Author: Mamian George

VIGEN ABRAHAMYANTS BECAME A VICTIM OF SKINHEADS ASSERT HIS PARENTS, ADVOCATE AND MANY WITNESSES OF THE MURDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.04.2006 GMT+04:00

According to “Interfax” news agency on Friday 16-year-old schoolboy
Denis Kulagin, suspected in the murder of 18-year-old Vigen
Abrahamyants was released from custody. Sources in law-enforcement
organs inform that Kulagin is still a suspect, but there were not
enough evidences for bringing an official accusation against him. It
is worth reminding that on Wednesday the court prolonged his custody
to 72 hours. Till the end of Friday the Prosecutor’s office had either
to bring an accusation and submit a petition for arrest or release the
suspect. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is still working on the version
that the murder had common motives. However, the victim’s compatriots
have enough grounds to suppose that the crime was committed because
of national hatred.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It should be reminded that according to the advocate
of the offended party Simon Tsaturyan, the subway prosecutor’s office
had initially provided him with a document where it was said that the
crime was committed “because of interracial and international discord
in preliminary agreement of a group of people”. However, literally
on the second day, investigating bodies reviewed this version and
now they are still insisting on the version of everyday conflict. It
is said that the conflict was caused by the fact that the victim
had called the suspect’s 15-year-old girlfriend Janna Nefedova a
“prostitute ready to give in to anyone for 100 rubles”. The suspect
himself testified this. However after meeting his advocate, Denis
Kulagin took his testimony back. His mother says that evidences were
given under the pressure of investigators.

According to the version of Denis’s mother, the real development of
events was the following: young people were waiting for their friends
on the platform. Vigen and his friend went to smoke and returning,
cried that they were chased. At that moment, skinheads pounced
on Vigen and began beating him. Denis and Janna ran away on the
train, but shortly after they returned and told everything to the
police. These facts do not match with the official version of the
Prosecutor’s Office where they say that the suspect was found thanks
to the video recording. By the way, according to the Prosecutor’s
Office, the camera had recorded everything expect the very moment of
murder. Advocate Tsaturyan does not believe in this and supposes that
they are hiding the episode on the recording, which really confirms
the national motive of the crime.

Generally, there are many contradictious and suspicious circumstances
in the case. Initially, witnesses testified that Vigen was attacked
by skinheads, stepping out of the wagon and that the murderer was a
tall, bald man dressed in a black leather jacket. It is noteworthy
that the same facts were described not only by Denis’s friends, but
also eyewitnesses of the incident. Meanwhile, Denis does not look
like the person on the photo robot.

This contradiction is also noticed by representatives of investigating
organs. In an interview to “Interfax” news agency, a prosecutor’s
office employee, who asked not to publish his name, said: “It
is not clear why did all the 20 witnesses unanimously claim that
Abrahamyants had become a victim of skinheads, but 12 hours later all
of them changed their testimonies and again returned to the version
of skinheads”.

It is settled that the murderer hit the victim between ribs with
a long double-edged blade. This is a professional’s style. It is
hard to believe that a teenager could master the art of killing so
professionally. By the way, the knife, which killed the victim, has not
been found. There is still another circumstance, which does not match
with the official version of the incident. It is known that Vigen’s
and Denis’s friends were also wounded. Investigation materials confirm
that there was another victim who had cuts on his face. Could Denis
do that too? What for? Did he also call his girlfriend a prostitute?

Meanwhile mother of Denis Kulagin’s girlfriend asserts that attackers
also beat her daughter and traumatologists fixed the wounds. So
who was the person who beat Janna?… Nefedova is one of the main
witnesses. According to her mother Janna was kissing with her friend
when skinheads pounced on Vigen. As for the fact that the victim had
called her a prostitute, Janna herself told her mother: “He did not
offend me. He did not say anything. He kept silence and only smiled…”

On Thursday Vigen Abrahamyants’ mother sent a letter to the President
of Russia Vladimir Putin. In the letter it is said: “When “foreign”
children are killed, it is done not only against us, but also against
the Russian nation. No one can return my son, but our actions against
Fascism can save others’ lives. The tragedy of our family is not a
single case.

