Author: Chmshkian Vicken

RUSSIAN TROOPS IN GEORGIA NO LONGER FACTOR OF STABILITY:
ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY VICE SPEAKER
YEREVAN, JULY 26. ARMINFO. “Foreign troops can be guarantor of
security and factor of stability in Georgia and anywhere only in case
of legal presence,” said Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament
Vahan Hovhannissyan in response to the questions of the participants
of the 3rd All Armenian Youth Forum today.
He said that the Armenian community in Georgia, and in particular, the
region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, must not become an instrument of
pressure on Georgia in the hands of foreign forces. Hovhannissyan
thinks withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia is a solved issue
and non-fulfillment of the schedule of withdrawal may just aggravate
the domestic political situation in the neighboring state. Signing of
the Convention of the Council of Europe for National Minorities must
become a guarantor of security for the Armenians of Javakhk and a
factor of stability in the region, the vice speaker thinks. He
assured that Armenia would not go on any steps threatening the
sovereignty of Georgia, it would protect the rights of its
compatriots through a dialogue with the Georgian authorities in
accordance with the Law. The financial support of Armenia must
contribute to maintaining the Armenian ethnics and monuments of the
Armenian culture in Georgia, Hovhannissyan thinks.
The vice speaker expressed confidence that all the problems of the
two states would get their resolution as soon as Armenia and Georgia
integrated into European structures.

Head of IAEA arrives in Armenia
Regnum, Moscow
27 Jul 05
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA],
Muhammad al-Baradi’i, has arrived in Armenia, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry press service told Regnum news agency.
IAEA head is to meet the Armenian president, prime minister, foreign
and energy ministers. He will also visit the Armenian nuclear power
station.

Albany Times Union
July 26 2005
Dr. Murat Acemoglu

NEWTONVILLE Dr. Murat Acemoglu died suddenly July 24, 2005 at Albany
Medical Center. Medical physician, born in Istanbul, Turkey, Murat
was a loving and devoted husband to Nancy Ann Acemoglu and a perfect
father and hero to his sons, Thomas John Oksen Acemoglu, Nicholas
Vartan Acemoglu and baby Murat Acemoglu (deceased). He was
valedictorian of his graduating class in medical school, Faculty of
Medicine at the University of Istanbul. He was a trained surgeon. His
appointments included the Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto,
Ontario. He was a fellow in emergency Room and critical Care. He was
a captain in the U.S. Army. He was the son of Repika Kurkjian
Acemoglu and Vartan Acemoglu. He is survived by Alis Acemoglu
(sister) and family, Angel Agopyan (sister) and family, and the
children of his late brother Dr. Armenak Ajamian. He was also the
brother of the late Dr. Oksen Acemoglu. Beloved son-in-law to Mr.
Louis Malizia and the late Doris Malizia. He will be remembered for
his vast achievements in medicine with a true care for his patients.
His practice encompassed so many facets. He served on the medical
staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy, Samaritan Hospital, Bellevue
Hospital, Albany Memorial Hospital, St. Peter’s Hospital, Leonard
Hospital, Cohoes Hospital, Eddy Ford Nursing Home, and Our Lady of
Hope. He served as the chairman of the Patient Care Committee and
served on the Medical Executive Committee at St. Mary’s Hospital. He
was the current chairman of the Department of Family Practice at St.
Mary’s Hospital. He had a deep concern for humanity and a special
heart for the elderly. He was a member of the national board of
directors for the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington, DC. He
was a prolific writer, columnist, and political analyst. He had a
gentile way of communicating with everyone, but especially his own
family, whom he loved deeply. He was instrumental in establishing the
international program to train Armenian physicians at Albany Medical
Center. He also helped established a cardiac program for Armenian
children at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn and he hosted
several Armenian children in his home before and after surgery with
follow up for the last 14 years in Armenia. For those who would like
to contribute to the Children’s Cardiac Center in Armenia can do so
c/o Dr. Harir Hovegamian. He loved being Armenian and was an advocate
and supporter of the Armenian cause, especially for the official
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. His greatest pride and joy were
his boys, who in turn loved him with their whole hearts. Funeral
services will be Thursday July 28, 2005 at 12:00 noon in St. Peter’s
Armenian Apostolic Church, 100 Troy-Schenectady Rd., Watervliet, NY.
