Author: Kajoyan Gevork

TERRY DAVIS HOPES THE KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL BE SETTLED BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN

ArmRadio.am
31.05.2007 15:24

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis said in
Strasbourg on Wednesday that he hopes the Karabakh conflict will be
resolved before the presidential elections in Azerbaijan in 2008.

He noted during the meeting with Azeri journalists that it proceeds
from the interests of peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Mr. Davis
expressed confidence that the presidential elections in Azerbaijan
will not affect the negotiation process.

The Secretary General expressed the opinion that peoples of Armenia
and Azerbaijan should concentrate on education, health, employment
and other social issues. According to him, because of the Karabakh
conflict "Azerbaijan and Armenia spend great resources on defense,
while these means could be spent to solve the social issues."

TESTS WERE SENT TO REGIONS

A1+
[03:36 pm] 31 May, 2007

Early in the morning tests on the "Armenian Language and Literature"
subjects for centralized examinations were sent to the RA regions
from Shengavit branch of "Ardshininvest" bank. The examination
starts at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and all documents should be at schools
by 8:30a.m. The tests should be opened in front of pupils’ eyes at
9:55 and at 10 o’clock sharp graduation and joint exams start at all
schools in Armenia.

"A number of comments and suggestions were received related to the
content of tests and they all are taken into account", says Bagrat
Esayan, Deputy Minister of Education.

There are 4 test variants. The organizers note that there is nothing
complicated in the tests and all the questions are from the public
schools’ manuals. There are 56 examination centers all over the
Republic – one in Karabakh, 19 in Yerevan, the rest in other regions
of Armenia. The number of boxes is 70.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF ARMENIA MUST BE UNBIASED AND RECOGNIZE THE ELECTION NULL AND VOID, NEW TIMES PARTY LEADER SAYS

ArmInfo
2007-05-30 17:34:00

"If the Constitutional Court of Armenia occurs to be unbiased, it will
recognize the parliamentary election of May 12 null and void on the
basis of the documents we have submitted to it," Aram Karapetyan,
New Times party leader, said at a press conference, Wednesday. He
expressed satisfaction that not only a member of the party Board
Hrachya Sargsyan, but also the lawyer and human rights activist,
head of the public organisation "Supreme Council – deputy club"
Ruben Torosyan will protect the interests of the party at the Court..

New Times party insists on examination on documents on 687 polling
stations where the voting results are doubtful. "How can the party
receive 100 votes at one polling station and no votes at all at
another?" the leader asked.

Aram Karapetyan is sure that about 400,000 votes were falsified. He
mentioned that the claim is based on the documents submitted by the
persons representing the party. Three opposition parties, New Times,
Republic and Orinats Yerkir and Impeachment bloc appealed to the
Constitutional Court on May 26 against the election result. Their
claims were united into one proceedings. The first hearing is scheduled
for June 1.

WHYY, Inc.
Independence Mall West
150 N. 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 351-1200
Fax: (215) 351-0398
E-Mail: [email protected]

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Delaware Broadcasting Center
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Wilmington, DE 19801
Tel: (302) 888-1200
Fax: (302) 575-0346

Contact: Lauren L. Sullivan
Senior Publicist
P/215-351-2066
E/[email protected]

WHYY-TV MEMBERSHIP DRIVE CELEBRATES OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY THIS SPRING WITH
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WHYY-TV celebrates our diverse community during our June Membership Drive,
through special programming including The Armenian Genocide, which, airs
at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5.

That night `Genocide’s’ Emmy-Award winning producer, Andrew Goldberg, of
Two Cats Productions, will be live in the WHYY studio discussing his
documentary.

The documentary is the story of the first Genocide of the 20th century,
when over one million Armenians died at the hands of the Turks during
World War 1. The program features interviews with experts in the field
including Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Samantha Power, and New York
Times best-selling author, Peter Balakian. The film also features
never-before-seen historical footage and key players from the events of
1915.

Goldberg filmed the piece in six countries; US, France, Germany, Belgium,
Turkey and Syria. He captured stories and discussions with Kurdish and
Turkish citizens in modern-day Turkey who speak openly about the stories
shared with them by their parents and grandparents.

The film includes testimony by former Turkish Diplomat Gunduz Aktan to US
lawmakers from 2000. In the piece he explains the Turkish position on the
issue by saying `The Turkish people firmly believe that what happened to
the Armenian people was not Genocide.’

