Author: Christine Harutyunian

168: Issue of assuming position of President of Football Federation of Armenia by NSS chief being discussed

Christine Harutyunian
| 12:31 | July 19 2018
Category
Society

Director of the National Security Service (NSS) Artur Vanetsyan says he is thinking over assuming the position of the President of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA).

Before today’s cabinet meeting the NSS chief told reporters that this issue is being discussed. “We will inform about that in coming days”, he said.

Reporters asked how it turned out that FFA’s incumbent President Ruben Hayrapetyan, who stated repeatedly that he has no plans to resign, suddenly announced that he is ready to give up, the NSS chief urged them to ask this question to Hayrapetyan.

“As I know changes are being made in the Federation, its status is being clarified – it turns to NGO from the Union of Legal Entities. There are deadlines with the UEFA and FIFA after which new elections of the FFA President will be held, within September 10-15”, Artur Vanetsyan said.

Commenting on the NSS operations in businesses belonging to Hayrapetyan, the NSS Director said such operations didn’t take place. “The NSS works at all directions, regardless of the person’s position and name, if we receive concrete information on violations of law, we will launch the respective operations”, he said.

168: France won’t supply weapons which could be used against Artsakh, says Ambassador

Christine Harutyunian
| 13:20 | July 12 2018
Categories
Artsakh
Politics
Region
World

Ambassador of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacote reiterates France’s commitment on not supplying weapons or ammunition which can presumably be used to wage war against Artsakh.

“When we found out about the fake rumors in the Azerbaijani press alleging that France has lifted the arms embargo on Azerbaijan, we immediately disseminated a denial. This once again gave us a chance to confirm our stance. France respects its commitments stemming from international provisions to not supply weapons or ammunition which could be used to start war, in this case in Artsakh,” Lacote said.

He said that the French government is positively receiving any response of the Armenian government based on the principle of settling the conflict only through a peaceful way.

He also noted that the July 11 meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs at the presence of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs was desirable in the negotiations process.  He said that in this format, France again endorses the stance that the conflict cannot be solved through force.

Earlier Azerbaijani media reported that France has lifted the arms embargo for Azerbaijan. But the French Embassy in Armenia denied the report.

168: Government to undertake bold tax changes – Pashinyan

Christine Harutyunian
| 15:59 | July 10 2018
Category
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

The government of Armenia has rejected a bill brought forward by Republican lawmakers on reducing revenue tax rates to 20% in case of 500,000 drams and 25% in case of more than 500,000 drams.

At today’s Cabinet meeting, finance minister Atom Janjughazyan noted that the government is principally in favor of such changes, however it must take place as part of a complete tax package.

“I am speaking about the fact that we are taking the path where through revising direct tax rates an opportunity is created for these means to be directed for the development of the economy. We must have a balanced stance in this case too, because as a result of this certain decrease of tax entries will take place. Approximately this amounts to 45-47 billion drams. This kind of a change should be accompanied by any project of compensating these means. There was a sense that it was possible to be done through administrative means, but the problem cannot be solved solely by this. We recommend the authors of the bill to refrain from this change, but we keep the issue on the agenda,” he said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that they’ve decided to undertake bold changes in this sector during a discussion in Dilijan last week. “We have reached a correct conclusion that instead of going for partly changes of the tax code we will take a certain break, carry out serious studies and undertake complete changes. The package must be submitted to the parliament in September. The business community is highly anticipating these decisions,” he said.

168: Former justice minister weighs in on latest corruption-related scandals

Christine Harutyunian
| 09:35 | July 5 2018
Category
Politics

Davit Harutyunyan, the Republican Party (HHK) politician who is a former justice minister, says he doesn’t see the party’s responsibility in the arrests and discoveries of abuses involving HHK members. Harutyunyan says he regrets over the occurrences, and adds that his treatment for a criminal doesn’t differ because of their party-affiliation.

“The Republican party was a large party having government tools, if we look statistically, naturally problems here could’ve been much more than in smaller parties,” he said.

Harutyunyan didn’t deny that such scandalous discoveries didn’t happen in the previous government, but he says that similar cases have happened and the guilty have been held accountable.

