ANTELIAS: Women’s conference statement

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

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OUR VISION STATEMENT: 2010 YEAR OF ARMENIAN WOMEN
25-27 November 2010, Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias (Lebanon)

At the invitation of His Holiness Aram I, 60 Armenian women from Armenia,
Europe, the Middle East and North America met from the 25th to the 27th of
November 2010, in Antelias, to assess the response of the Armenian community
to the Pontifical Letter anannouncing 2010 as the Year of Armenian Women.

We were encouraged by the welcoming speech of His Holiness Aram I, who said:
“We should not speak anymore about the Armenian woman, but we should listen
to her speak out of her experiences, her gifts and commitments. Let us not
use this opportunity to confirm her traditional role, but let us discuss the
partnership between men and women in view of the challenges arising from
globalization, environmental issues, wars and conflicts.”

Following these encouraging words we began our work:

Strengthened by the Holy Scriptures affirming that woman and men are created
equal in the image of God

Affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing ‘the
inherent dignity and ‘of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family’

Inspired by the memories of our foremothers and their contribution to
sustaining our faith and culture as Armenians in the face of all our
historical difficulties

Empowered by the fact that our meeting coincided with the UN International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

As we look ahead:

We affirm the role of the family as an important social unit in our
community and believe it can be strengthened only through a partnership
between women and men.

We recognize the inherent gift of women as life givers and nurturers, as
mothers and teachers at home and in society and as teachers of religious
education.

In view of our affirmations we invite our Church and all social and
political institutions in our community to:

¡ Review with us the structures and processes of decision making, and
include women without any discrimination
¡ Make additional funds available for women’s education, in order to
eliminate gender disparity and enable women to participate in all levels of
society.

We thank His Holiness Aram I for organizing this historical initiative and
request that the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia encourage the study of
our statement in the dioceses and monitor its implementation.

The Participants of the Conference,
Antelias, 27 November, 2010

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

From: A. Papazian

http://www.ArmenianOrthodoxChurch.org/
http://www.youtube.com/user/HolySeeOfCilicia
http://www.ArmenianOrthodoxChurch.org