to receive Holy Communion.

Fr. Findikyan, who also served as the chaplain for the weekend, began his
sermon by saying, “Here we are, here He is, and here I am. While we are not
in an actual Armenian Church, gathered here today, we are the Armenian
Church, we’re at the heart of it. We are the best the Armenian Church has
to offer.”

He reflected that while the conference challenged participants to look
inside themselves and take stock of who they were, it also reinforced the
fact that, like the Prodigal Son, if they stray, they will always be
welcomed back to “your church, your people, your home. We will embrace you
upon your return.”

“This weekend was just a reminder that I’m well on my spiritual journey of
learning who we are, who He is and we I am,” said Haigouhi Vartanian, a
participant from the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob church of Providence, RI.

BUILDING THE FUTURE

The final session of the weekend was led by ACYOA Central Council
Programming Coordinator Greg Andonian, who led a discussion on the past,
present, and future of the organization. The ACYOA is celebrating its 60th
anniversary this year.

“After 60 years of service to the Armenian Church, perhaps it is time to
redefine ourselves as an organization and move ahead,” he said, as
participants shared ideas.

The retreat was organized by the ACYOA Central Council: Maria Derderian,
chair; Karen Khatchadourian, vice-chair; Sarine Zenian, secretary; Ani
Tovar, chapter relations coordinator; Greg Andonian, programming
coordinator; Rita Avedissian, treasurer; and John El Chemmas, public
relations coordinator. Also attending and helping to organize were Diocesan
staff members, ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian, Youth Outreach
Coordinator Jennifer Morris, and Daron Bolat, an intern with the Department
of Youth and Education.

— 3/31/06

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

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Participants in the ACYOA National Leadership Conference
gather to discuss questions of identity, faith, and self-reflection.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Sevan Sultanian from the Sts. Anna and Joachim Church of
Palos Heights, IL, takes part in an exercise designed to explore internal
perceptions during the ACYOA National Leadership Conference March 10 to 12,
2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Fr. Daniel Findikyan, who served as chaplain of the
ACYOA National Leadership Conference, with young participants who served on
the altar during services.

# # #