Month: October 2016

The end is near for the building that once housed St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church at the corner of Winter and Main Streets in Lawrence, Massachusetts, reports.

Key architectural features of the 110 Main St. building across from Haverhill City Hall have been removed, interior contents hauled away and the building boarded in preparation for demolition.

Although some expressed concern about the original design of a retail plaza to replace the church, Haverhill Building Inspector Richard Osborne said he is pleased with revised plans the city requested. In its place will go a strip mall with a Domino’s Pizza as the main business.

Late last June, in a 6 to 2 vote, councilors defeated an ordinance which would have granted the Haverhill Historic Commission authority to both delay demolition of properties in the historic district and regulate designs of new buildings. Most councilors argued church parishioners need the money from the sale of the iconic church to complete a new building that has been in the works for 15 years.

Councilor William J. Macek called the quick plan to halt demolition of the church an 11th hour attempt. “I’m not going to roadblock the church or make it any harder,” he said.

St. Gregory the Illuminator Apostolic Church merged in 2002 with Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church of Lawrence to form the Armenian Church at Hye Pointe. Rev Vart Gyozalian, pastor, told councilors the church hopes to have its new Bradford building open by next January.

Enhancing economic connectivity perspectives and the development of Euro-Asian inland transport links were the focus of a two-day expert meeting held by the OSCE Office in Yerevan within the UNECE’s Euro-Asian Transport Links (EATL) project, which ended today in Yerevan.

The event brought together representatives from state institutions, private sector, specialized transport organizations and experts from Armenia, Greece, Iran, Poland, Russia, Singapore, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

They discussed recent developments in infrastructure projects and transit initiatives along Euro-Asian routes, in particular the Silk Road Programme, and the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program. Participants discussed the draft of the UNECE EATL Phase 3 Report which shall serve as a basis for policy co-ordination and action to make the overland Euro-Asian trade transport links operational and commercially attractive. The participants agreed that public-private partnerships and political support are required to boost regional economic growth, stability and security through improving existing legal agreements, simplifying procedures and eliminating redundant and restrictive rules.

“The OSCE recognizes the significance of the Euro-Asian Transport Links project for the economic connectivity and social stability of the region,” noted David Gullette, Acting Economic and Environmental Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

Miroslav Jovanovic from the UNECE’s Sustainable Transport Division said that “The UNECE intends to contribute to the economic development in Europe and Asia by easing transport and trade links and making them more commercially viable.”

Zukhra Bektepova, Economic Affairs Officer at the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) stressed that enhancing harmonization and predictability of transport and customs procedures and regulations requires not only technical know-how but also political will and co-operation.

Artak Zakaryan, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly of Armenia emphasized the significance of regional economic integration where “improvement and development of effective Euro-Asian transport and efficient logistics chains are vitally important.”

The expert meeting was supported by the OCEEA and the UNECE.

The OSCE has been providing political and practical help to the UNECE’s Euro-Asian Transport Links since 2006.

Associated Press – In the innermost chamber of the site said to be the tomb of Jesus, a restoration team has peeled away a marble layer for the first time in centuries in an effort to reach what it believes is the original rock surface where Jesus’ body was laid.

Many historians have long believed that the original cave, identified a few centuries after Jesus’ death as his tomb, was obliterated ages ago.

But an archaeologist accompanying the restoration team said ground penetrating radar tests determined that cave walls are in fact standing — at a height of six feet and connected to bedrock — behind the marbled panels of the chamber at the center of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

“What was found,” said National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert, “is astonishing.”

The work is part of a historic renovation project to reinforce and preserve the Edicule, the chamber housing the cave where Jesus is said to have been entombed and resurrected. It is the centerpiece of one of Christianity’s oldest churches and one of its most important shrines.

“I usually spend my time in Tut’s tomb,” said Hiebert about the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun’s burial site, “but this is more important.”

National Geographic is partnering with Greek restoration experts to document the work.

A 12th-century building sitting on 4th-century remains, the Church of the Holy Sepluchre is the only place where six Christian denominations practice their faith at the same site.

The Edicule was last restored in 1810 following a fire, and is in need of reinforcement after years of exposure to humidity and candle smoke. A hulking iron cage built around the Edicule by British authorities in 1947 for support still stands, but is not enough.

Renovations at this holiest of spots require mutual agreement by the church’s various custodians, and that is notoriously hard to secure. The denominations jealously guard different parts of the site and often object to even the slightest of changes.

Church officials closed the Edicule to pilgrims beginning Wednesday evening, and workers used a pulley to slide open the marble slab, in hopes of reaching the burial surface. Hiebert said the slab hadn’t been removed since the year 1550.

Underneath the marble was a layer of debris. By Thursday afternoon, workers had finished removing the debris, revealing something unexpected: another marble slab.

Hiebert said he thinks the second slab, which is grey and features a small etching of a cross, dates to the 12th century. It is cracked down the middle, and underneath it is a whitish layer.

“I don’t believe … that is the original rock,” Hiebert said. “We still have more to go.”

The main Christian communities that govern the church have allowed the work crew only 60 hours to excavate the inner sanctum, Hiebert said. Experts are working day and night to reach the tomb’s core and to analyze it.

“We will close the tomb after we document it,” said Antonia Moropoulou, an architect at the National Technical University of Athens, which is supervising the renovation.

