Month: October 2008

WHAT MADE HINDUS ANGRY IN KARNATAKA
[email protected]

Express Buzz
Oct. 06 2008
India

Francois GautierFirst Published : 06 Oct 2008 02:12:00 AM ISTLast
Updated : 06 Oct 2008 07:40:54 AM ISTI WAS born in a Catholic
family. My uncle was a priest, a wonderful man of warmth and compassion
and I spent most my early years in Catholic boarding schools. When I
was young I wanted to become a missionary and to ‘convert’ pagans in
Asia. What I was taught by priests was that Hindus worship false gods
and they needed to be brought back to the True Word by Jesus Christ.

Then of course, I came to India and discovered that actually Hindus,
far from being the heathens, as had been portrayed in Europe, not
only believed God’s diversity, the wonderful concept of avatar, but
had given refuge to all persecuted minorities of the world, whether
the Syrian Christians, the Parsis, the Jews (India is the only country
in the world where Jews were not persecuted), the Armenians, or today
the Tibetans.

I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the
Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds
of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur,
etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced
once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’ But when furious Hindus, tired of
being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted
by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji
brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their
anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government
goes after the soft target which the Hindus are. The same thing applies
to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India
about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new
converts and it angers the majority community of India,Washington
has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not
have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business.

Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to
write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important
westernfunded missionary centre ( ),
began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor
people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then
taking them to churches to introduce them to the father.

Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken
to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another
Rs. 3,000.

When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name,
they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards.

Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak
on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples,
replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a
Cross, etc.

But what really angered local Hindus was when Newlife went one
step further and published a book in Kannada — Satya Darshini —
which was widely distributed by its missionaries. Here below is
the translation of some of the most abusive passages: "Urvashi —
the daughter of Lord Vishnu — is a prostitute.

Vashistha is the son of this prostitute.

He in turn married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru
of the Hindu God Rama. (page 48).

When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he
enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there
is a need for us to liberate his misled followers (page 50). It was
Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita.

"Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves victims of lust,
it is a sin to consider them as Gods. (page 39).

When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed
by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? The projection of
them as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39). God, please liberate the
sinful people of India who are worshipping False Gods. (Page 39)." When
blasphemy and much worse is brought against the most sacred Hindu Gods,
Hindus are supposed to take it meekly as sheep and let themselves be
converted to a foreign religion! There are more than 4,000 foreign
Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities across
different states.

In Tripura, there were no Christians at the time of independence. There
are 1,20,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991. The figures are
even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710
Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches! In
Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages
and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.

Christians throughout the ages have strived on the concept of
persecution and as a brought up Catholic, I remember feeling bad about
all those martyred saints of Christianity. Christians in India like
to say that they are only two per cent and can do no harm. But it is
a sham: in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt from Chennai to Kanyakumari,
there must be now 10 per cent Christians posttsunami and the same
may be true in other parts of south India.

My heart goes out to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa who
took a courageous stand against unethical Christian conversions,
but is now under pressure from the Centre.

The BJP, having learnt from bitter experience that the Congress has
no qualm in invoking President’s rule under fallacious pretexts in
states which are ruled by non-Congress governments is in a quandary:
it must show some action against militant Hindu groups while remaining
true to itself.

This is why Yeddyurappa took some action against Hindu groups while
saying that his government will not tolerate forcible conversions
and will take stringent action against missionaries involved in
conversions.

And ultimately, the blame must fall on Hindus: they are 800 million
in India, the overwhelming majority; they have the brains, they have
the money and they have the power. But either their intellectual and
political class sides with the minorities, out of fear, inferiority
complex imbedded by the British or just sheer crass political
opportunism, or the bigger mass is indifferent inert, selfish, un-civic
conscious. Every Hindu is the inheritor of the only surviving spiritual
knowledge which at the moment is under a concerted attack by Christian
missionaries, Americanisation, Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism.