Relatives and friends are invited and may call at St. Peter’s Church
on Thursday morning from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Interment will
be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Colonie. Arrangements are under the
direction of the Dufresne & Cavanaugh Funeral Home, 149 Old Loudon
Road, Latham.

Associated Press Worldstream – German
Sonntag, 24. Juli 2005
Strafverfahren wegen Verleugnung der Massaker an Armeniern;
Schweizer Staatsanwaltschaft ermittelt gegen Türken
Winterthur
Wegen Verleugnung der Massaker an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich
haben die Schweizer Behörden ein Strafverfahren gegen einen
türkischen Staatsbürger eingeleitet. Das Mitglied einer hochrangigen
türkischen Delegation hatte bei einer Pressekonferenz in der Schweiz
die Verfolgung und Tötung von rund 1,5 Millionen Armeniern in den
Jahren 1915 und 1916 als Erfindung von »Imperialisten« bezeichnet.
Nach schweizerischer Rechtsauffassung stellt dies die Verleugnung
eines Völkermords und damit einen Straftatbestand dar.
In Deutschland – wie in vielen anderen Staaten – werden die Massaker
an den Armeniern dagegen offiziell nicht als Völkermord gewertet. Der
Bundestag forderte die Türkei im Juni auf, sich zu der historischen
Verantwortung für die Massaker vor 90 Jahren zu bekennen, der Begriff
Völkermord tauchte in der Entschließung jedoch nicht auf. Das Land
Brandenburg strich das Thema auf Druck der Türkei sogar aus dem
Rahmenlehrplan für Geschichte, was bundesweit Proteste auslöste. In
den ab August gültigen Lehrplan wurden die Massaker nun wieder
aufgenommen.

Online News Consumers Become Own Editors
By ANICK JESDANUN
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) – J.D. Lasica used to visit 20 to 30 Web sites for his
daily fix of news. Now, he’s down to three – yet he consumes more news
online than ever. Lasica is among a growing breed of information
consumers who use the latest Internet technologies to completely
bypass the home pages of news sites and jump directly to articles that
interest them.
He can scan some 200 Web journals and traditional news sites – all
without actually going out and visiting them.
Online news consumers are increasingly taking charge, getting their
news a la carte from a variety of outlets. Rarely do they depend on a
single news organization’s vision of the day’s top stories.
“The old idea of surfers coming to your Web site and coming to your
front door, that’s going away,” said Lasica, a former editor at The
Sacramento Bee. “People are going to come in through the side
window, through the basement, through the attic, anyway they want
to.”
Some Web sites are already responding.
“When we all started this 10 years ago, we wanted to be the one and
only place people come to,” said Jim Brady, executive editor of The
Washington Post’s Web site.
These days, he said, the Post is happy simply to be one of many
sources checked daily. He sees his home page as a starting point, and
during the July 7 bombings in London, the Post even linked to the BBC,
something unfathomable a few years ago.
The Post and Knight Ridder Digital, meanwhile, are redesigning Web
sites to spread elements previously found only on home pages.
And in a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Knight Ridder
Inc., Gannett Co. and Tribune Co. collectively bought three-quarters
of Topix.net, a startup that provides tools for readers to bypass news
home pages. The New York Times has been paying an undisclosed amount
to have its headlines featured there.
Topix provides direct links to news stories it collects and sorts from
more than 10,000 sources, and it slices story by category as well as
region, down to the ZIP code.
A news aggregation service from Google Inc. scans more than 4,500
English sources and uses software to rank and display stories to which
it links, while America Online Inc. and Yahoo Inc. offer services that
rely more on humans.
Yahoo News, rather than trying to keep readers from leaving, provides
easy access to articles elsewhere using Really Simple Syndication, or
RSS, a technology that immediately notifies users of new entries on
their favorite news sites and Web journals.
“In this world where people are looking for multiple points of view,
if all you’re giving them is your view, … they are going to leave
anyway and maybe be less likely to come back,” said Neil Budde,
general manager for Yahoo News.
Many news organizations have tried to render online a packaged product
in the mold of the traditional newspaper or broadcast. That mentality
is changing, but slowly, Budde said.
News outlets are starting to add tools to untether readers from home
pages. The Associated Press, Reuters and others, for example, are
adding RSS support so readers can use tools like Yahoo’s to display
summaries and access stories directly.
Web journals, or blogs, present another way to bypass home pages. Many
are topic-centric and carry links that present the blogger’s rather
than a news editor’s vision of the top news items.