Such kinds of crimes are committed more and more often”. There is
nothing to add.

“PanARMENIAN.Net” analytical department

THE REPRESENTATIVES OF “FREEDOM HOUSE” IN THE PARLIAMENT

A1+
[02:53 pm] 02 May, 2006

RA NA Chairman Arthur Baghdasaryan met with the delegation of Deputy
Director of the non-governmental organization “Freedom House” Tomas
Melia, Chief of the European Office Christi Evanson and editor of
“Economist Intelligence Unit” Ann Walker.

Mr. Melia presented NA Chairman Arthur Baghdasaryan the 2006 annual
review of the non-governmental organization “Freedom House” underlining
that both the evaluation methods and the criteria are presented in the
review. The sides referred to the procedure of the Armenian reforms
emphasizing the urgent need of strengthening of democracy, economic
developments, free elections and speech freedom in the countries in
question. The verification of information was also mentioned.

According to the NA press service, the sides referred to other
important issues of mutual importance as well.

Let us remind you that “Freedom House” deems that the Armenian press
is not free.

TURKEY TURNS DOWN EDITOR’S APPEAL

Yerkir
02.05.2006 16:38

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A Turkish court has rejected an appeal by a
prominent journalist against a ruling that found him guilty of
insulting Turkishness.

Hrant Dink, an Armenian living in Turkey, was given a six-month
suspended sentence last October. He had written a newspaper article
which addressed the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians nine decades
ago.

In February, the chief prosecutor’s office at the Appeals Court
considered Dink’s case and recommended that the remarks were in no
way insulting. But now, in a surprise development, the court itself
has chosen to ignore that interpretation and ruled that the substance
of the charge still stands.

Dink, the editor of the Agos newspaper that appears in Turkish and
Armenian, was first found guilty of insulting Turkishness last year
when a court ruled that one of his articles described Turkish blood
as dirty.

Hrant Dink always denied his words meant any such thing and argued
his column was in fact aimed at improving the difficult relationship
between Turks and Armenians.

The case will now go back to the local court that first heard it,
and Dink could face a retrial.

European Union officials have expressed serious concern about the
article of law that was used against Hrant Dink and several dozen
other writers in Turkey.

Azeris want USA’s fair stance on Karabakh – official

Lider TV, Baku
28 Apr 06

An Azerbaijani top official has said that the USA is not approaching
the Nagornyy Karabakh problem fairly.

In an interview with the Azerbaijani private TV channel Lider on 28
April, the head of foreign relations department at the presidential
administration, Novruz Mammadov, said that “we cannot see the world’s
leading states, including the USA, taking a fair and correct stance”
on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

He went on to say that as the world’s leading state and co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group, the USA could influence the Karabakh settlement
process.

United Press International
April 28 2006

Outside View: Armenia seeking a new place in the world
By Raffi K. Hovannisian
UPI Outside View Commentator
Published April 28, 2006

YEREVAN, Armenia — Yerevan-Armenia, the great regional power that
extended from sea to sea in the first century before Christ and for
ages played a central role in the history of Western Asia, has been
reduced to a land-locked rump in modern times.

Millennia of foreign conquest and domination, occupation and
genocide, have delivered to today’s world a nation that is long on
culture and civilization, but short in statecraft. The catastrophic
dispossession of the Armenian homeland by the rulers of the Ottoman
Empire; the subsequent Bolshevik-Turkish pact partitioning Armenia
and effectively tendering Karabagh, Nakhichevan and other integral
parts of the Armenian patrimony to Soviet Azerbaijan; and Armenia’s
inclusion in the Soviet empire may form the basis of an explanation,
but they do not excuse Armenia’s current smallness.

The nation’s historic losses and intermittent statelessness are
only prologue. The real story is in a failed leadership that seeks to
rationalize the steady decline of the Armenian factor in world
affairs by reference to external adversaries and geopolitical
limitations.