He says that the statements of security agencies cause uncertainty over some issues. He said that the statement over Hayastan All Armenian Fund’s director, currently in custody, is unclear.

“It says he infused personal money to the accounts to cover up the misappropriation. If indeed he has paid the entire money from his own pocket then I wouldn’t see misappropriation here, but I don’t have any information and I don’t tend to justify anyone,” he said.

Regarding the charges brought against former Michael Harutyunyan over the 2008 March 1 events, Harutyunyan said the charges are a serious error. He said that Harutyunyan is charged under Article 300.1, an article which didn’t exists back in 2008, thus a criminally liable act cannot have retroactive force.

“I hope today our law enforcement agencies will treat their work more vigilantly because such errors devaluate the other work,” he said.

Regarding illicit enrichment discoveries, Harutyunyan noted that any unexplainable enrichment made before July 1, 2017 isn’t criminalized.


Armenian return conversions in Turkey

Christine Harutyunian
SSRC.org
 
 
Armenian return conversions in Turkey
 
by Ceren Özgül
 
Since the early 2000s, hundreds of officially Muslim Turkish citizens embarked upon return journeys to the religion and ethnicity of their ancestors, Christian Ottoman Armenians. Their ancestors had to adopt Islam in the context of the massacres that culminated in the genocide of 1915. Without parents or relatives to claim them, and their ties to the surviving Armenian community severely mutilated by the preceding violence, they were subsequently immersed into the Muslim majority of the Turkish Republic that succeeded the Ottoman Empire in 1923. The Turkish state denies the Armenian genocide, and instead calls the annihilation of Ottoman Armenians tehcir (deportation).
 
Here, Maryam, a young female convert, puts the key moments of these conversions in a linear chronology:
 
When I was a teenager my mother told me that we were Armenians. My father used to say that after tehcir (deportation) they were forced to pretend to be Muslim Turks. I married an Armenian. I have also decided to return to my roots and got baptized [in the Armenian Church].
 
What is a return conversion? What possibilities do these converts’ experiences offer us to understand minority difference beyond the juridico-political language of secularism that paradoxically locates it in interiorized belief? I argue that Armenian return conversions create ethnic and religious difference by forging new links among the key concepts of this language: belief, kinship, belonging, subjectivity, genealogy, and truth.
 
The politics of Turkish secularism does not only impose a radical break with the multi-religious Ottoman past, but simultaneously aims to deny the political violence—Armenian genocide—that constituted Turks and Armenians as majority and minority respectively. This politics also aims to erase and penalize practices of ethnic and religious minority difference that evoke the genocide.
 
In Maryam’s short account lies just the kind of material that has fueled continuing debate over the authorized version of national history and the governance of minority difference in Turkey. Her account starts with a claim to Armenianness located in the violent past of the country. The initial conversion of her grandparents was a way to survive the genocide as individuals and families. Maryam’s words “pretending to be Muslims” reveal the existence of, in Yael Navaro’s incisive wording, “human remnants” of the genocide who were living as Muslims in the midst of the Sunni-Muslim Turkish nation. This “pretense” was not only allowed but also demanded by a Turkish secularism that rests on the idea of rejecting violence that created the ethnically and religiously ‘homogeneous’ Turkish nation. Thus, when officially Muslim citizens claim Armenian identity, including Christian belief, their claims interrupt the linear temporality of political secularism in Turkey. Maryam’s account of her family’s Armenian history performs as unauthorized history that “dislocates the present from the past and calls for their revision and reconnection.” In these conversion stories, Armenian ancestors of Muslim Turks challenge the Turkish secular nationalist project that aims to erase difference and violence.
 
It is not coincidental, then, that the Armenian return conversions are simultaneously circumscribed by the debates on ethnic and religious pluralism that dominated the Turkish political scene in the 2000s during a brief period of democratic reforms. In the changing political geography, the emergence of these conversions on the Turkish public scene were interpreted as courageous acts of a hidden minority now embracing its real identity despite the longstanding national sensibilities against a mentioning of the Armenian genocide. The proponents of pluralism challenged national homogeneity and argued for the Turkish state’s proper acknowledgment of the Armenian identities of the converts. Thus Armenian return conversions are included into the discourse of pluralism as an important case for recognition of “real” identities, and protection of minority difference, as such.
 