Goldberg says, `As Turkey seeks to join the European Union, 90 years
later, this film can give people a much better understanding of why this
issue is such an important and current part of the international
conversation about Turkey’s role in the world today.

Julianna Margulies narrates the film, which also includes historical
narrations by Ed Harris, Natalie Portman, Laura Linney and Orlando Bloom
to name a few.

####

WHYY is what a diverse community has in common. Through TV, FM and other
communications services, WHYY makes our region a better place, connecting
each of us to the world’s richest ideas and all of us to each other.

Open door: The readers’ editor on … the open and organic business of
journalism
SIOBHAIN BUTTERWORTH

The Guardian – United Kingdom
Published: May 28, 2007

Journalism can mean different things depending on where and how you
access it. News may be spun, biased, censored, truthful, incomplete
and life-threatening. These issues were discussed at Harvard last week
at a gathering of ombudsmen (assume throughout that I mean women
too). There are not many of us – the Organisation of News Ombudsmen
has under 100 members – and the annual conference was an opportunity
to compare notes.

Accounts from Turkey and Russia were gloomy. Yavuz Baydar, readers’
representative for the Sabah newspaper in Istanbul, talked about the
murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who, before his death
in January, was charged three times under article 301 of the Turkish
Code with the offence of insulting Turkishness. Today in Turkey 15
journalists need bodyguards.

Russian journalism was already in trouble before the murder of Anna
Politkovskaya, said Andrei Richter, the director of the Moscow Media
Law and Policy Institute, but her death accelerated some trends in
Russian journalism. "A uniform approach to content" has developed –
which means stories about Putin’s hard work, anti-western rhetoric and
the ridiculing of Belarus, Estonia and other countries that have
fallen out with the Kremlin. The government says it doesn’t control
the media but the authorities can make life difficult. Editors may be
subjected to repeated tax checks and one newspaper couldn’t operate
when its computers were confiscated – the police claimed they’d been
tipped off that its software was illegal. Richter told the group that
self-censorship sends publications downmarket – they turn into "yellow
newspapers" filled with sensational stories and gossip.

As a result, journalism becomes discredited and this plays into the
government’s hands. Newspapers are an important source of news in
Russia, where TV channels are state-owned and the internet has a low
penetration. Only 10-12 million people, out of a population of 150
million, are online.

Elsewhere, the web is front of mind and ONO invited the Guardian’s
editor, Alan Rusbridger and BuzzMachine blogger, Jeff Jarvis, to share
their thoughts about online journalism. On the subject of news
organisations’ reluctance to appoint ombudsmen, Rusbridger said he
realised it is "a very radical move to place even a few inches of your
paper out of your control" but there is a conflict in an editor
commissioning journalism and sitting in judgment on it.
The web challenges ideas about editorial responsibility. "It’s
impossible now for editors to monitor even a quarter of the
content. The editor can’t read everything in advance or even after
publication," he said. "Access to information is no longer the
exclusive preserve of journalists, readers can check journalism
against publicly available information. That means millions of
fact-checkers."

Many sites include user-generated content; it is difficult to say what
journalism is and easier to say what it isn’t. "It is not about the
tablet of stone", Rusbridger said. "Journalism becomes a never-ending
organic business of placing material in the public domain, of adding
to it, clarifying it, correcting it . . . everything we do will be
more contestable, more open to challenge and alternative
interpretation."

Journalists pursuing truth incrementally rather than delivering it
pre-packaged was something of a leitmotif. Jeff Jarvis told us "the
architecture of news is changing and it would be better to see stories
as a process and not a product. It’s not finished, we can add to it."

Listening to this it occurred to me that ombudsmen should expect what
they write to be corrected, analysed and added to, like any other
information that finds its way into the online world. Ombudsmen may
not be in the business of handing down tablets of stone either, but
what we can do is hold journalism up to sunlight (the best
disinfectant, as US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said) and
under a microscope.

Jarvis urged us to "jump into the blogging pool, the water is
fine". With this encouragement I plan to experiment with a Thursday
blog about issues for the Guardian and its readers.

We had a number of complaints about the lead story published on May 22
with the headline, "Iran’s secret plan for summer offensive to force
US out of Iraq". I will be writing about that next week.

