Author: Badalian Vardan

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS UNDER ATTACK: WHO ARE THEY?

Acton Institute
Feb 27 2015

Friday, February 27, 2015
By Elise Hilton

In both Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State is literally hunting
and killing Assyrian Christians. Just this week, dozens of these
Christians in Syria were captured by the Islamic State; their fate
remains unknown. Who are these people facing persecution?

Michael Holtz, at1 The Christian Science Monitor, examines the long
history of these Christians.

Alternatively known as Syriac, Nestorian, or Chaldean Christians, they
trace their roots back more than 6,500 years to ancient Mesopotamia,
predating the Abrahamic religions. For 1,800 years the Assyrian empire
dominated the region, establishing one of most advanced civilizations
in the ancient world.

The Assyrian empire collapsed in 612 B.C. during the rise of the
Persians. Then, 600 years later, they became among the earliest
converts to Christianity. They still speak an endangered form of
Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, and consider themselves the
last indigenous people of Syria and Iraq.

Following the birth of Christianity, Assyrian missionaries spread
across Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Pacific, and built a new
empire that lasted until Arab Muslims swept through the Middle East
in 630.

Modern Assyrian Christians are all too familiar with religious
persecution. One hundred years ago, the Assyrians were the victims
of genocide at the hands of Armenians in modern-day Turkey. About
40,000 Assyrian Christians remain in Syria today; many have fled the
country because of extremist groups like the Islamic State.

The Islamic State has imposed a “religious tax” on any groups that
are not Muslim in Syria and other regions, and there are reports
that the group has ordered the removal of crosses from churches. Of
course, these are small concerns compared to the mass kidnappings
and executions the Islamic State is known for.

Read “Who are the Assyrian Christians under attack from Islamic
State?” at The Christian Science Monitor.1

2

Acton University 2014 Flash Drive Bundle2

Own all 107 of the lectures from Acton University 2014 on a USB flash
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Includes plenary lectures from:

Rev. Robert Sirico, co-founder of the Acton Institute and author
of Defending the Free Market3 Makoto Fujimura, Artist and Public
Intellectual Andy Crouch, Executive Editor, Christianity Today Ross
Douthat, Op-Ed Columnist, New York Times

Includes lectures from the following popular speakers:

Jordan Ballor, author of Ecumenical Babel4 and Get Your Hands Dirty5
Anthony Bradley, author of Keep Your Head Up6 and Liberating Black
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Poverty Solution8 Jonathan Witt, lead writer for the PovertyCure
initiative9 Kishore Jayabalan, director of Istituto Acton10
Charlie Self, author of Flourishing Churches and Communities: A
Pentecostal Primer on Faith, Work, and Economics for Spirit-Empowered
Discipleship11 Michael Butler, author of Creation and the Heart of
Man: An Orthodox Perspective on Environmentalism12 Vincent Bacote,
Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College
John Armstrong, author of The Unity Factor: One Lord, One Church,
One Mission13 …and more!

Visit the official Acton University website14 for information on
attending in person!