In fact, the major constraint is the insecure myopia of a
semi-feudal, soft-authoritarian regime with a parochial mindset that
makes a mockery of Armenia’s ancient values and, in the very name of
democracy, smothers human rights, civil liberties, free speech and
assembly, and the rule of law. Of course, Armenia is not alone in
this demeanor.

In the 15 years of the country’s newly rediscovered statehood,
authority has never been transferred from incumbent to challenger by
free and fair elections. They have always been forged —
unfortunately always by the administration. The sitting presidency is
no exception to this deplorable rule of illegitimate government.

For Armenia to reclaim its democratic advantage in the region, to
become a competitive contributor to peace, development and security,
and to realize its strategic credentials at an increasingly critical
crossing on the global map, it must transform itself both at home and
abroad.

Fresh Elections: In view of its series of falsified elections,
and most recently the constitutional referendum held last November,
Armenia requires an electoral transformation. Our American, European,
and other international partners have the capacity to make this
happen through the empowerment of Armenian citizen and society alike.
This is the expectation of the Armenian body public. An orchestrated
theft of votes and conscience is alien to the long-standing Armenian
quest for rights and redemption. Armenia must satisfy the highest
possible criteria for electoral legitimacy and accountable
governance.

Rule of Right: The supremacy of rights with due process and an
equal application of laws needs in short order to become the
foundation of the state. From corruption and conflicts of interest to
responsibility for grave crimes and other misconduct, all citizens
must face the same standard of justice — starting from the very top
and going all the way down the hierarchy. The self-confidence of an
independent judiciary, elusive as it may seem, is pivotal on this
score. Raise their salaries and strictly hold them to the law.

International Standing: Armenia’s democratic transformation, much
like Georgia’s attempt, will find its reflection in international
affairs. The republic’s sovereignty is a supreme value and the most
meaningful means for pursuit of vital national interests. Armenia
must become a bridge of balance and understanding in the wider
region, intersecting as it does Western civilization and Eastern
tradition, the CIS and the Middle East, and the future linkage
between its southern neighbors and the trans-Atlantic hemisphere.
Official Yerevan should take its rightful place in the regional
security system and, in dialogue with NATO, the European Union,
Russia, China, and other centers, strive within the next decade to
achieve security and energy independence — or at least
diversification.

Turkey: In all of history, no bilateral agreement, concord, or
treaty has ever been negotiated or entered into force between the
sovereign republics of Armenia and Turkey.

A brave new discourse and enlightened statesmanship must guide
the initiative to normalize the Turkish-Armenian relationship in a
multi-track process that takes into account, not escapes, the
historical record and hammers out solutions to a comprehensive agenda
of outstanding issues, including but not limited to establishment of
diplomatic ties without preconditions; political, economic, and
ultimately security-related cooperation; the restoration of rights of
the dispossessed; the guaranteed voluntary return of deportees or
their progeny to their places of origin; respect for and renovation
of the Armenian cultural heritage; and delimitation of boundaries
directly between the parties involved.

As it stands, however, Turkey continues to enforce a blockade
against Armenia, an act of war and a material breach of the pact
which Turkey’s Kemalist regime and Soviet Russia signed in 1921 and
on which Ankara relies for assertion of its eastern frontier. Without
resolution of this strategic connection — rather the absence thereof
— neither Turkey nor Armenia can ever join the EU, and no enduring
settlement will ever be found in the case of Mountainous Karabagh and
its struggle for liberty, democracy, and self-determination.

Karabagh and Azerbaijan: There can be no true movement on this
regional conflict as long as a) Armenia and Azerbaijan remain in
essentially undemocratic hands and thus without civic mandate;

b) the republican entity of mountainous Karabagh, which declared
its independence according to a plebiscite held in 1991 under the
Soviet Constitution and relevant norms of international law, is
excluded from the peace process;

c) Azerbaijan refuses to cease and desist from its xenophobic
rhetoric and its outrageous desecration of Armenian religious
treasures, including an entire cemetery of medieval “khachkars”
(cross-stones) finally and fully destroyed in broad daylight by
uniformed soldiers in Nakhichevan last December; and

d) the Turkish-Armenian divide stays intact and insurmounted.