[email protected]

STUDENTS SEE STAGED REALITY
By Jason Wells

Glendale News Press
May 24 2007

As a prelude to prom season, fire, police and school officials perform
fatal auto crash.

Glendale High School Senior Melissa Legaspi plays the role of accident
victim during a representation of a car crash enacted in front of
the school using Glendale police and firefighters to teach teens the
dangers of drunk driving.

~U Students see staged reality
~U Fights disrupt school day
~U POLICE REPORT

Dr. Samar Masri watched the heart monitor for a few more seconds as
nurses performed emergency CPR in a final attempt to revive 18-year-old
Melody Babakhanians.

"Let’s call her time of death at 11:44," Masri said as nurses
reluctantly stopped their rhythmic pumping motions on Babakhanians’
bloodied body.

Just minutes earlier, the Glendale High School student had been sent
through a car windshield during a drunk-driving accident, landing on
the car’s hood.

Nurses pulled a white sheet over her body and closed the curtain.

Inside the emergency room at Glendale Memorial Hospital Wednesday,
it was now one girl lost, with one still left to save.

Seventeen-year-old Beradin Jezeh lay just two feet away while
Dr. Ed Repetti directed his nurses to order a barrage of scans as he
stabilized his patient.

The head trauma Beradin sustained in the same accident would require
brain surgery, but she was stable for now, he said.

Down a network of halls, in the hospital’s chapel, Masri had just
informed Babakhanians’ parents that their daughter, Melody, had died.

"When she came to us, her heart was not working," Masri told them.

"She didn’t make it."

Adrinea and Wiggen Babakhanians did not weep. Instead, they stood in
stunned silence as Masri left the room. A chaplain offered words of
comfort that seemed to hit the ground before reaching their ears.

Hospital workers escorted the parents back to the emergency room.

"Oh, my God, what happened to you?" Adrinea Babakhanians asked her
daughter’s lifeless body, as if she had just returned home with a
black eye.

A STAGED PURPOSE

But Melody Babakhanians would, in fact, answer her mother. She would
even give her a hug, because this time, everyone involved in this
fatal drunk-driving accident got second chances.

It was staged.

"We are all with reality and we need to make sure we’re driving home
more than just words to these kids when it comes to drunk driving –
that there’s consequences," Glendale Police Lt. Don Meredith said.

Those consequences – death, injury, damage, trauma, emotional pain –
are what fuel the Police Department’s two-day, $20,000 drunk-driving
prevention program titled "Every 15 Minutes," based on statistics
cited throughout the day by officers, who said every 15 minutes a
person dies in the United States in an alcoholrelated traffic accident.

In 2004, 40% of the state’s 4,329 traffic accidents were
alcohol-related and 29% of fatal accidents – or 1,250 – involved
drivers with blood-alcohol levels above the legal limit of 0.08,
according to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration.

In Glendale, 244 people have been arrested so far this year on
suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics,
according to police reports.

To illustrate the 15-minute statistic, one student was removed from
a classroom every 15 minutes by a school resource officer, who then
read aloud that student’s obituary.

These students, about 28 in all, made up the "living dead" group,
and the majority of students comprising the event’s participants.

CRASHING INTO VIEW

In front of the entrance to Glendale High School on Wednesday, six
Glendale High students sit stunned and injured inside two separate
cars that had just collided as the result of a drunk driver.

Melody Babakhanians lies face down on the hood – a stream of blood
running down onto the car’s bumper.

Seventeen-year-old Melissa Legaspi’s dead body is strewn on a
sidewalk. She was a pedestrian.

Two Glendale Police motorcycle officers are the first to arrive and
give an initial assessment to Glendale firefighters and paramedics
who pull up minutes later with full lights and sirens.

Five of the passengers – all Glendale High juniors and seniors –
suffer only minor injuries.

Melody Babakhanians is in serious condition, as is Beradin, who was
driving one of the cars.

The other driver, 18-year-old Orlando Molina, suffers only
minor injuries, but is quickly pulled aside by police for a DUI
investigation.

About 1,500 Glendale High seniors and juniors are watching this scene
unfold as if it is real.

Firefighters are forced to extricate Beradin using hydraulic tools
and cutting blades that slice the windshield out and snap the car’s
A-pillars, allowing crews to peel the roof back like a spa cover.