Crucially, however, what is left unattended by a historicist or pluralist understanding of return conversions are the ways of creating that minority difference in the present—ways of claiming, establishing, and embodying it. To follow the complexity of return conversions to its ethnographic and analytical limits, let us reconsider Maryam’s conversion narrative. She does not convert to an Armenianness that waits simultaneously “out there” and “in her.” Return conversion is not a synonym for an emergence of essential or real identities per se. Rather, she relates to this identity through an account of the past and Armenian ancestors through her parents. Thus, Armenian family genealogy does not simply represent unchanging individual identity over time, but emerges as a “meaningful way of thinking” about religious and ethnic difference in the present. As such, genealogy is not simply a marker of minority difference but a way to actively create ethnic and religious identity.
 
Nevertheless, genealogy is not the only way to build these connections; they take multiple forms. As converts claim Armenianness through ancestors in the past, they also strive to establish it through creating relations with Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere today. They search for distant relatives in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora, marry Armenians, and join a church, baptizing their kids and creating new extended families with their godparents.
 
A second issue these conversions raise is the way they re-link belief with relations that were presumed to be external to the individual. Maryam’s last two statements, “I married an Armenian (…) and got baptized” point to this reconnection of two categories, kinship and belief, that secular modernity ostensibly sets apart. In this particular employment, ethnic and religious belonging goes beyond—even contradicts—the effort to isolate religion in the realm of individual belief. It destabilizes the central status of the autonomous individual believer of secular modernity, and renders it simultaneously relational. In both these instances of relating convert’s interiority and exteriority, these conversions invite us to reconsider the subject in the totality of its relations, as part of a genealogy, an ethnicity, a family, a religious minority, and the nation-state. The converts and the greater political frame, in interaction with each other, construct and link interiority and exteriority as embedded in these relations.
 
Yet, Maryam’s conversion narrative could be read as a return to pre-secular forms of minority existence and experience of religion, and thus as a paradox for the Turkish secularism borrowed from a multiethnic, multi-religious Ottoman past. In this regard, Armenian return conversions do not squarely fit contemporary anthropological analysis of religious conversion as a constitutive moment in the formation of secular modern subjectivity and religion as interiorized belief. However, I suggest these return conversions rise out of and contribute to some central discussions of anthropology and beyond over the subject, its interiority and relations, and the larger political framework. They invite us to ask questions about the changing roles genealogy, religion, and belief, as well as violence, consent, freedom, and pretense play in the formation of new subjectivities and political regimes of truth. Further, the unique perspective they provide for ethnographic scrutiny is not limited to an analysis of periods of democratization and pluralism, during which claims for difference challenge the established forms of secular governance of minorities. More urgently, today we witness the formation of neoliberal and authoritarian regimes. Furthering this analysis of return conversions in one such regime also offers a glimpse into the emerging struggles over proper moral, political, and religious subjectivities in Turkey and beyond.

Sports: Weightlifting Federation lift Armenia’s doping suspension early

Christine Harutyunian
PanArmenian, Armenia
– 12:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The International Weightlifting Federation announced on Tuesday, June 12 that Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan will have their doping-related suspensions from international weightlifting competitions lifted early.

As part of a continuous monitoring process in place since the suspensions took effect, the Independent Monitoring Group (IMG), composed of independent anti-doping experts, has now found that three of the suspended members have met all the criteria to warrant the provisional restoration of some of their rights as members.

This includes a conditional return of athletes to competition under stricter eligibility requirements compared to those regularly imposed by the IWF.

Armenia has been given the opportunity to participate with youth athletes at youth IWF events from June 19 and with junior and senior athletes and Technical Officials from August 19.

The decision to favour youth athletes reflects a decision of the IWF Executive Board to provide additional opportunities for a young and demonstrably clean generation of young weightlifters who can serve as ambassadors for the sport in international competition.