Some traditional news sites, including the Post, are even beginning to
let their columnists link to outside sources.
According to Nielsen/NetRatings, Yahoo News had 24.9 million visitors
in June, more than any single news outlet on the Internet, and only
MSNBC and CNN had more visitors than AOL News.
Google News ranked 13th among news sites.
At The New York Times’ Web site, referrals from RSS feeds account for
only 2 percent of traffic but represent the fastest growth – 8.5
million page views in June compared with about a half million in late
2003.
The new tools bring opportunities such as better ad targeting, but
they also present some challenges. The news agency Agence
France-Presse, for one, has sued Google for copyright infringement
over Google News’ use of photos and story excerpts.
Aggregators and feeds also potentially let readers select only the
topics they care about, ignoring other developments editors might deem
important, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American
Life Project and former managing editor at U.S. News and World Report.
But Charlie Tillinghast, general manager and publisher for MSNBC.com,
said the new tools can also alert readers to once-obscure items they
might not otherwise have seen.
Knight Ridder considers tools like Google News and Topix as “nothing
but incremental traffic from people who might not have otherwise seen
the site,” said Ross Settles, its vice president of strategy.
During the Scott Peterson murder trial, for instance, the chain’s San
Francisco area papers saw increases in traffic from outside the area.
The new age of online news will still need reporters to produce
stories and editors to make judgment calls.
The need for partners to provide content will never go away, said
Lewis D’Vorkin, editor in chief for AOL News.
Home pages will continue to serve as a jumping off point for some
readers, and MSNBC recently beefed up its home page to include
customized headlines that are chosen based on stories the reader
recently read.
But to stay relevant, online news sites must ultimately overcome their
reluctance to point elsewhere, said blogging pioneer Dave Winer.
“The reader wants lots of sources and doesn’t particularly care
whether you point offsite or onsite,” Winer said. “They just want
the story.”
And while news executives insist their brands will remain important as
trustworthy destinations, some readers prefer to trust individual
bloggers or friends who forward news items via e-mail.
Nicco Mele, webmaster for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, said he
rarely visits news sites directly anymore and instead trusts bloggers
like Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, a Dean supporter.
Pointing to Moulitsas at a recent conference, Mele remarked, “I’ll
read what he thinks I should read.”
Anick Jesdanun can be reached at netwriter(at)ap.org
07/24/05 12:01 EDT

NKR CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
19 July 05
On June 8 the session of the NKR Constitutional Court took place.
There might be nothing extraordinary about this if such meetings were
not so rare. Somehow this session passed unnoticed by the mass media,
which is not good because the institution of the Constitutional Court
which is one of the principal attributes of a state is quite a new
thing for our society. The action of the NKR Constitutional Court is
set down by the article 20 of the NKR law on courts, by which the NKR
Supreme Court is vested with the powers of the NKR Constitutional
Court and acts according to the Law on the Constitutional Court
of the Republic of Armenia. The NKR Constitutional Court a)
decides the conformity of the laws and decisions adopted by the NKR
National Assembly, the decrees and orders of the president of the
republic, the decisions of the government with the constitution; b)
judges the disputes on the results of referendums, presidential and
parliamentary elections; 3) recognizes the obstacles occurring before
the presidential candidate of the republic as irresistible or null;
4) decides on the existence of sufficient ground for impeachment of
the president of the republic, etc. The Constitutional Court can be
sued by: the president of the republic; one third of the members of
parliament; presidential and parliamentary candidates for disputes
on the results of elections; the government in the case defined
by the article 59 of the Constitution. The readers may wonder what
the citizens who do not have identical rights are supposed to do. In
accordance with the NKR legislation the citizens of NKR have the right
to go to ordinary courts (the NKR Court of First Instance, the Court
of Appeal, the Court of Cassation). And the questions which fall under
the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court can be addressed to the
deputies of the NKR National Assembly, and in case of necessity one
third of the parliament appeals to the Constitutional Court. Now
about the latest meeting of the Constitutional Court of NKR. The
parliamentary candidate Arthur Hakobian nominated from the electoral
district 20 appealed to the NKR Constitutional Court to annul the
results of the parliamentary election because of severe violations
of the NKR Electoral Code during the poll. The Constitutional Court
observed the essential principles of the process, i.e. brief (art. 21
(1) b); oral argument (art. 21 (2) c); continuity (art. 22); equality
of litigants. At the same time it is not clear why there were only
two justices if the Law on the Constitutional Court provides for 5
judges. What if there is a split? The session of the Constitutional
Court revealed the faults of the NKR Electoral Code, which affect the
course of making the results of elections valid or invalid. These
are the lack of a defined procedure of lodging a complaint against
the election commissions in the article 41 of the Electoral Code;
defining of breaches affecting the results of the election. In the
end I would like to point out the professionalism of the justices
of the NKR Constitutional Court who objectively heard the appeal
of the parliamentary candidate of the election district 20 Arthur
Hakobian and made a ruling in accordance with the NKR Law on the
Constitutional Court.