Armenia’s ancient civilization remains exotic and unknown in West: The Telegraph

13:51, 28 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS: The ancient civilization of Armenia
remains exotic and unknown in the West, but a holy monk from Lake Van
has just been declared a Doctor of the Church. Armenpress reports,
citing the article, written in the Telegraph by Christopher Howse:
“There’s a little book on my shelf that I can’t read. It is in
Armenian, and I cannot even make out the attractive curly alphabet.
Byron, by all accounts, did rather better, taking lessons in the
language, from 1816, at the monastery where my book was printed.
This is at San Lazzaro, an island in Venice, between San Giorgio and
the Lido. It was granted to the Armenian monks in 1717. The little
community was brought there in that year by their first abbot Mechitar
of Sebaste, after whom the monks are called Mechitarists.
This monastery was of Armenian Catholics, in other words, Armenians
who recognized the primacy of the Pope. The majority of Armenians
belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenians are fond of telling
you that theirs was the first country to adopt Christianity, in 301,
thanks to St Gregory the Illuminator. Armenia, with its Indo-European
language unrecognizably related to ours, has a proud civilization, but
to say that its history in recent centuries has been difficult is an
understatement.
I was thinking about the Armenians because, in the bright winter sun
on Tuesday, I stumbled across the Armenian Church in Kensington, St
Sarkis, its white Portland stone shining exotically amid the red-brick
mansion flats around it. It was built in 1922 in memory of the
philanthropist Calouste Gulbenkian’s parents.
The Prince of Wales visited the Armenians in London a few weeks ago at
their nearby church of St Yeghiche as part of his efforts to draw
attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East. He mentioned
the destruction last November (by Islamists of the al-Nusra Front) of
the Armenian church at Deir ez-Zor in Syria. It had been built as a
memorial to the thousands of Armenian refugees from Turkey who died
there in the second decade of the 20th century.
With these thoughts in mind, I discovered that Pope Francis had last
Saturday named a great Armenian saint, Gregory of Narek (pictured
above), as a Doctor of the Church. That is a rare title, there having
been only another 35 in the history of the Church – people like St
Jerome or St Athanasius.
St Gregory (950-1003) lived as a monk at Narek, near Lake Van in what
is now Turkey. A little more than 1,000 years later, the great
monastery with its conical domes in the Armenian style was destroyed
and the Armenians living around it killed.
St Gregory of Narek’s best-known work, the Book of Prayer, also called
the Lamentations, might have been written as a meditation on that
disaster and the episodes of martyrdom that have punctuated Armenia’s
history. The saint’s aim is to bring God’s mercy to bear on mankind so
that it might share in God’s nature. “This book will cry out in my
place, with my voice, as if it were me,” he wrote. “May unspeakable
faults be confronted and the traces of evil wrung out.”
Last year Pope Francis met the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Karekin II, and spoke about martyrdom as a way of reuniting
the Church. He had sketched out his thoughts before by remarking: “In
some countries they kill Christians for wearing a cross or having a
Bible; and before they kill them they do not ask them whether they are
Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic, or Orthodox.”
In St Gregory of Narek’s day, the Armenian Church, having followed its
own path after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, was presumed by the
Orthodox and by Western Catholics to be monophysite in teaching, with
false beliefs about the nature of Jesus as God and man. It could
hardly have been the case in practice, and the Catholic recognition of
St Gregory and other Armenian saints demonstrated a shared faith. The
proclamation of him as a doctor sets the seal on that unity of belief.
In these murderous times, Christians in the East need all the unity of
spirit they can muster”.

Taking a leaf from the Armenians’ book

Sacred Mysteries: the ancient civilisation of Armenia remains exotic
and unknown in the West, but a holy monk from lake Van has just been
declared a Doctor of the Church

St Gregory of Narek: “This book will cry out in my place.”
Life on board cruise ships
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Sponsored by Thomson Cruises

By Christopher Howse
7:00AM GMT 28 Feb 2015

There’s a little book on my shelf that I can’t read. It is in
Armenian, and I cannot even make out the attractive curly alphabet.
Byron, by all accounts, did rather better, taking lessons in the
language, from 1816, at the monastery where my book was printed.

This is at San Lazzaro, an island in Venice, between San Giorgio and
the Lido. It was granted to the Armenian monks in 1717. The little
community was brought there in that year by their first abbot Mechitar
of Sebaste, after whom the monks are called Mechitarists.

This monastery was of Armenian Catholics, in other words, Armenians
who recognised the primacy of the Pope. The majority of Armenians
belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenians are fond of telling
you that theirs was the first country to adopt Christianity, in 301,
thanks to St Gregory the Illuminator. Armenia, with its Indo-European
language unrecognisably related to ours, has a proud civilisation, but
to say that its history in recent centuries has been difficult is an
understatement.

I was thinking about the Armenians because, in the bright winter sun
on Tuesday, I stumbled across the Armenian church in Kensington, St
Sarkis, its white Portland stone shining exotically amid the red-brick
mansion flats around it. It was built in 1922 in memory of the
philanthropist Calouste Gulbenkian’s parents.

The Prince of Wales visited the Armenians in London a few weeks ago at
their nearby church of St Yeghiche as part of his efforts to draw
attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East. He mentioned
the destruction last November (by Islamists of the al-Nusra Front) of
the Armenian church at Deir ez-Zor in Syria. It had been built as a
memorial to the thousands of Armenian refugees from Turkey who died
there in the second decade of the 20th century.

With these thoughts in mind, I discovered that Pope Francis had last
Saturday named a great Armenian saint, Gregory of Narek (pictured
above), as a Doctor of the Church. That is a rare title, there having
been only another 35 in the history of the Church – people like St
Jerome or St Athanasius.