CANADIAN SOPRANOS EXPLORE EXOTIC SONGS
by Bradley Bambarger, [email protected]

The Star-Ledger – NJ.com
Monday October 06, 2008, 4:19 PM
NJ

Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is featured on the new CD "Gomidas
Songs.">"Gomidas Songs." Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano; Gevorg
Dabaghyan, duduk; Serouj Kradjian, piano; Armenian Philharmonic
Chamber Players, Eduard Topchjan, cond. (Nonesuch). Four stars

Gomidas Vardapet (1869-1935) is the patron saint of Armenian classical
music. (His church name — he was born Soghomon Soghomonyan —
is usually transliterated for recordings as Komitas.) He collated
thousands of traditional Armenian songs and dances; he also composed
new secular and sacred works threaded with the tradition’s haunting
melodic flavor. Although he survived the Armenian genocide of 1915,
he was a broken man after that.

The music of Gomidas has been recorded by artists from violist
Kim Kashkashian and pianist Grigory Sokolov to Djivan Gasparyan,
master of the Armenian national instrument, the oboe-like duduk. But
this labor-of-love disc by Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, of
Armenian descent, may receive the most attention. A charming artist
with a warm, gleaming voice and up-and-coming opera career, the
34-year-old Bayrakdarian sounds utterly authentic in these piquant,
touching songs. (She first sang Gomidas for Atom Egoyan’s "Ararat,"
a 2002 film about the Armenian genocide; the director wrote an
introductory note for her album.)

The apt pianist is Bayrakdarian’s husband, Serouj Kradjian, who also
wrote the subtly ornamental string-and-wind arrangements, with the
duduk’s apricot-wood timbre a primary color. The music sounds very
Eastern and minimalist, and mostly sad; only a Rossini-influenced
number strikes a false note. Highlights include the heartbreaking
"Oror" (Lullaby), the sighing romantic lament "Karoon" (Spring)
and more dramatic "Andooni" (Without a Home), a favorite of Debussy
when he heard Gomidas in Paris. Bayrakdarian will sing these songs
at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall on Oct. 20.

Messiaen: "Chants de Terre et de Ciel." Suzie LeBlanc, soprano;
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Laura Andriani, violin; Robert Kortgaard,
piano. (Atma). Four stars

The records marking the centenary of French modernist Olivier
Messiaen (1908-1992) have been disappointingly thin, being mostly
multiple versions of his "Quartet for the End of Time." So, this
thoughtfully conceived, beautifully realized recital disc does a
great service. Featuring French-Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc, the
program highlights the songwriting of the young Messiaen, when he
was enraptured with his first, short-lived wife and under the spell
of Debussy.

There is an ecstatic quality to the cycles "Trois Melodies" and
"Chants de Terre et de Ciel" (Songs of the Earth and Sky), all
swooning lyricism and moonlit atmosphere. These are deeply French,
high-art songs, crafted like jewels. But they also have an effortless
naturalism, especially with a singer like LeBlanc. The soprano,
in her mid-40s, has specialized in Baroque repertoire, but she has
also explored the folk tunes of her Acadian heritage. Her tone is
silvery, clear and floating (with the barest vibrato), her phrasing
intimate like she’s singing just for you. These qualities are ideal,
as Messiaen’s songs are about romantic faith and spiritual love.

The piano parts are rich, with Messiaen giving impressionistic harmony
a modernist update. The composer’s first wife was a violinist,
and he wrote several pieces for her, including the ravishingly
lyrical "Vocalise" for violin and piano, played lovingly here by
Laura Andriani. Also included is the melodious "Theme et Variations"
for violin and piano, with Andriani taking it at flowing pace while
managing the most poetic close.

The rarity here is "La Mort du Nombre," a dramatic mini-cantata for
soprano, tenor, violin and piano by the 21-year-old Messiaen that shows
the influence of Wagner’s love music through the prism of Debussy’s
"Pelleas et Melisande." Lawrence Wiliford may sound a bit callow next
to LeBlanc, but they entwine intensely enough, the piece ending with
shimmering, love-struck piano.

POPE OPENS SYNOD WITH "GODLESS" WARNING

CathNews
October 06, 2008
Australia

Warning that nations once rich in faith were losing their identity
under the influence of "a certain modern culture", Pope Benedict
opened the Synod of Bishops on the Bible yesterday at a Mass at St
Paul Outside the Walls Basilica.

"There are those, who, after deciding that ‘God is dead,’ declare
themselves to be ‘god’ and the artisan of their own destiny, the
absolute master of the world," Pope Benedict said according to an
Irish Times report.

Attempts to "brush God aside" lead to arrogance of power, selfishness,
injustice, exploitation and violence, he said.