The restoration team wants to tightly seal the core of the tomb before injecting parts of the shrine with mortar for reinforcement, so the material doesn’t seep inside what is considered to be the holy rock.

One part of the tomb will remain exposed. Experts on Thursday cut a rectangular window in one of the Edicule’s marble walls, so pilgrims will be able to glimpse, for the first time, a part of the limestone wall thought to be the tomb of Jesus.

David Grenier, secretary of a group that oversees Roman Catholic church properties in the Holy Land, stood with a few other Franciscan friars, watching the work crew in awe.

“What happened here 2,000 years ago completely changed the history of the world,” he said. “To be able to dig, let’s say, to the rock where the body of Jesus was laid … it’s overwhelming joy.”

At one point, a National Geographic film crew documented the site as clergy burned incense around them in a daily church rite.

Sergey Avetisyan, the Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, received today Herman Carpentier, Brussels Airlines Vice President for Aeropolitical Affairs & International Relations, and Andreas Weingartner, Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Europe.

The Belgian partners reconfirmed the plans of the Brussels Airlines to operate weekly flights to and from Yerevan from December 10, 2016 to March 31, 2017. In 2017 the company intends to launch regular flights between Armenia and Belgium.

Representative of the company are currently studying the market and discussing the future programs.

Sergey Avetisyan welcomed the British Airlines’ entry into the Armenian market. He attached importance to the expansion of the geography of air transportation and diversification of the market.

The Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts hosts the second international scientific conference “Readings from Narekatsi.” The event dedicated to the memory of famed scholar, Hrachya Tamrazayan has brought together best specialists in the field of Narekatsi studies.

The Italian and French translations of Narek (Thr Book of Lamentations) were presented within the framework of the conference today. French orientalist, philologist and historian of Caucasus, specialist of Armenian studies Jean-Pierre Mahé has worked on the French translation for six years.

Theo Maarten van Lint, Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, has worked on the French translation for six years.

Narek has been translated into Italian by Archpriest Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Pope’s envoy at the Mekhitarist Seminary. It was due to his efforts that Pope Francis declared Gregory of Narek Doctor of the Church.

On 28 October President Bako Sahakyan received the delegation of the Armenian National Assembly at the head of the parliament’s deputy chairman Edward Sharmazanov.

Issues related to further deepening and widening inter-parliamentarian ties between the two Armenian republics were on the agenda of the meeting.

NKR National Assembly vice-chairman Vahram Balayan partook at the meeting.

Jose Mourinho has suggested Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs time to adapt to English football, but the Manchester United manager has backed his signing to become a “top player” for the Reds.

The Armenian has not featured since the Manchester derby in the Premier League on 10 September and that is partly due to him suffering an injury just prior to the recent international break in October.

Mourinho confirmed during Friday’s press conference at the Aon Training Complex that Mkhitaryan is no longer injured, telling reporters that he is working hard on his fitness behind the scenes.

“He is not injured,” the manager said. “Sometimes I confuse the word ‘fit’ in the English language. Sometimes you can say that it is ‘not injured’, but you could also say that you are in great condition and ready to compete. That is different for me as we use different words in Portuguese for the different situations. Mkhitaryan is not injured, he is training with the team 100 per cent.

Asked if it takes some players longer to adapt to the English game, Mourinho continued: “I think so, yes. Some players find it very easy whereas others need more time. They need time to feel the intensity, the aggression, the game without the ball and the competitiveness.

“The realities are often different, particularly in terms of the competitiveness. It doesn’t matter who you are against, you have to play at the highest level otherwise you will not be able to do it. Micki needs time to become the top player he knows he can be.”

Mourinho expressed his confidence in Mkhitaryan when expanding on the topic that dominated Friday’s press conference, pointing to two of his former players at Chelsea and Real Madrid who required time to blossom in their new surroundings. “I think Micki will work here for sure,” he said.

“I don’t like to speak about players from other clubs because I don’t want to be misinterpreted, but I don’t think he’ll mind. A player who had a problem to play when he first arrived was Willian. He went through a process and then, after a few months, he became a top player. Then, when we won the championship, he was phenomenal and still is. That is just an example.

“Similarly, Di Maria had to learn a lot about his game when he came into Madrid from Portugal. Sometimes this is what happens. It happens with defenders, but it is often easier for them to adapt than attackers. Some go straight to success and others it takes more time.

“In Micki’s case the process was interrupted by injury, which does not help the process of evolution. Being out for a month meant he has had to go through the process of getting match-fit, then once he has that he needs the competitive level to do it. We believe him and, sooner or later, there will be no problem.”

On October 23, the “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund’s annual fundraiser took place in Toronto, organized by the local chapter of the foundation under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Canada. Armen Yeganian, the Ambassador of Armenia to Canada, Grigor Hovhannissian, the Ambassador of Armenia to the United States of America, Bishop Abgar Hovakimyan, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Canada, members of clergy, non-government sector, journalists and numerous members of the Armenian community attended the event.

In his speech, Ambassador Yeganian underlined the work of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund, emphasizing the success of its Toronto Chapter.

The guest speaker of the event, Ambassador Grigor Hovhannissian, spoke about the projects realized by Diaspora organizations, aimed at the development of Armenia and Artsakh. Ambassador Hovhannissian noted since the first day of independence,

Armenia and Artsakh have always felt the strong presence and support of the Diaspora.
The record-breaking sum of 915,000 USD, raised during the evening, will be directed to the implementation of several important projects in Armenia and Artsakh.