G. SAFARIAN. 19-07-2005

ERDOGAN DEMANDS RECOGNITION OF ‘TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS’ FROM AZERBAIJAN?
Azg/arm
21 July 05
Daily Azg informed in an article titled “Greece and Cyprus Will
Organize Flights to Karabakh” yesterday about the visit of 7
Azerbaijani deputies to the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
Turkish press covering the event wrote that the Azeri delegation will
take part in the 31st “peace and independence” celebration and on
July 31 the first Azeri plane with 60 Azeri businessmen aboard will
land in the airport of Nicosia under Turkish control.
Turkish prime minister rushed to dub this visit a de facto recognition
of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. Milliyet newspaper
wrote on July 19 that 30 other parliamentary delegations (English,
French, Russian, German, Italian, Danish, Israeli, Georgia, Lebanese,
Egyptian, Iranian etc.) will arrive in Cyprus to take part in
“peace and independence” celebration. The paper points out that
last year’s celebrations in Northern Cyprus hosted 19 parliamentary
delegations. Thus, if delegations mean de facto recognition of the
“Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, then it should have happened
before the arrival of the Azeri delegation. This means that PM Erdogan
speaking of “de facto recognition” reminded the Azeri delegation of
his demand to Azerbaijan during his Baku visit in June 29-30.
But what does he is going to offer in exchange for that? Radikal paper
answers this question in July 19 issue citing the Azeri delegation,
particularly lawmaker Hadi Rajaplu, visiting the Turkish sector
of Cyprus.
According to Radikal, the Azeri delegation sent the signal, “We
supported the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ now let Turkey
refrain from opening border with Armenia”.
Rajaplu noted that Erdogan assured president Aliyev in Baku saying
“recognize the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ as we are
not going to open the border as long as the Karabakh issue is not
settled”. He emphasized in the meantime the pressure of Athens and
Cyprus government threatening to help Nagorno Karabakh.
These statements show that Azerbaijan is not going to recognize the
“Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. Moreover, it cannot do that
alone. In 1983, Bangladesh took a decision to recognize the “Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus” which was annulled under US pressure
within 24 hours. Once Azerbaijan recognizes Northern Cyprus, the
European Union will apparently play the role of the US in curbing
Azerbaijan.
Turkish prime minister being well aware of this, his demand of
recognition aims at limiting Azerbaijan’s means in influencing
Armenian-Turkish relations. By Hakob Chakrian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CD Review: New System of a Down disc welds music, message
by BRENT BALDWIN Satellite Correspondent
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
July 15, 2005 Friday
Final Home Edition
System of a Down is the pseudonym behind one of the most unique,
high-energy and bizarrely twisted sounds in the music industry today.
The band, four Armenian-Americans hailing from Los Angeles, put
together the finest elements of heavy metal, Armenian folk music,
new wave and pseudo-funk to create an aggressive, hyperactive and at
times mesmerizing sound.
The band’s extremely talented line-up includes
guitarist-songwriter-singer Daron Malakian, lead
vocalist-keyboardist-string arranger Serj Tankian, bassist Shavo
Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan.
Malakian leads the way on the stunning new release, “Mesmerize,”
writing almost all the lyrics and music, as well as singing more
often than he has on past albums.
“Mesmerize” is a stunning package, even when you first open it. It’s
tough to predict what will capture the buyer first — the astoundingly
creative cover art by Malakian’s father, Vartan Malakian, or the
gigantic parental advisory label on the front that warns of explicit
material, drug references, sexual references and foul language.
Regardless, the music inside of the peculiar package makes this album
one of the best releases of the year.
The political messages System of a Down has recorded in the past are
still prevalent in this effort, and they start right away with a sort
of political lullaby intro named “Soldier Side,” which only has three
lines of lyrics:
“Welcome to the soldier side where there’s no one here but me /
People all grow up to die / There is no one here but me.”