Short of this, the consequences of the war unleashed by
Azerbaijan against Karabagh in 1988, resulting in thousands of
casualties, hundreds of thousands of refugees and scores of
reciprocal expulsions on both sides, must be approached on the
humanitarian level. A pilot program to demilitarize a local segment
of the conflict zone, allowing for the conditional return and
restitution of both Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees, might under
the circumstances be the only rational avenue for the initial
cultivation of mutual confidence and gradual reconciliation of
peoples. In all events, for the long-term development, prosperity,
and equity of the region, Azerbaijan, Karabagh, Armenia, and Turkey
must abide by the same supervisory regime and terms of engagement as
they relate to demilitarization, repatriation, opening of frontiers,
transportation and communication, and potential peacekeeping.

An old nation with a young state, Armenia does indeed face a
constellation of contemporary challenges, foreign and domestic, which
must be overcome creatively and fundamentally. Neither wishful
evolution nor artificial revolution will carry the day. Only a
peaceful, system-wide, citizen-driven transformation — anchored in a
correlation of the national will and international imperatives — can
shift the paradigm and provide the land of Ararat with one ultimate
opportunity to close the democratic deal, to turn swords into shared
interests, and to redefine its identity, place, and promise in the
new era.

Freedom and justice in the world begin at home.

—

(Raffi K. Hovannisian, Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign
Affairs, is chairman of the Heritage Party and founder of the
Armenian Center for National and International Studies in Yerevan.)

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 28, 2006

Putin, Kocharyan discuss Russian-Armenian cooperation by phone

The Russian and Armenian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Robert
Kocharyan, had a telephone conversation on Friday, the Russian
presidential press service said.

Putin and Kocharyan discussed central issues of Russian-Armenian
cooperation, including “further strengthening of interaction in the
multilateral format,” the press service said.

Putin and Kocharyan also focused on the agenda of future contacts.

ALEXANDER ISKANDARIAN POINTS OUT EXISTENSE OF WEAK AUTHORITIES IN
ARMENIA AND ABSENCE OF OPPOSITION

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, NOYAN TAPAN. “The year of 2005 was in essense
continuation of the tendency in Armenia that may be called the death
of the Armenian opposition,” Alexander Iskandarian, the Director of
the Caucasus Media Institute, stated at the April 28 international
conference “Caucasus-2005” organized by the Caucasus Media
Institute. According to him, the rating of the opposition continued to
decrease in 2005 what was especially brightly releaved after the
referendum on the constitutional amendments when very few people
attended rallies of the opposition: “Talks about the revolution in
Armenia bored, and it became clear after the events followed the
referendum.” In A.Iskandarian’s opinion, Armenia needs appearing of
new opposing forces and re-formation of the old opposition. “The
innerpolitical situation of Armenia may be characterized in the
following way – weak authorities and no opposition,” he stated.

According to him, among factors of the foreign policy, the greatest
influence on the situation in Armenia and South Caucasus in general
was left by the involvement of those countries in the European
Neighborhood Policy, start of taking the Russian military bases from
the territory of Georgia and rise in gas prices by Russia. As for the
processes that took place the last year round one of the most
important elements of the Armenian foreign policy – settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, according to Iskandarian, the course towards the
conservation of the conflict was continued by the conflicting sides.

GEORGIA IS OBLIGED NOT TO SELL ROAD GAS PIPELINE FOR 5 YEARS

AZG Armenian Daily
28/04/2006

According to Georgia Millennium Challenge Fund, Georgia is not
allowed to sell the road pipeline for five years. Georgia undertook
this commitment, when receiving financial sources within the
framework of Millennium Challenges Corporation. The Corporation will
allocate $295 million envisaged for four projects. Particularly,
the financial sources are allocated for the construction of
Akhaltskhe-Akhalkalaki-Ninotsminda road, for the reconstruction of the
country’s road gas pipeline and for restoration of its energy system,
for development of infrastructures and agriculture.