"When men proclaim themselves to be absolute masters of themselves
and sole masters of creation, can they truly build a society where
freedom, justice and peace reign?," he said.

For three weeks, more than 250 synod fathers will prayerfully reflect
and discuss "The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church,"
together with lay and religious auditors from around the world,
and with the help of many experts in the sacred sciences, Radio
Vaticana says.

Pope Benedict began his homily with a reflection on this Sunday’s
Gospel reading, in which the Lord recounts the parable of the landlord,
whose tenants mistreat his servants and kill his son.

The Pope said the Gospel reading applies to our own way of thinking
and acting; it applies especially to those peoples who have received
the proclamation of the Gospel.

If we look at history, continued Pope Benedict, we are forced to
recognise that it is not rare for inconsistent Christians to be cold
and rebellious.

The Holy Father went on to note how in our day, nations that at one
time were rich in faith and vocations are losing their identity, under
the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture.

The Pope said there are those who, having decided that ‘God is dead’,
declare themselves ‘gods’, believing themselves the sole creators of
their own destiny and the absolute owners of the world.

In casting off God, said Pope Benedict, man believes that he can do
whatever he likes and set himself up as the sole measure of himself
and his action, and as daily events abundantly demonstrate, man’s
rejection of God brings the expansion of arbitrary power, unbridled
pursuit of selfish interest, injustice, ruthless exploitation, and
all manner of violence.

In the end, man finds himself more alone, and society is more divided
and confused.

Pope Benedict told the faithful there is a promise in the words of
Jesus: the vineyard will not be destroyed.

"The message of consolation that we take from these biblical texts,"
said Pope Benedict, "is the certainty that evil and death do not have
the last word. It is Christ who triumphs in the end. Always!

Pope Benedict spoke of the Gospel reading in connection with the Synod,
saying the Church does not tire of proclaiming this Good News, as is
taking place now, in this basilica dedicated to the apostle of the
Gentiles, who was the first to spread the Gospel in the vast regions
of Asia Minor and Europe.

Earlier, Synod secretary general Archbishop Nikola Eterovic,
highlighted the large number of participants from other Christian
Churches, Catholic News Agency says.

Representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be present
alongside others from the Patriarchates of Moscow, of Serbia and
of Romania, from the Orthodox Church of Greece and the Armenian
Apostolic Church, as well as from the Anglican Communion, the World
Lutheran Federation, the Church of the Disciples of Christ and the
World Council of Churches, he explained.

Pope Benedict has also invited three special guests to address the
synod, who will each present a unique perspective to the bishops.

The first guest is Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa, Israel,
who will speak to the assembly on October 6 about how the Jewish people
read and interpret Sacred Scripture. "This will be the first time
that a rabbi and a non-Christian has addressed the Synod Fathers,"
Archbishop Eterovic noted. The other special guests are Reverend
A. Miller Milloy, secretary general of the United Bible Societies,
and Frere Alois, prior of the Taize Community.

One last notable ecumenical facet of the synod on the Bible will be
addresses delivered by Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I on October 18.

Meanwhile, The Times of India reports that China has denied permission
for Catholic bishops to travel to Rome for the Synod.

Chief Vatican spokesman Reverend Federico Lombardi said Beijing,
which has had difficult relations with the Vatican over the years,
had made it clear in preliminary contacts that travel requests would
be denied. Bishops from Macao and Hong Kong, regions with a degree
of autonomy from Beijing, will attend the month long synod, which
started on Sunday.

"(There were) talks with the Chinese authorities to see if other
bishops from mainland China could come. It was clear that there
would be no agreement and they won’t come," Lombardi said. China’s
communist government does not allow its Catholics to recognise the
Pope’s authority and forces them to be members of a state backed
Catholic organisation.

JOHN MC CAIN COURTISE LA COMMUNAUTE ARENO-ERICAINE

Nouvelles d’Arméni
lundi6 octobre 2008
France

USA

Le sénateur John McCain a publié lundi 29 septembre une lettre
ouverte aux électeurs arméno-américains, recherchant leur soutien
pour sa campagne présidentielle, mais laissant de côté les questions
au cÅ"ur des préoccupations des arméno américains, a annoncé le
Comité National Arménien d’Amérique (ANCA).