Other rights of the three Member Federations remain suspended, including:

– The right to organize IWF Events, IWF Congress, IWF Executive Board meetings, meetings of IWF Commissions and Committees;

– The right to participate in the Congress with voting rights;

– The right to submit proposals for inclusion in the Agenda of the Congress;

– The right to submit proposals for the modification of the IWF Constitution, Technical and Competition Rules & Regulations;

– The right to take part in and benefit from the IWF Development program apart from Education and Anti-Doping Seminars.

Armenia was among nine of the world’s most successful nations banned from the 2017 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Anaheim because of multiple doping offences at the Olympic Games.

It was reported earlier that the IWF is effectively allowing Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus only two places each at Tokyo 2020 – as the new rules state that any nation with 20 or more doping violations from 2008 to 2020 will have just one man and one woman at the Games.

Aurora ceremony held in Yerevan

Christine Harutyunian
News.am, Armenia
 

Aurora ceremony held in Yerevan (LIVE)

Aurora ceremony held in Yerevan (LIVE)

20:32, 10.06.2018
                

YEREVAN. – The conclusive event of the 2018 Aurora Prize is underway at the National Opera and Ballet Theater named after Alexander Spendiaryan.

The winner of the 2018 Avrora Prize was announced earlier on Sunday. Lawyer and activist Kyaw Hla Aung was awarded for protection of the rights of Rohingya people in Myanmar, despite pressure, persecution and harassment.

The Aurora Prize is awarded by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative on behalf of all survivors of the Armenian Genocide and as a token of gratitude to their saviors. This year, 750 applications from 115 countries have been received.

During the event, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian delivered a keynote speech.

“It is noteworthy that the regular awarding ceremony takes place in Armenia, at a time when the Armenians, and especially the youth, have increased their aspiration for freedom, light and dream.

It is very valuable that people invest in humanism. Let’s not forget that we were treated like this 100 years ago in different parts of the world, and people provided assistance and shelter to Armenians who survived the Genocide. Today we are striving to return what we received more than 100 years ago.

Armenia leads a consistent struggle for the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh. Of course, it is not a mere coincidence that Armenia is ready and has taken steps to normalize relations with Azerbaijan, which remained unanswered. Of course, it is not by chance that major changes in Armenia took place in an atmosphere of peace,” the president said.

Armenian state revenue committee foils smuggling attempt

Christine Harutyunian
ARKA, Armenia
June 4 2018

YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Armenia’s State Revenue Committee foiled a smuggling attempt on Sunday.

According to the committee’s press office, customs officers examined a truck parked outside the 
Gogavan-Privolnoe border checkpoint and found 1,050 hidden plastic containers of the total weight of 525 kilograms there.   

It has become known that the smuggler took the cargo from Georgia and tried to bring it to Armenia’s territory without decalaration. -0—

Chess: FIDE includes 10 Armenian players in May ratings

Christine Harutyunian
MediaMax, Armenia
June 1 2018
FIDE includes 10 Armenian players in May ratings

Three other Armenian players included in the ratings are Gabriel Sargsyan (59th with 2680), Hrant Melkumyan (82nd with 2662 points) and Vladimir Hakobyan (97th with 2665).

World champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) is still on top with 2843 points.

Women’s ratings put Elina Danielyan 53rd and Lilit Mkrtchyan 70th.

Four junior Armenian players have found themselves in FIDE ratings as well: Hayk Martirosyan (23rd), Manuel Petrosyan (32nd), Aram Hakobyan (36th) and Shant Sargsyan (74th).

Western Prelacy News – 5/25/18

Christine Harutyunian 
 
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.westernprelacy.org


PRAYERS FOR THE REPUBLIC AND BLESSING OF THE ARMENIAN FLAG IN PRELACY
CHURCHES


        On Sunday, May 27, 2018, the 100th anniversary of the first Republic
of Armenia will be celebrated in Prelacy Churches with Thanksgiving Prayers
for the Republic and the blessing of the Armenian flag. At the conclusion of
Divine Liturgy, requiem prayers will be offered for the heroes of
Sardarabad, Gharakilise, Pash Abaran, and all those who lost their lives
defending our lands.
        H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, will celebrate
Divine Liturgy, conduct the special services, and deliver his message at
Holy Martyrs Church in Encino. H.G. Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Vicar General,
will celebrate Divine Liturgy and deliver the sermon at St. Garabed Church
in Hollywood.
        We invite our faithful to participate in this special celebration to
honor the legacy of our forefathers and join us in prayer for the security
and prosperity of Armenia and the Armenian nation.