St Gregory (950-1003) lived as a monk at Narek, near lake Van in what
is now Turkey. A little more than 1,000 years later, the great
monastery with its conical domes in the Armenian style was destroyed
and the Armenians living around it killed.

St Gregory of Narek’s best-known work, the Book of Prayer, also called
the Lamentations, might have been written as a meditation on that
disaster and the episodess of martyrdom that have punctuated Armenia’s
history. The saint’s aim is to bring God’s mercy to bear on mankind so
that it might share in God’s nature. “This book will cry out in my
place, with my voice, as if it were me,” he wrote. “May unspeakable
faults be confronted and the traces of evil wrung out.”

Last year Pope Francis met the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Karekin II, and spoke about martyrdom as a way of reuniting
the Church. He had sketched out his thoughts before by remarking: “In
some countries they kill Christians for wearing a cross or having a
Bible; and before they kill them they do not ask them whether they are
Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic, or Orthodox.”

In St Gregory of Narek’s day, the Armenian Church, having followed its
own path after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, was presumed by the
Orthodox and by Western Catholics to be monophysite in teaching, with
false beliefs about the nature of Jesus as God and man. It could
hardly have been the case in practice, and the Catholic recognition of
St Gregory and other Armenian saints demonstrated a shared faith. The
proclamation of him as a doctor sets the seal on that unity of belief.
In these murderous times, Christians in the East need all the unity of
spirit they can muster.

Historian says Sumgait crime was the result of Azerbaijan’s policy on
ethnic cleansing

14:22, 28 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 28 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Sumgait crime was the result of
Azerbaijan’s policy on ethnic cleansing. “Azerbaijan had been leading
a policy on ethnic cleansing against ethnic minorities residing in the
country for years, and the Sumgait Pogrom was the result of that
policy,” historian Gevorg Melkonyan said during a February 28 press
conference, as “Armenpress” reports.

Melkonyan mentioned that the crime of Sumgait showed three things.
“Firstly, the Sumgait Pogrom reinforced in Armenians the conviction
that if Artsakh hadn’t struggled, it would have been emptied of
Armenians, just like Nakhichevan. Secondly, Azerbaijan isn’t ready to
accept the principle of self-determination of nations. Thirdly, as the
years go by, ethnic minorities residing in Azerbaijan will be subject
to ethnic cleansing,” Melkonyan underscored.

Touching upon the international condemnation of the Sumgait pogrom, he
noted that Armenia can use the facts at its disposal to raise that
issue at the international level.

ARMENIENS-SYRIE
Un Arménien, Hagop Kaprielian tué à Alep

Jeudi 26 février un Arménien a été tué et deux autres blessé par des
explosions à Alep (Syrie). Selon > le journal arménien
paraissant en Syrie, la victime est Hagop Kaprielian (51 ans). Les
blessées sont Chogher Arslanian et Sossi Stamboulian-Ohanian. Le 21
février, deux Arméniens, Sako Karkélian et Harout Aghsanian étaient
tués à Alep et cinq autres blessés ( Jack Aslanian, Hovsep Tchaloyan,
Avo Zarminian, Lévon Barseghian et Nazo Aghsanian). Depuis le début
des violences, près d’une centaine d’Arméniens ont déjà trouvé la mort
en Syrie.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 28 février 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Great public demand for Opposition in Armenia – Hranush Kharatyan

22:30 * 27.02.15

There is a great public demand for the Opposition in Armenia, and two
or three groups can bid for the role of the main opposition force –
Heritage party, MP Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Union and Preparliament,
ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan told Tert.am.

As to the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party, she cannot say if it
has the necessary potential.

“I am more inclined to believe that the three groups will decide in
favor of unification rather than competition,” Ms Kharatyan said.

As regards the Prosperous Armenia party, she noted that it is serving
the three forces and has elements of different formats at the serving
of the three forces.

“On the one hand, it is serving the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA). On the other hand, it is at the service of [ANC leader] Levon
Ter-Petrosyan and [Armenia’s second president] Robert Kocharyan. I am
inclined to think that the RPA will absorb the Prosperous Armenia
party,” Ms Kharatyan said.

She is among the people that think that Prosperous Armenia party
leader Gagik Tsarukyan has suspended his political activities, which
was called “evil” by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

“I do not think Mr Tsarukyan will return to politics until it is clear
which force is the real leader of Armenia’s politics.”