It’s noteworthy that in case of selling the road gas pipeline, the
Russian Gazprom is likely to purchase that. Yet, the US authorities
are obviously against this deal. This position may be the most probable
reason for Georgia to undertake the abovementioned commitment.

OSCE HOLDS TRAINING ON MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION IN ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
27.04.2006 10:53

A four-day training course to increase the professional capacity of
public monitoring groups to monitor places of detention started in
Tsakhkadzor, Armenia.

The course, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan together with
the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
is for members of the two Public Monitoring Groups established under
the Armenian Ministry of Justice and the Armenian police. It will
focus on reporting on conditions in penitentiary institutions and
the rights of detainees.

“Improving conditions in the places of detention and protection
of detainees’ rights is a priority area for the OSCE,” said
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office. “I commend
the establishment of the Public Monitoring Groups, initiated by the
Armenian authorities and supported by civil society. They create an
effective mechanism for identifying the existing problems which in
turn helps improve the situation.”

During the training course, the 24 participants will get acquainted
with national legislation and international standards for the treatment
of prisoners.

They will also acquire practical knowledge on how to organize a visit
to a place of detention and report on it.

A number of local experts and the Chairperson of the Bulgarian
Helsinki Committee will present the specifics of monitoring pre-trial
detention places and police custody besides discussing key areas of
concern. The training session includes extensive group exercises,
mock investigations and actual visits to a detention cell, as well
as the preparation of a report.

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

APRIL 27, 2006

GENOCIDE OBSERVANCE ON CAPITOL HILL
Archbishop Oshagan attended the 11th annual ANCA Armenian Genocide
Observance on Capitol Hill, yesterday. Wednesday, April 26. Armenian
Americans from around the United States joined with members of Congress to
mark the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
In his message and invocation to the gathering, His Eminence remembered
the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “In the End, we will remember not the
words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” His Eminence said:
“To this day the genocide of the Armenians is denied not only by the
perpetrators, but also by own government here in Washington. The same
government in whose archives are thousands and thousands of documents that
attest to the annihilation of the Armenians. The denial by our government is
the most difficult for us to comprehend and fills our hearts with grief
because denial is another assault-another genocide.”
“Our faith in You never waivers,” the Prelate continued. “Our hope in
You is steadfast. We believe that through You truth will prevail, because
You have told us, ‘Truth endures and remains forever and ever.’ (I Esdras
4:38)”

APRIL 24th IN ANTELIAS
Thousands of Lebanese Armenians assembled at the Catholicosate of
Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, on April 24 to commemorate the Armenian
genocide. Divine Liturgy was offered at the Cathedral of St. Gregory the
Illuminator, celebrated by Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Primate of the Diocese
of Lebanon. Thousands of the Faithful then proceeded to the Martyrs’ Chapel
where a Requiem Service was offered.
His Holiness Aram I said: “Today is a day of national struggle and
accountability. This is how I characterize April 24 on our nation’s
calendar. We are gathered with the spirit of accountability and demands.
Struggle means accountability. Our martyrs demand explanation from us
today.. April 24 is not a single day in our calendar. Every day is April 24
for the individual who considers himself Armenian and lives as an Armenian.
Today we renew our pledge from Armenia to Antelias gathered around the
remains of our martyrs. In all the corners of the world we renew our pledge
to walk down the path of our martyrs, remaining true to their legacy; walk
down the path that will lead us to justice, because that is the road that
leads to the truth.”

THE ‘G’ WORD
Even with strong support from more than 200 House and Senate leaders,
asking President Bush to properly acknowledge the Armenian genocide, the
President’s annual message failed to use the “G” word, instead words like
“horrible tragedy,” “mass killings,” and “forced exile” were used.
In contrast to this, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper,
issued a statement on April 19 acknowledging “the terrible suffering and
loss of life” in “the first genocide of the twentieth century.”