***

PRAYERS FOR THE ARMENIAN BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRY IN PRELACY CHURCHES

        By the request of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry and the
directive of the Prelate, on Sunday, May 27, 2018, prayers will be offered
in all Prelacy Churches for patients of the ABMDR. 
        Members of the organization will attend Divine Liturgy at Holy
Martyrs Church in Encino and will be available to provide information and
register donors.
        May God grant good health to all and lead the members of the ABMDR
to continued success in their life-saving mission. 

***

FEAST OF PENTECOST CELEBRATION

        On Sunday, May 20, 2018, the feast of Pentecost, commemorating the
descent of the Holy Spirit, was celebrated in Prelacy Churches. On this
occasion, H.G. Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Vicar General, celebrated his first
Episcopal Divine Liturgy at Forty Martyrs Church in Orange County and
delivered the sermon. H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate,
presided over the service. Parish Pastor Rev. Fr. Karekin Bedourian and
deacons assisted at the altar.
        The Prelate greeted the parish family and conveyed his blessings,
praying for the Lord to enrich and renew all with the Holy Spirit on this
feast of Pentecost, a day of spiritual rebirth and renewal. Noting that the
parish was preparing for the consecration of the church thirty years ago
around the feast of Pentecost, he wished that members of the church and
community continue their service with renewed faith and spirits for the
glory of God and advancement of the parish and our nation. He once again
congratulated the Vicar General on his Episcopal ordination, commended the
parish pastor, Board of Trustees, delegates, Ladies Guild, altar servers,
choirs, and all the volunteers, and invited the Vicar General to deliver his
sermon.
        The Vicar General first greeted the Prelate and conveyed his
blessings to the parish. He began his sermon on the feast of Pentecost by
stating that though the apostles were staunch in their faith, there was
still some trepidation, something missing, and that which was missing was
the emboldening and revitalizing presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, ten days after the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit
descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, cleansed them and granted
them inexplicable strength, peace, and such elation that those around them
thought they were inebriated. The Holy Spirit was manifested in various
forms, but no matter in what form, it always brought great inspiration to
those who received it, he said, for it grants grace, abilities, and wisdom,
fills our lives with heavenly fruits and enriches our hearts. Today, the
Holy Spirit once more will descend and rest upon all those who have opened
their hearts to the Lord and are ready to accept it, he said. The Vicar
General stressed the ways in which the Holy Spirit works wonders in our
lives today. "The Holy Spirit renews us first as individuals, cleanses us of
sin and makes us new individuals. Subsequently, those who are renewed bring
renewal to their families and surroundings, who then bring renewal to our
parishes and community which become strengthened. Renewed parishes and
communities renew the life of our nation, and this renewal, leads to renewal
in pan-Christian life," stated the Vicar General, and concluded by praying
for the Holy Spirit to renew our minds, spirits, and hearts, to renew our
children so that they stay on the right path, our nation, our people, and
the entire worlds, bringing the same joy that it did to the apostles.

        Later in the service, Fr. Karekin greeted and conveyed his well
wishes to the Prelate and Vicar General on behalf of the parish community.
        Following the service, a reception was held at "Ghazarian" Hall of
the Harut Barsamian Armenian Center during which faithful had the
opportunity to congratulate the newly-ordained Bishop and receive the
blessings of the Prelate and Vicar General.
        Welcoming and congratulatory remarks were delivered by the Parish
Pastor and Board of Trustees Chair Mr. Herair Jermakian. The Vicar General
gave thanks for the welcome and invited the community to work together with
love. 
        The Prelate delivered the closing message. He noted that the Forty
Martyrs Church has had an important part in his life and recalled the great
enthusiasm with which the church was constructed and consecrated three
decades ago. His Eminence prayed for the Holy Spirit to renew the hearts and
souls of the community's members with faith, hope, and love so that they may
continue to work together with mutual love, respect, and a greater sense of
responsibility for the splendor of the parish community. The Prelate
concluded by once again congratulating the Vicar General's ordination.  
        The Board of Trustees and Ladies Guild surprised the parish pastor
with a birthday cake, and guests conveyed their well wishes to Fr. Karekin
on this occasion.  
        The reception closed with the benediction and "Cilicia." 