La lettre écrite par l’équipe de campagne de McCain-Palin reproduit
les mêmes thèmes que la correspondance du sénateur McCain
en février dernier transmise a l’ANCA. En employant un langage
presque identique, le Sénateur de l’Arizona loue la contribution
de la communauté arméno-américaine a la société américaine
et la contribution de l’Arménie aux opérations de la coalition en
Irak et de l’OTAN dans le Kosovo. Il reste silencieux sur le Nagorno
Karabagh, le blocus turc et azéri, l’aide américaine a l’Arménie et
la question plus large des relations Etats-Unis-Arménie et utilise
le langage typique employée par l’Administration en mentionnant la
Â" tragédie épouvantable Â" subie par les arméniens, sans employer
bien sÃ"r le terme approprié de génocide ni même mentionner l’Empire
Ottoman ou la République de Turquie.

Â" Les Arméno-Américains sont des électeurs et espèrent que les
candidats visant leur appui aient des positions et des valeurs claires
et en particulier sur les questions liées au Génocide arménien,
Au Nagorno Karabagh, au renforcement de l’Arménie et de la croissance
des relations Etats-Unis-Arménie Â" a déclaré le direceur de l’ANCA
Aram Hamparian.

Le sénateur McCain s’est pendant son mandat au congrès, en grande
partie opposé ou est resté passif face aux interrogations des
arméno-américains. Récemment en octobre de l"année dernière,
le sénateur McCain s’est publiquement opposé a la reconnaissance
par le Congrès du génocide arménien. En 1999, il a voté contre
la limitation de l’aide des Etats-Unis a l’Azerbaïdjan en raison de
son blocus et de l’utilisation de la force armée contre l’Arménie
et le Nagorno Karabagh.

–Boundary_(ID_XrnuLx6qeDZubRrzI37AcQ)- –

LA RUSSIE NE S’INQUIETE PAS DU RAPPROCHEMENT DE L’ARMENIE AVEC L’OTAN

Nouvelles d’Arméni
lundi6 octobre 2008
France

DIPLOMATIE

Selon le ministre des Affaires étrangères russe, la Russie n’est
pas alarmée par la coopération croissante de l’Arménie avec l’OTAN
et comprend les efforts de son allié régional principal d’étendre
des liens économiques avec la Géorgie après la récente guerre.

En visite a Erevan, Lavrov a également semblé optimiste quant aux
chances d’une percée des négociations du groupe de Minsk dans le
conflit du Haut-Karabagh.

En agitant le spectre d’une nouvelle Guerre froide, l’OTAN et la
Russie ont gelé leurs relations après la campagne militaire de
Moscou en Géorgie, fortement condamnée par l’Occident. L’Arménie,
qui entretient des liens militaires proches avec la Russie, a fait
comprendre que cela ne la dissuadera pas de continuer a mettre
en Å"uvre son Plan d’action de partenariat individuel (IPAP) avec
l’OTAN. Lundi dernier, Erevan a commencé a accueillir des exercices
militaires menées par l’OTAN.

–Boundary_(ID_lc39K7Fc71M38NH/UdQYBg)–

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Monday, October 6, 2008

AGBU Young Professionals Break New Ground – Networking Never Felt This
Good

The only Armenian network of its kind spanning five continents, the
AGBU Young Professionals (YP) make Armenian communities around the
world thriving, better places in which to live, through civic
involvement and international cooperation bound by one common mission
– to promote the Armenian identity and heritage.

Inspiring their peers to get involved and stay involved, the open-door
policy of the AGBU Young Professionals has garnered them a worldwide
reputation for promoting a sense of community and belonging for young
Armenians ages 22 to 40.

Proof positive, the AGBU YP Network swelled to 22 groups with welcome
additions abroad in Brazil, Australia, and Germany, while stateside,
Washington, D.C. and Fresno, California joined the fold. Discussions
are also underway to establish even more groups in South America and
the Middle East by year’s end.

Substantive and impactful, the YP Network sponsored over 90 cultural,
educational and social events in 2007 with over 5300 YPs in
attendance, representing 20% of AGBU worldwide activity. Sharing the
fruits of their labor, the groups also donated nearly $41,000 back to
the community, with 70% of the funds earmarked for worthwhile AGBU
projects in Armenia and Karabakh. The total amount of funds raised
since the network’s inception has surpassed $135,000, of which over
$60,000 was brought in by the fundraising powerhouse, the Young
Professionals of Greater New York.