VICAR IS ATTENDING PRAYER FOR PEACE IN D.C.
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan, Vicar General of the Prelacy, attended the 2006
International Prayer for Peace yesterday and today at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
The gathering, which is sponsored by the Community of San’ Egidio, the
Archdiocese of Washington, Georgetown University, and The Catholic
University of America, marks the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s
historic interfaith gathering for peace in Assisi. This is the first time
that this annual event, the largest regularly held interfaith gathering in
the world, is taking place in the United States.

PRELACY LADIES GUILD MOTHERS DAY LUNCHEON
WILL TAKE PLACE MONDAY, MAY 8
The Prelacy Ladies’ Guild’s Mothers’ Day Luncheon will take place on
Monday, May 8, at The St. Regis, 2 East 55th Street, New York City. The
event, which has become an anticipated event for women in the metropolitan
area and beyond, will take place in the beautiful St. Regis Roof with
reception beginning at 11:30 am, followed by luncheon at 12:30 pm. A special
Musical Interlude, “Voices of Spring,” will provide entertainment and the
“Mother of the Year” will be announced and honored.
For more details about the luncheon click here:

NATIO NAL ASSEMBLY WILL CONVENE IN NEW JERSEY
The Eastern Prelacy’s National Representative Assembly will convene May
17 to 19, at the host church, Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New
Jersey.
The concluding reception and banquet will take place Friday evening, May
19, at the Fort Lee Hilton, Route 4 East, Fort Lee, New Jersey. During the
banquet program a number of individuals will be honored including “Persons
of the Year,” “Spirit of Armenia,” and “Youth Leadership” awards.
“Certificates of Merit” will be presented to deserving members of the local
host community. To make reservations for the banquet ($75. per person)
contact any of the following: Sts. Vartanantz Church, 201-943-2950; Bea
Movsesian, 201-445-6867; Sonia Setrakian, 201-313-7157; Lynn Mahlebjian,
201-440-3018.
Full details about this and other public events during the NRA will be
included in next week’s Crossroads and will also be on the Prelacy’s web
page.

PASHALIAN FUND TRUSTEES MEET
The annual meeting of the trustees of the Pashalian Family Education
Fund took place Tuesday, April 18, at the Prelacy offices in New York. The
trustees reviewed the financial reports of the Fund and then discussed the
distribution of funds for the current year. The recipients of the 2006
grants will be announced shortly.
The Pashalian Fund was created in 1992 by gifts in memory of John
Pashalian by his family and friends. The Fund supports Armenian Schools and
Prelacy educational programs.
The trustees of the Fund are: H.E. Archbishop Oshagan (exofficio), Ms.
Gloria Tarsy, Dr. George Dermksian, and Michael Derian.

REGISTER NOW FOR DATEV SUMMER PROGRAM
Early registration deadline for the St. Gregory of Datev Summer
Institute is May 1. Act now to take advantage of the early deadline
discount. The weeklong program will take place July 2 to 9 at the St. Mary
of Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania. This year the Institute is
marking its 20th anniversary and all kinds of commemorative events are being
planned. We will provide full details in the coming weeks.
For registration information as well as information about the Institute
click here:

THE ART OF EMMA GREGORYAN
TO BE EXHIBITED AT THE PRELACY
The works of noted artist, Emma Gregoryan, will be shown beginning on
Friday evening, May 12, at the Prelacy’s Vahakn and Hasmig Hovnanian Hall,
138 E. 39th Street, New York City. The opening reception will take place
Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m. The artist will be present to welcome guests.
Refreshments will be served.
Ms. Gregoryan’s works are currently being shown at the Susquehanna Art
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as part of an exhibition of the Armenian
art collection of the late John Vartan.
Born in Gumri, Armenia, Emma Grigoryan graduated from the Fine Arts and
Theatrical Institute of Yerevan. Her paintings have been exhibited in
Yerevan, Paris, Beirut, New York, Washington and throughout Canada.