Ms Kharatyan does not rule anything, including Mr Tsarukyan’s return
to politics and Mr Kocharyan’s ability to turn the Prosperous Armenia
party into support for him.

“And this group has to enable Kocharyan to ensure conditions for his
strong positions and return to politics. This is a difficult task to
arrange the Prosperous Armenia party’s remnants in such a way as to
enable it to continue playing its role, and I do not rule it out,” Ms
Kharatyan said.

The Prosperous Armenia party once claimed to have 500,000 members.

Political experts have lately voiced the opinion that individual
“opposition segments” are seeking to win over the Prosperous Armenia
party voters.

According to Ms Kharatyan, this fact accounts for Head of the Rule of
Law party Heghine Bisharyan’s eloquent statements.

“I am sure that the Prosperous Armenia party both individually and as
Prosperous Armenia-RPA group will be absorbed by the RPA. On the other
hand, I do not rule out that with Kocharyan’s underhanded sponsorship
will try to retain a certain degree of independence.”

Ms Kharatyan does not think the recent domestic political developments
created a vacuum in terms of opposition forces.

“We are going to see how strong the three non-coalition forces were as
the Opposition rather than as forces seeking a change of power. They
do not make any proposals except for a change of individuals in
power.”

The Prosperous Armenia party formed an essential part of Armenia’s
ruling circles.

“It was due to the Prosperous Armenia party MPs that numerous
anti-Armenian decisions were approved, which had nothing in common
with opposition ideologies. Yes, it was with the Prosperous Armenia
party’s strong support that the main proposals by the ruling circles
were pushed through Parliament. It is common knowledge,” Ms Kharatyan
said.

According to her, the three non-coalition forces were formally
opposition forces, without being such in essence.

“It was admitted reality and the latest ‘mass rallies’ invited by the
three forces were commented on with irony – they brought people only
to show figures, not to express opinions of certain sections of the
country’s population.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program at U.C. Berkeley
Contact: Stephan Astourian
E-mail: [email protected]

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of
California, Berkeley seeks applications for a part-time lecturer in
Armenian language, at 67% percent of full-time. The anticipated start
date for the position is July 1, 2015.
Initial appointment is for one year, with the possibility for subsequent
renewals.
Teaching duties include two Armenian language courses per semester at
beginning and advanced levels, aimed primarily (but not exclusively) at
heritage speakers of Armenian. The language instructor also participates
in course development, extracurricular activities, and promotion of the
study of Armenian at the University.
Basic qualifications: the minimal academic degree required at time of
application is B.A. or equivalent. Complete command of Armenian and
English is required.
Preferred qualifications: Experience teaching language at the university
level in the US
Salary is commensurate with college-level teaching experience, in
accordance with University policy. Currently, the starting 100% annual
salary is $49,012.00, subject to change.
To apply, please go to the following link:

Applicants should submit a cover letter (including summary of teaching
experience), curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of
two references.
Additional application materials may be requested at a later time.
Please refer recommenders to
The initial review date is March 25. To receive full consideration,
please submit all materials prior to this date; however, this position
will remain open until filled.
Please direct questions to [email protected]
Under Federal Law, the University of California may employ only
individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as
established by providing documents specified in the Immigration Reform
and Control Act of 1986. Only applicants who meet eligibility
requirements as of the position start date will be considered.
UC Berkeley has an excellent benefits package as well as a number of
policies and programs to support employees as they balance work and
family.
The University and the Department are interested in candidates who will
contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education
through their work.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for
employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national
origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete
University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy
see:

RUSSIAN RUBLE DEVALUATION BLAMED FOR FALL IN ARMENIAN EXPORTS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

ECONOMY | 27.02.15 | 16:13

Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Armenia registered a 27-percent decline of exports of alcoholic
beverages at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015, Avag Harutyunyan,
head of the Armenian Winemakers Union, said, adding that official
data is not published yet.

Harutyunyan told reporters Friday that in the past Armenia experienced
such crises also in 1998, 2008 and 2009.

“The decline of brandy export in 2014 is explained by tendencies
that started in November of 2014 connected with the Russian ruble’s
devaluation and that got more intense gradually, and in January of
2015 we could see no light,” he said, adding that if this situation
continues till June they will not be able to purchase the whole
harvest from villagers.