***

HOLY CROSS CATHEDRAL OF MONTEBELLO HOSTS ANNUAL "ARMENIAN FOOD FAIR AND
FESTIVAL"

        On Saturday, May 19, 2018, Holy Cross Cathedral of Montebello hosted
the annual "Armenian Food Fair and Festival," featuring traditional Armenian
food, music, cultural performances, games for children, and booths selling
Armenian merchandise. 
        H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, attended the
festival, visited the booths to convey his blessings and commendation and
delivered his message. He was joined by Holy Cross Cathedral Dean, Very Rev.
Fr. Muron Aznikian, Parish Pastor, Rev. Fr. Ashod Kambourian, members of the
Board of Trustees and organizing committee.
        Hundreds of Armenians and non-Armenian were in attendance. 

***

CASPS HONORS OUTSTANDING ARMENIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

        On Monday, May 21, 2018, the 12th annual CASPS reception honoring
outstanding 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students from LAUSD local districts
Northeast and Northwest was held at Verdugo Hills High School Auditorium. On
behalf of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, Archpriest Fr.
Nareg Pehlivanian attended, delivered the invocation, and conveyed the
Prelate's congratulations and blessings. In attendance were Executive
Council member Mr. Ara Shabanian, principals, educators, Los Angeles Unified
School District and CASPS members, students and parents. 
        CASPS Executive Director Arsineh Hovannisian delivered the welcoming
address. Former CASPS student Angela Manukyan served as the MC. 
        Fr. Nareg delivered the invocation and on behalf of the Prelate
congratulated the students and wished them great success in their future
endeavors. Noting that one hundred years almost to the day our forefathers
were fighting for the independence of our nation, he urged the students to
always be proud of their Armenian identity and adhere to their roots.
        The Superintendent's message for the Northeast district was
delivered by Linda Del Cueto, and the Northwest's by Joseph Nacorda.
        Glendale Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian delivered the keynote address.
        On behalf of the LAUSD Board, members Kelly Gonez, Scott
Schmerelson, and Nick Melvoin conveyed their congratulatory message, after
which four students expressed their thoughts on this occasion, thanking the
Prelate and their teachers for their support and guidance.
        The top four students received monetary awards provided by the
Armenian Educational Foundation, and all students received certificates. 
        The program also featured musical and dance performances by
students. 

***

PRELACY CHOIR PARTICIPATES IN 11TH ANNUAL "ORTHODOX DAY OF PRAISE"

        On Saturday, May 19, 2018, St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox
Church in Santa Monica hosted the 11th annual Orthodox Day of Praise,
bringing together the Coptic, Armenian, Indian Malankara, Ethiopian, Greek,
Ukrainian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches for a day of fellowship, praise,
and celebration of shared faith.
        The day began with Divine Liturgy, followed by brunch during which
members of the different churches had an opportunity to meet one other. The
program followed, during which each choir presented a few hymns and songs in
their respective languages. 
        By the directive of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate,
the Western Prelacy "Lousavorich" Choir, under the direction of Rev. Fr.
Ghevont Kirazian, once again participated in this annual event.
        Choir member Karekin Kirazian conveyed the greetings of the Prelate
and gave some background information on the hymns and songs which the choir
would be presenting, noting that the first song is dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the first Republic of Armenia. The choir thereafter presented
their program, which included "Oh Armenian land," "Since Cradle," "Lord have
mercy," and "Blessed is the Lord." 

***

PARTICIPATION IN L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SENIOR CHAPLAINS' MEETING

        By the initiative of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, on
Tuesday, May 22, 2018, senior chaplains were invited to a special meeting
which was held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Downtown Los Angeles
to discuss a wide range of issues relating to jail ministry. 
        Prelacy Chaplain Rafi Garabedian participated in the meeting. On
behalf of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, he thanked the
Sheriff's Department for facilitating the Prelacy's jail ministry program
which serves the spiritual needs of Armenian inmates. 

***