HILL MUSEUM PUBLICATION FEATURES
CILICIAN SEE COLLECTION
The latest issue of “Illumination,” a publication of the Hill Museum and
Manuscript Library (HMML) in Collegeville, Minnesota, features a number of
Armenian manuscripts including the collection of the Holy See of Cilicia in
Antelias, Lebanon. For the past four decades HMML has been photographing
manuscript collections in Western Europe, Ethiopia and Malta, producing the
largest microfilm collection of its kind. In recent years with the advance
in technology, photography of the manuscripts has been digital. In recent
years collections in the Middle East and elsewhere have been added to the
project of the Benedictine monks whose mission is to preserve the
manuscripts and provide scholarly access to them.
Last year they began photographing the collection at Antelias. The
magazine writes: “The manuscript collection of the Armenian Apostolic
Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia was brought to Lebanon in the
early 20th century along with other precious items rescued from the former
home of the Catholicosate in Sis, Cilicia, a region of southeastern Turkey
that was the last independent Armenian kingdom until it was conquered by the
Ottomans in the late 14th century. Many Armenians remained in Cilicia until
the Armenian Genocide during World War I, when Catholicos Sahak II and many
of his people were forced to flee. The refugees carried their most precious
manuscripts and sacred objects with them to Syria and, finally, to Lebanon.”
Accompanying this is an image of the 17th century Armenian Book of the
Gospels, Letter of Eusebius to Carpian, from the Antelias collection. The
image on the cover of the magazine is from a 14th century Armenian Book of
the Gospels, frontispiece to the Gospel of Luke, from the collection of the
Armenian Catholic Clergy Institute of Bzommar, Lebanon. The Bzommar
collection is also being digitized by HMML.

THIS SUNDAY IS “GREEN SUNDAY”
This Sunday, April 30, the third Sunday of Easter is Green Sunday
(Ganach Giragee) also called World Church Sunday (Ashkharhamadoor). The name
“Green Sunday” most probably comes from an ancient folk holiday in
celebration of spring. Our forefathers, seeing mother earth bloom after long
winter months, glorified the Creator with an act of thanksgiving, and
celebrated by bedecking the Church and themselves with greenery. Green is
the color of life, freshness and promise and after a barren winter we are
filled with hope, life and love.
It is also called World Church Sunday in the sense of the church
belonging to the whole world beginning with Christ and the Apostles who met
regularly to pray and partake of the Holy Sacrament of Communion.
Perhaps it is an appropriate time for us to remember our obligation to
be good stewards of the earth and the gifts that have been given to us by
God.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 29-Presentation by comedian Vahe Berberian at St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York. For details 718-224-2275.

May 5-Reunion of all students beginning from the 1930s who attended St.
Illuminator Armenian School in New York. Dinner Dance at Terrace on the
Park, Corona, NY. For reservations or information contact the St.
Illuminator’s Day School, 718-478-4073.

May 7-Mothers’ Day celebration at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.

May 8-Mothers’ Day Luncheon by Prelacy Ladies Guild, St. Regis, New York
City.

May 12-Exhibition of the works of artist Emma Gregoryan at the Prelacy, 138
E. 39th Street, New York City.

May 13-Dinner-Dance organized by the St. Sarkis Church Ping-Pong Club. For
details 718-224-2275.

May 17-19-National Representative Assembly (NRA), hosted by Sts. Vartanantz
Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey. Concluding reception and banquet will take
place Friday, May 19, at the Fort Lee Hilton, Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Reception at 7 pm, followed by dinner. For information/reservations: Sts.
Vartanantz Church office, 201-943-2950.

May 16 and 17-Conference of Yeretzgeens in conjunction with the National
Representative Assembly, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New
Jersey.

May 20-Year-end Hantes for Sunday School and Saturday School, St. Sarkis
Church, Douglaston, New York. For information, 718-224-2275.

June 4-16th Anniversary Celebration of the new St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York. For information, 718-224-2275.

July 22-Ladies Guild of Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island,
and Ani Chapter of Armenian Relief Society co-host gala dance at Greek
Orthodox Annunciation Church. For information, 401-286-8107.

September 28-4th Annual Golf Outing hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey. Bergen Hills Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey.
For reservations and/or information: 201-943-2950.

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