Beradin is then gently removed and transported alongside Melody
Babakhanians to the hospital.

Molina is arrested for failing his DUI tests and taken to the Glendale
Police Station, where he is booked into the city’s jail.

THE COURTROOM

A few hours later, Molina stands before Commissioner Steven K. Lubell
in Glendale Superior Court in a bright orange jumpsuit – his wrists
in handcuffs, his ankles in shackles.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed Greene reads aloud the
charges against him.

Molina pleads guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter
and two other DUI-related charges.

He is sentenced to 15 years in state prison and escorted out of the
courtroom by a Sheriff’s deputy.

The gavel is slammed and the day is done.

But the lessons aren’t.

"This is what happens every single day in this courtroom," Lubell told
the group of student actors and members of the "living dead" group
seated in the courtroom after the sentencing. "People die every day.

"Spread the word to your friends and peers, because they’ll listen
to you."

He didn’t have to tell Tenny Gharibian twice.

The 18-year-old Glendale High senior who sustained faux-injuries in
the staged accident had clearly been affected by the day’s events as
she walked outside of the courthouse.

"I was like, ‘Wow,’" she said. "It’s especially important this time
of year with prom coming up and everyone’s in party mode."

Charibian and other student actors spent Wednesday night at a Holiday
Inn in Burbank for a program that included team-building, DUI speakers
and a letter-writing event, where they crafted goodbye notes to their
parents as if they had been given the chance before they "died,"
said Glendale Police Reserve Capt. Bill Torley, who coordinates the
entire event.

For Glendale Police and fire crews, these students represent the
gems of success that the highly coordinated effort has churned out
for three years now.

"At these ages, they need to understand the severity of the
consequences," Glendale Fire Capt. Tom Propst said.

On the steps of the Glendale Police Station Wednesday, 16-year-old
Alex Amirkhanian offered an insight into what most participants had
felt at certain moments throughout the day.

He was one of the passengers who suffered minor injuries in the
staged accident.

"When I saw Amy crying, I, like, tripped out for a few minutes,"
he said.

"It was really weird."

SPEACIAL REGIMENT OF RA MINISTRY OF DEFENSE DECORATED WITH A "BATTLE CROSS" ORDER

ArmRadio.am
25.05.2007 15:28

The Speacial Regiment of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of
Armenia was decrated today with the order of the "Battle Cross of
Second Rank" on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of formation of
the Armenian Armed Forces, as well as for the considerable achievements
in army-building and the courage demonstrated in defending the
borders of the Motherland. The order was handed by RA Defense Minister
Michael Harutyunyan.

"The Speacial Regiment was created from the very first day of
creation of the Armenian Army in 1992. I’m sure that if our borders
are violated by the enemy, the regiment will brilliantly perform its
tasks," the Minister said.

In his words, the Special Regiment is carrying out combatant duties
in Goris, Lachin, Ijevan, Berd, Sisian, Kapan, Meghri, Noyemberyan
and Karvajar.

According to RA President’s and Defense Minister’s decrees, a
number of servicemen of the Regiment were decorated with medals
"For Irreproachable Service " and "Marshal Baghramyan."

According to RA President’s decree, seven military units should be
decorated with.

COURT RULES TO KEEP FORMER ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN CUSTODY

Arminfo
24 May 07

Yerevan, 24 May: Armenia’s Court of Appeals turned down today [24 May]
the appeal of former Armenian Foreign Minister Aleksandr Arzumanyan.

Effectively, Arzumanyan will remain in custody at least by 8 July
[2007] according to the 8 May ruling of a Yerevan court of first
instance.

Arzumanyan, who was Armenia’s foreign minister in the years when the
Pan-Armenian National Movement was in power, was arrested and detained
earlier in May on money laundering suspicion.

Vahan Shirkhanyan, a former Armenian minister for coordinating
industrial infrastructures and a former deputy defence minister,
is engaged in the same case as a witness.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE CATHOLICOS RECEIVES AN EXTRAORDINARY WELCOME DURING A VISIT TO THE
SAINT KEVORK CHURCH OF ALEPPO

The Armenian community of Aleppo had the beautiful opportunity to express
its love and respect for the Armenian Pontiff and receive his blessings when
the latter visited the Saint Kevork Church on May 22.