Armenia became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) since
January 2, 2015, and the Russian ruble has been in fluctuations since
earlier in 2014.

According to the data published by the National Statistical Service
(NSS), in January this year, compared to January 2014, a 4.3-percent
inflation was registered, electricity production fell by almost 20
percent, a 7.4-percent decrease was registered in sales, a 6.3-percent
decline in the volume of industrial production.

According to Harutyunyan, in 2014, compared to 2013, export volumes
of wine grew nearly by 49 percent, and brandy exports declined by
5 percent.

“2014 was the best year for vodka, it is the second year Armenians,
unfortunately, have restored their lost tradition. In 2014 we imported
an unprecedented number – never in our history had there been such
an amount – 9 million bottles and nearly 250,000 liters of vodka,
mainly from Russia, and we imported a huge amount, 700,000 liters of
alcohol,” he said.

YEREVAN TO HOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INVESTMENTS IN CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA IN OCTOBER

YEREVAN, February 27. / ARKA /. Armenian Prime minister Hovik
Abrahamyan had a meeting today with Mark Donfrid, the founder and
executive director of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD),
to discuss conduction of an international conference in Armenia on
investments in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the government press
office reported, saying also the gathering is scheduled to take place
in October.

It said the prime minister highlighted the conduction of the conference
in Armenia saying the government is ready to show assistance in its
organization and conduction. He also said the conference will be an
important event in terms of attracting new investments to Armenia.

The conference will analyze the political, economic and social
situation in the Caucasus and Central Asia and discuss the prospects
of international investment in these regions.

It is expected that the gathering will be attended by government
officials from several countries, international experts, diplomats,
representatives of the private sector and civil society, as well as
other interested parties.

The event will feature thematic discussions, round tables, as well
as cultural and social activities.

The government said prime minister Abrahamyan instructed several
agencies to cooperate with the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy for
organization and conduction of the conference at proper level.-0-

HISTORICAL TRUTH SHOULD BE KEY VECTOR OF INFLUENCE ON WIDE SECTIONS OF ARMENIA’S POPULATION – KALININ

YEREVAN, February 27. /ARKA/. There are multi-faceted vectors of
influence on wide groups of the population, and it is necessary to
form the historical truth vector and stick to it, Mark Kalinin, head
of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Yerevan, was quoted
by Novosti-Armenia as saying Friday at the first session of the Club
of Young Eurasian Historians.

“Such events are very important from this point of view,” he
said. The project is organized by Russia’s North-South Political
Analysis Center for Development of Information and Scientific Ties
with Foreign Countries with support from CIS Interstate Humanitarian
Cooperation Fund.

Kalinin passed on to participants of the session greetings from Russian
Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volinkin and said that interaction between
Armenian and Russian civil society organizations has intensified over
the last year.

“The main topic of the event is the 70th anniversary of the victory in
the Great Patriotic War (World War II),” Kalinin said adding that the
ambassador-affiliated public council is already set up and a program
of celebration of the 70th of the victory is already being composed.

Kalinin said 2015 is a landmark
year for Armenians – they will mark centenary of Armenian Genocide.

The first session of the Club of Young Eurasian Historians being
held in Yerevan on February 27 and 28 is aimed at setting discussion
platforms for communication among historians of Eurasian Economic
Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States member countries.

Yulia Yakusheva, executive director of the North-South Political
Analysis Center, on her side, said the session is dedicated to
restoration of historical truth.

she said.

In her words, although the Eurasian Economic Union is an economic
project, it is mainly based on historical and civilizational grounds
and on historical unity.

In her opinion, unbiased comprehensive perception of historical
processes needed for preservation of common humanitarian space,
which exists between Russia and Armenia.

she said. Yakusheva said.

Armenian Defense Ministry Spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan expressed
satisfaction at the organization of such events in Armenia ahead of
celebration of the 70th anniversary in Armenia.

he said.

And this is not only for the fact that more than one million
Armenians fought in this war, he said, but also for many of them
were high-ranking commanders in the Soviet Army and for the outcome
of Stalingrad Battle solved the issue of Turkey’s participation in
the war on Germany’s side, what could mean repetition of the Armenian
Genocide 2015-23.

Hovhannisyan.

Young professionals, historians, sociologists and specialists in
international relations from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia are present at the session.

Round-table discussions and professional master classes will be held
as part of the session. –0—–