Then the listener is promptly kicked in the face/ears by the
aggressive, electric energy of the (also very political) single
“B.Y.O.B.” Another apt title for this song would be “Schizophrenic
Shuffle.” It changes tempos on a dime, going from metal shredding
to psychotic riffing to its catchy pop chorus: “Everybody’s going to
the party / have a real good time / Dancing in the desert / blowing
up the sunshine.”
It’s a sharp attack on the behind-the-scenes decision-makers for the
Iraq war.
Other political statements can be found in “Sad Statue” and “Cigaro,”
where issues are dramatized and put into guitar-driven tanks of songs.
And this is only the start of the scathing social commentary that
presents itself throughout the album.
Pointed assaults on the seemingly mind-numbing entertainment industry
are laid out like National Enquirers in a grocery store. The band
takes those who believe in a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle and wake them up
to the real world of nonreality/MTV with songs such as “Radio/Video”
and “Violent Pornography.”
“Radio/Video” is pure mockery at its best, and “Violent Pornography” is
a look at what TV is becoming, with shows like “Desperate Housewives”
and “The O.C.” commercializing sex, a step that System of a Down
feels will lead to widespread XXX television.
“It’s a violent pornography / choking chicks and sodomy / the kind
of (expletive) you get on your TV / it’s a nonstop disco / turn off
the TV.”
The catchiness and absurdly fast tempo of the music makes it sting
with a certain urgency, as if television must be fixed now before
it’s too late.
“Old School Hollywood” is more of a comic relief track on the album,
along with “This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m on This Song.”
“Old School Hollywood” is about Malakian’s experience at a celebrity
baseball game where he felt completely out of place with washed-up,
stuck-up movie stars. The music is heavy with ’80s new-wave keyboards
and relentlessly paced guitars.
Intensity runs rampant on the album. “Revenga” is a hyped ode to
revenge, while “Question!” is an utterly poetic and spiritual song
with fret-busting, guitar-laden verses and almost Evanescence-esque
dark choruses.
“Lost in Hollywood” closes the album, highlighting Malakian’s
insecurity about being a resident of Hollywood and the false,
dog-eat-dog lifestyle celebrities celebrate:
“Phony people come to pray / Look at all of them beg to stay / You
should’ve never trusted Hollywood.”
Sometime later this year fans will get the follow-up disc, “Hypnotize,”
which is bound to carry just as heavy a message in an impeccable
musical package.
Powerful emotions, political awareness and raw energy make this album
one of the best buys of the year.
In the game of metal, System of a Down makes, bends and breaks the
rules with innovative style, boldness and energy.

ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT OF YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY IS ENGAGED IN
POLITICAL CENSORSHIP
YEREVAN, JULY 14. ARMINFO. Instead of watching on architectural look
of the blighted capital, architectural department of Yerevan
municipality has been engaged in political censorship. Thus,
department’s officials have forbidden recently to put up a poster
saying “Whether it becomes impossible to live in the motherland?”
elaborated on the public initiative of the Association of Friends and
Workers of Armenia’s Museums. As informed at a today’s meeting
Association’s Head Marine Aroyan, the refusal was motivated by that
the poster was politicized enough.
The Association was created in 2004 having an aim to join the
potential of museums’ workers and find new ways for the development of
museum-business in Armenia. The Association includes 30 museums, 40
museum workers are its members. They organize joint exhibitions,
expositions, conduct seminars and cooperate actively with both the
UNESCO and the “Soros Foundation” International Benevolent
Organization. Owing to this cooperation, country’s 4 museums have
received small grants on fulfilling visitors’ attraction programs –
the most actual problem for Armenian museums.

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
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
CROSSROADS July 14, 2005
DEATH OF ARCHBISHOP SHAHE AJEMIAN
Archbishop Shahe Ajemian, who most recently was the Dean of the
Department of Theology at Yerevan State University, died yesterday in
Armenia. Archbishop Ajemian was 78 years old and had been sick for some
time. He was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1926. He is a graduate of the
Theological Seminary of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias Lebanon, where
he was ordained a celibate priest in 1947. A noted scholar and teacher, he
furthered his studies at the University of Brussels. From 1965 to 1994 he
was a member of the St. James congregation in Jerusalem. In 1994 he was
appointed to head the Department of Theology at Yerevan State University.
