FRESNO PRIEST GATHERS GENOCIDE SURVIVORS’ MEMOIRS
by Ron Orozco
Fresno Bee
September 27, 2008 Saturday
California
A pastor of a large Armenian Orthodox congregation in Fresno has
compiled the spiritual writings of survivors and victims of the
Armenian genocide.
The Rev. Arshen Aivazian, pastor of St. Paul Armenian Church, spent
20 years gathering the homilies, essays and poetry before organizing
them into "Echoes of Faith" (St. Nersess Press, $14.95). The book is
available in English and Aivazian’s translation in Armenian.
The book will be released Oct. 26 at the St. Paul Armenian Parish
banquet, 3767 N. First St.
Other special gatherings to promote the book will be Oct. 28 at the
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America in Burbank
and Nov. 19 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, N.Y.
In the book’s preface, Aivazian, 62, explains how he became inspired
reading the writings. He researched the authors and organized their
writings. It features 28 writings by authors who lived between
1862-1996.
Among them is "I Thirst," written by Nersess V. Danielian. Danielian
writes on the words of Jesus on the cross.
"I get teary-eyed every time I read it," says Aivazian, whose father,
Artine Aivazian, was a survivor of the genocide, and whose paternal
grandfather, Hovhannes Aivazian, was a victim of it. Artine Aivazian
died in 1992 at age 86.
"Under the most trying circumstances, in life, these people went to
their faith and they were triumphant," Arshen Aivazian says. The book
will be available at the St. Paul Armenian Church bookstore.