As the AGBU Young Professionals continue to build momentum around the
world, groups are identifying novel ways to mobilize and attract their
peers by promoting their professional lives and interests. Some key
examples include the professional development seminar series organized
by YP Toronto on contemporary topics such as identity theft, real
estate and retirement planning, and the establishment of professional
Special Interest Groups by YP Paris and YP Yerevan.

Other YP Groups elect to give back by contributing towards the good
work of their AGBU Chapters and the well-being of their
communities-at-large, as witnessed by YP Plovdiv’s administrative
support of the local AGBU student scholarship program, the sponsoring
of a fundraiser by YP Los Angeles and YP Orange County in California
to benefit the AGBU Generation Next Mentoring Program, and YP Tehran’s
visit to the Akunk Center, a facility for Armenian children with
mental and physical diseases.

Additionally, the YP Network is exploring ways to harness its
collective power through the release of a new logo and web platform on
Meetup and Meetup Alliance (), adoption of
a project to support the career development needs of youth in Armenia
and promotion of international cooperation and understanding through a
videoconferencing series with the largest Armenian diaspora in the
world – Russia.

Los Angeles & Moscow Connect in Cyberspace

On July 19, 2008, the AGBU Young Professionals of Los Angeles (YP LA)
collaborated with SIVAM, a peer organization based in Moscow, Russia,
on a ground-breaking Internet videoconference.

With participants from the two largest Armenian diasporas assembled,
the YP LA Publicity Chair Narine Zardarian based in Pasadena,
California and SIVAM Coordinator Isabella Gushchyan based in Moscow,
Russia facilitated the online videoconference exchange that compared
and contrasted the Armenian-American and Russian-Armenian experiences,
stimulating inquiries about key cultural differences and the sharing
of anecdotal accounts.

"Videoconferencing with professionals in Moscow made me realize that
there is an emerging global Armenian identity," said Zardarian. "It is
an identity that transcends geographic boundaries, dialects and other
affiliations, but simply appeals to one’s inner core as an Armenian."

To learn more about the AGBU YP Network or how to establish an AGBU YP
Group in your community, please visit , email
[email protected] or contact one of our 22 YP Groups worldwide in –
ARMENIA: Yerevan ([email protected]); AUSTRALIA: Sydney
([email protected]); AUSTRIA: Vienna ([email protected]); BRAZIL,
São Paulo ([email protected]); BULGARIA: Plovdiv ([email protected]),
Sofia ([email protected]); CANADA: Toronto ([email protected]); ENGLAND:
London ([email protected]); FRANCE: Paris ([email protected]);
GERMANY: Cologne ([email protected]); IRAN: Tehran
([email protected]); LEBANON: Beirut ([email protected]);
SWITZERLAND: Zurich ([email protected]); USA: Boston, MA
([email protected]), Detroit, MI ([email protected]), Fresno, CA
([email protected]), Greater New York, NY ([email protected]), Los
Angeles, CA ([email protected]), Orange County, CA
([email protected]), Philadelphia, PA ([email protected]), San
Francisco, CA ([email protected]), Washington
D.C. ([email protected]).

For more information on AGBU and its other worldwide programs, please
visit

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
Email: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

October 6, 2008

110th ANNIVERSARY OF ESTABLISHMENT OF ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA AND
50th ANNIVERSARY OF PRELACY UNDER CILICIAN SEE
TO BE MARKED ON OCTOBER 25

BY FLORENCE AVAKIAN

NEW YORK, NY—–Extensive preparations are underway for the 50th
anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church in America, under the Catholicosate of Cilicia. This year
also marks the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Church
in America, named the Prelacy by Catholicos of all Armenians Khrimian
Hairig.

The gala event will take place on Saturday evening, October 25, at the
Marriott at Glenpointe in Teaneck, NJ, with the reception starting at 7
P.M., and the dinner at 8 P.M. Accompanying the reception will be an
exhibit, and DVD presentation of the Prelacy’s history during the past half
century.

"We are celebrating 50 years of spiritual growth and service, not the
split," states Prelate Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. "We are celebrating
the spirit of bringing people around the church, and the strengthening of
the family. We are an axel around which revolve all of our sister
organizations working together.