V. REV. ANOUSHAVAN APPOINTED
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, the Vicar General of the Eastern
Prelacy, has been appointed Ecumenical Officer in the United States for the
Eastern and Western Prelacies. The appointment was announced by His Holiness
Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Hayr Anoushavan will carry
out his new ecumenical duties while continuing to serve as the Vicar General
of the Eastern Prelacy.
POWERFUL EXPLOSION AFFECTS CILICIAN CATHOLICATE
On Tuesday, July 12, a powerful explosion, heard many miles away, took
place in a Christian neighborhood in northern suburban Beirut, nearby the
Catholicate of Cilicia. Lebanon’s Defense Minister was wounded in the
bombing that killed at least two people and injured a dozen others.
A Press Release from the Catholicate said that the explosion took place
about 10:30 a.m, near the Catholicosal complex on the road to the mountain
town of Bikfaya where the See’s Theological Seminary is located. The blast
shattered windows of the Veharan (the Catholicos’ residence and
administrative center) and light damage was incurred to the main reception
room and the bookstore.
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL TRAVEL TO
BOSTON THIS WEEKEND
Archbishop Oshagan will be in Massachusetts this weekend. On Sunday he
will preside over the Divine Liturgy at St. Stephen’s Church in Watertown.
CATHOLICOS CONDEMNS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN LONDON
His Holiness Aram I condemned the terrorist attacks in London that took
the lives of many innocent individuals and injured hundreds. In a letter
sent to the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Rowan
Williams of Canterbury, His Holiness expressed condolences, sympathy and
support for the English people.
His Holiness said, “Such terrorist acts are against the religious,
moral and human values and principles. We must join our churches and
religions to condemn violence in all its forms and expressions.”
His Holiness also expressed concern and support to the families of the
victims, and wished a quick recovery to all those who were injured.
CILICIAN SEE’S THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
COMPLETES 75TH ACADEMIC YEAR
The Seminary of the Catholicate of Cilicia has successfully completed
its 75th academic year under the guidance of His Holiness Aram I and with
the cooperative efforts of the administration, staff and students.
“Throughout the year we tried to renew our old selves, to become new
beings through Christ and our Seminary’s 75-year old rich heritage. It has
always been said that the Seminary is not a school in the usual meaning of
the word, it’s not only an institution that delivers education; the Seminary
is all these, but it is also an institution that shapes and forms characters
with faith, Armenian culture and values; it is to follow the path of our
ancestors, the path of faith and love, light and hope, service and holiness,
and integrity and work,” said Fr. Bartev Gulumian, the Dean of the Seminary.
The Seminary’s 75th anniversary is being commemorated worldwide during
2005. His Holiness is making visits to all of the dioceses under the
jurisdiction of the Cilician See specifically for this purpose.
CATHOLICOS WILL VISIT EASTERN PRELACY IN OCTOBER
His Holiness Aram I will visit the Eastern Prelacy from October 19 to
November 1. The primary purpose of the visit is to celebrate the 75th
anniversary of the Theological Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon. This year is
also the tenth anniversary of His Holiness’ election and consecration as
Catholicos of Cilicia. Full details of the events will be forthcoming.
GRANDDAUGHTER FOR REV. FR. VARTAN AND YR. PAULINE KASSABIAN
A joyous message from Rev. Fr. Vartan and Yeretzgeen Pauline Kassabian,
of St. Gregory Church, North Andover, Massachusetts, announced the birth of
their first grandchild, Grace Katherine born on June 28. Parents are Scott
and Johanna Gauvin from Springfield, Illinois.
Der Hayr and Yeretzgeen write: “We are so blessed to have a beautiful
little girl in our lives. May God bless her and keep her healthy through her
new life. We wanted to share this great news with all our friends and
thought the Crossroads was a good way to get the good news out!”
NAREG SRPAZAN AT THE PRELACY
Bishop Nareg Alemezian, ecumenical officer for the Catholicate of
Cilicia, visited the Prelacy this week. Nareg Srpazan is on several
different ecumenical missions on behalf of His Holiness Aram I.
Bishop Nareg previously served within the Eastern Prelacy, first in
Vancouver, and later as pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New
Jersey.