In addition, the Prelacy has sponsored concerts, commemorative events,
publications, and symposiums. These have all been constructed with the
goal of "keeping the Christian faith alive, promoting Armenian identity, and
passing onto the next generation the knowledge of their future, and keeping
the Armenian cause alive," Archbishop Choloyan relates.

Part of the celebration will feature a book, detailing the history of the
Prelacy from its beginnings. "This will be like an art catalog, leaving a
legacy for the future.
We want to relay an inspirational message with the wording." Already
prepared is a traveling exhibition which depicts the Prelacy’s 50-year
history, with two huge panels accompanied by a DVD. In addition to the
national event, parishes will have their own local celebrations, the Prelate
notes.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

Archbishop Choloyan is currently in his third term as Prelate of the Eastern
Prelacy. In a previous interview, he declared, "Our past, of course, is
important. We must know it, study it, learn from it. But the past is not
our capital. We must always focus on the future, with emphasis on the
education of our children, encouraging them to reach their greatest
potential, but never forgetting their roots."

He credits the former Prelate, Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian who served as
Prelate for 20 years, with the enormous progress that the Prelacy has made.
But he is concerned about the absence of previously active people within the
church. The top priorities for Archbishop Choloyan have been clergy
recruitment and education, parish development, and Christian education. In
this regard, he is ever mindful of using modern technology to reach the
faithful.

When first elected Prelate in May 1998, Archbishop Choloyan’s first visited
each one of the parishes, and parish development became a priority. He
saw that strong and creative leadership was a necessity. "A religious
community is only as strong as the clerical leaders ministering to it. A
strong pastor makes a strong parish," and thereby the recruitment and
education of young men for the clergy was crucial.

Always looking forward, he acknowledges that reforms are needed. "We need
to embark on a study of self-evaluation and begin a process of renewal. We
need to explore liturgical issues as well as ethical and moral issues that
are so much a part of modern life."

The 50-year history of the Prelacy is "an impressive story of keeping and
transmitting our faith, safeguarding our traditions, keeping the youth
attached to the church, and keeping our community strong and active. Unity
is a noble and lofty goal, even imperative. However, unity is a process
which must be followed if unity is to become a reality. Imposing unity
will not work. We have to prepare the groundwork, and learn to love,
understand, and respect one another. If this is done, then unity will surely
follow."

STRONG FAMILY FOUNDATION

Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1947, young Manoog Choloyan received a strong
ethical and faith-filled foundation from his grandmother, parents, godfather
and uncle. Receiving his primary education at Aleppo’s Haikazian School, he
entered the Seminary at age 13, though he had been singing in the local
church since he was five years old. "The Church was such a constant and
strong part of our early family life," he has said, and recalls that he and
his brothers would "play church".

Accepted into the Cilician See’s Seminary in Antelias in 1960, he was
ordained a deacon in 1964, a celibate priest in 1967, Bishop in 1994, and
Archbishop in 1998. He recalls fondly that during his time in the Seminary,
he never felt homesick. "I was at home in the Seminary."

The Prelate’s illustrious career includes teaching in the Mardigian School,
the Karen Jeppe Jemaran in Aleppo, attending the American University of
Beirut, and the Princeton Theological Seminary where he earned two Master’s
degrees. As a Princeton student, then-Prelate Archbishop Karekin Sarkissian
used his talents throughout the many churches in the Prelacy. He became
locum tenens of the Eastern Prelacy in 1977, returned to Lebanon to teach at
the Seminary in 1979, and was appointed pontifical legate to Kuwait and the
Arab Emirates in 1980. For the 1700th anniversary of Christian Armenia, he
was assigned as co-chairman of the central committee.

One of his most ambitious programs became the translation of the Bible into
western Armenian which he worked on with his closest friend Archbishop Zareh
Aznavourian of blessed memory. With the completion of the New Testament,
regarded by the Bible Society as one of the best translations, they embarked
on the Old Testament, left incomplete due to the illness and death of
Archbishop Aznavourian. As a fitting memorial to the Archbishop, he is
committed to completing the project with the aid of the Bible Society and a
group of new translators.

He regards as his greatest contribution the preparation, with Archbishop
Aznavourian, of five volumes of Armenian sharagans, most not available on
paper, and only passed through from one generation to the next through oral
tradition.

On the 50th anniversary of the Prelacy, Archbishop Choloyan’s eloquent
message to every Armenian is, "Do not just stand on the sidelines. Come
into the arena, be active, be a participant, always with the goal of
building the Church and making it stronger for the glory of God."

Clark University
University Communications
Angela M. Bazydlo
Associate Director of Media Relations
ph: 508-793-7635
cell: 508-365-8736

PRESS RELEASE
October 6, 2008

Acclaimed scholar Donald Bloxham to lecture Oct. 22
at Clark University on the Holocaust and violent traditions in Europe

WORCESTER, MA- The Clark University Modern History Colloquium and The
Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will
present "Integrating the Holocaust into a European History of
Violence," a talk by acclaimed scholar Donald Bloxham on Wednesday,
October 22, at 4 p.m. in the Rose Library at the Cohen-Lasry House, 11
Hawthorne Street, Clark University Campus.
In his talk, Bloxham will discuss the moving away from the
metaphysical questions of the uniqueness of the Holocaust and will
consider the Holocaust in the context of a violent continent-Europe in
the first half of the 20th century-and will examine ways in which it
fits and does not fit into broader patterns of genocide and ethnic
cleansing.
Bloxham is a professor of modern history at the University of
Edinburgh in Scotland. He recently spent a year with the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC conducting research
for a book-length project entitled "The Final Solution: A Genocide and
its Contexts" and was the Maurice C. Shapiro Senior
Scholar-in-Residence.
Bloxham, 34, is the youngest full professor of history in the United
Kingdom. Prior to his appointment to the University of Edinburgh
faculty, Bloxham was research director of London-based charity the
Holocaust Educational Trust. In 2007, his book "The Great Game of
Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman
Armenians" was awarded the Raphael Lemkin Award by the International
Association of Genocide Scholars.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information,
contact 508-793-8897.
The mission of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies reaches beyond the boundaries of the University: to educate
professionals of many fields about genocide and the Holocaust; to
provide a lecture series free of charge and open to the public; to use
scholarship to address current problems stemming from the murderous
past; and to participate in the public discussion about a host of
issues ranging from the importance of intervention in genocidal
situations today to the significance of state-sponsored denial of the
Armenian genocide and the well-funded denial of the Holocaust.
Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research
university with over 2,100 undergraduate and 800 graduate
students. Since its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school
in the United States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative
programs such as the International Studies Stream and the accelerated
BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible
students. The University is featured in Loren Pope’s book, "Colleges
That Change Lives."
–

DISCUSSIONS SUR LE REGLEMENT RAPIDE DU CONFLIT DU HAUT-KARABAGH

Collectif des Démocrates Arméniens d’Euro
lundi 6 octobre 2008
France

KARABAGH

168 Jam annonce que le chef de la délégation azérie a demandé
lors de la session d’automne de l’AP de l’/OSCE (qui s’est tenue du
18-21 septembre a Toronto) d’entamer des discussions sur le règlement
rapide du conflit du Haut-Karabagh. Le rapporteur sur le Haut-Karabagh,
G. Lenmarker, a répondu qu’un aucune initiative n’est prévue au
sein de l’organisation avant les élections présidentielles en
Azerbaïdjan.

Service de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie

–Boundary_(ID_8WjHyulRAdmDyEc K2DnvsQ)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ALEXANDER SOTNICHENKO: I CAN’T NAME A POWER INTERESTED IN RECOGNITION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2008 12:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Both the U.S. and EU hope for successful
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations, a Russian expert said.

"Nevertheless, they want it to happen through their mediation. European
countries and organizations, such as NATO, EU and OSCE want to be
direct intermediaries in settling conflicts in the Caucasus in order
to expand their influence throughout the region," senior lecturer
at Saint-Petersburg State University, deputy editor at the Center of
Oriental Studies, Ph.D. in history Alexander Sotnichenko said in an
interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

At that he noted that there is no system of international relations
which could regulate the world politics on the basis of universally
recognized international law. "Each event is interpreted from the
position of strength and benefit. Since 1991, the ideas of "state
sovereignty" and "right of nations to self-determination" have been
interpreted one-sidedly by the world powers. Both Nagorno Karabakh
and Transnistria can be internationally recognized if their longing
for independence will coincide with strategy of one or several world
players. The case with Nagorno Karabakh is demonstrative: I can’t name
a power which is interested in recognition of this territory," he said.