LECTURE BY ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
CITES VIGEN GUROIAN ON ETHICAL THINKING
In a lecture delivered at Oxford, Archbishop Rowan Williams of
Canterbury, cites several “great thinkers,” including Vigen Guroian, in the
field of ethics. He writes:
“Bulgakov doesn’t elaborate this at great length, but there’s actually
quite a lot of work to be done on what ethics would look like in the context
of a doctrine of holy wisdom like this. And those great thinkers who in the
last 15 or so years have begun to shift Christian ethics towards a
different, church-related model are moving in precisely this direction.
Whether it’s Alistair MacIntyre, Stanley Hauerwas, John Millbank or Vigen
Guroian (himself an Armenian Christian) all of these writers in their
different ways seem to be saying that ethics is to be understood only in the
context of the body of Christ. We are not talking about duties and rules,
nor are we talking about the freedom of self-expression. When we talk about
ethics we are talking about the realization of wisdom, not human prudence,
but the self-sacrificing wisdom of God which is the heart of all reality,
and the centre of all life.”
The entire lecture is available at:
TODAY IS BASTILLE DAY
Today, July 14, is Bastille Day, a national holiday in France similar to
the U.S.’s Fourth of July. The day commemorates the storming of the
Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789, and marked the beginning of the
French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison in France where the monarchs
often imprisoned dissidents. Although the Bastille only held seven prisoners
at the time of the “storming” it had become a symbol against oppression and
for liberty, equality, and fraternity.
SONS AND GRANDSONS OF ST. GREGORY
REMEMBERED THIS WEEK
This Saturday, July 16, the Armenian Church commemorates the lives of
the sons and grandsons of St. Gregory the Illuminator, Sts. Aristakes,
Vrtanes, Housik, Grigoris, and Daniel (who actually was not related but was
a valued student of St. Gregory).
All of the above mentioned continued the work of St. Gregory, preaching
the word of Christ to pagans, at great cost to their own lives.
St. Gregory had two sons: Aristakes and Vrtanes. Aristakes succeeded
Gregory as Catholicos and was martyred around 333 A.D. Aristakes represented
the Armenian Church at the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325. It was
at this council that the Nicene Creed, recited to this day during the Divine
Liturgy, was written and adopted. Vertanes-at this time over 70 years
old-was called upon to become catholicos and served for eight years until
his death. Vrtanes had two sons, Grigoris and Housig. Grigoris preached in
the northern provinces of Armenia (now Georgia) where he was martyred.
Housik, although not a clergyman, was called upon to assume the catholicosal
throne. He was martyred in 347.
Daniel, who as noted above, was not related to Gregory, is included
with the sons and grandsons. He was chosen to succeed Housik as catholicos,
but never actually served as he too was martyred one year later in 348.
ARMENIAN CATALOGUE AVAILABLE
In recent weeks the Bookstore has received many new books in Armenian.
For a catalogue of available books in Armenian send a request by email to
[email protected] or contact the Prelacy Bookstore at 212-689-7810.
AND FINALLY IN HONOR OF JULY, THE MONTH OF LIBERTY.
“Liberty!” answered from on high
The sovereign voice of Destiny:
“Wilt thou enroll thyself henceforth
A soldier true of Liberty?
The path is thorny all the way,
And many trials wait for thee;
Too strait and narrow is this world
For those who loveth Liberty.”
The fourth stanza from a poem entitled “Liberty”
by Michael Nalbandian (1830-1866)
Translated by Alice Stone Blackwell
Calendar of Events
July 23, 2005-Dinner Dance celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Ladies’
Guild of Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island.
August 8-18-Christian Educational Program in Armenia for the Prelacy
sponsored orphans (ages 12 and 13), at Dzaghgatsor, conducted by V. Rev. Fr.
Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General and Dn. Shant Kazanjian, Director of the
Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC).
August 27-National Educators’ Seminar sponsored by the Armenian National
Education Committee (ANEC), at Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, NJ.
September 25-35th anniversary of St. Gregory Armenian Church of North
Andover, Massachusetts, presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan.
October 19-November 1-Visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia, to the Eastern Prelacy, commemorating the 75th anniversary
of the establishment of the Cilician Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon.
October 28-29-Mashtots Conference celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the
founding of the Armenian alphabet, at Harvard University. Jointly sponsored
by the Eastern Prelacy and Harvard University Mashtots Chair, Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
November 11-13-Mini-Datev program for the Midwest parishes.
March 17-19, 2006-Sunday School Teachers’ Conference at the Wonderland
Conference and Retreat Center in Sharon, MA.
Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about their
major events to be included in the calendar. Send to:
[email protected]
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