Similar to all his visits in Aleppo, an unprecedented public welcome was
displayed to the Catholicos as he walked through the streets with a grand
procession, passing through the packed masses and distributed his blessings.
With the blessing of salt and bread the Pontiff entered the church.

Primate Bishop Shahan Sarkissian welcomed His Holiness, who showed his
Pontifical love and care to all the faithful and churches of Aleppo
throughout his visit.

The Catholicos greeted the large number of faithful who had gathered in
the church and quoting the Book of Psalms, he said: "When the Lord is my
shelter, who would I be afraid of?" He stressed the concept of achieving
salvation through Christ, saying that Christ was not only the source of our
existence, but our shelter and path to salvation. Christ showed the true
path to salvation through his life and mission.

The Catholicos emphasized that our salvation in this life starts with
Christ, as it is following Him that we take the path towards salvation. He
added that no one has the right to say that he or she is saved, for God was
with us through Christ and we as Christians should be with God through
Christ. To be with Christ means to be on the path to salvation, he observed.

The Pontiff also underlined the role of the Armenian Church as the House
of God that shows the path to salvation in our nation’s life. He called on
the people to be part of the Church’s life, as participating means walking
through the path shown by Christ. He reminded that our ancestors had walked
down that path with full determination.

The faithful then approached His Holiness and received his blessings.

A touching event was organized by the Saint Kevork Church’s committees
around the statue of the late Catholicos Zareh I in the front-yard of the
church. Representatives from the Union of Armenians of Marash expressed
their respects to the memory of the late Catholicos and reaffirmed their
loyalty to the Catholicosate of Cilicia and its Head.

The welcome His Holiness received at the St. Kevork Church marked the
highlight of his Pontifical visit to Syria. The love and respect faithful
demonstrated during this visit witnessed to the faith of the Syrian-Armenian
community and its trust in the Armenian Church.

##
View the photos here: m
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses 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.

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

May 24, 2007

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY CONCLUDES
The National Representative Assembly (NRA) of the Eastern Prelacy, which
meets annually, concluded last Saturday, May 19, in Dearborn, Michigan. His
Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan expressed his thanks to the parish of
St. Sarkis who hosted the Assembly with diligent and gracious hospitality.
Special panels focused on, Youth and Young Adult Programs; Clergy
Recruitment, Development and Training; Financial Development Programs; Audit
and Budget.
Keynote addresses were delivered by the Prelate, His Eminence Archbishop
Oshagan Choloyan, and Jack C. Mardoian, chairman of the Executive Council.
To read the Prelate’s address in Armenian click
.
To read the Prelate’s address in English click

To read Mr. Mardoian’s address click

ENTH USIASTIC GATHERING CELEBRATES THE THIRD OF THREE ANNIVERSARY GALAS FOR
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN
The third of the three regional celebrations marking the 40th
anniversary of Archbishop Oshagan’s ordination to the priesthood, took place
last Friday, May 18, in Dearborn, Michigan, during the National
Representative Assembly.
Photographs from all three celebrations will be posted on the Prelacy’s
web page next week.

PRELATE WILL TRAVEL TO BOSTON
Archbishop Oshagan will travel to the Boston area where on Sunday, May
27, Pentecost, he will preside over the Divine Liturgy and deliver the
sermon at St. Stephen Church in Watertown. His Eminence will also preside
over a special ceremony offering prayers for the Republic of Armenia and
blessing of the tricolor flag.

VICAR WILL TRAVEL TO OHIO
Bishop Anoushavan will travel to Ohio where on Sunday he will officiate
over the Divine Liturgy and deliver the sermon at Holy Cross Church in
Royalton, Ohio.

VICAR WILL ATTEND RECEPTION FOR PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA
On Tuesday, May 29, Bishop Anoushavan, Vicar and Ecumenical Officer in
the United States for the Cilician See, will attend a reception for
Archbishop Antonios Naguib, the Patriarch of Alexandria of the Coptic
Catholic Church, at the offices of the Catholic Near East Welfare
Association in New York City. The Coptic Catholic Church, with headquarters
in Cairo, Egypt, is an Eastern rite Church that has been in communion with
Rome since the early 19th century.

VICAR WILL ATTEND CONFERENCE
On Wednesday, May 30, Bishop Anoushavan will attend a conference on
"Cultivating Hope: Planting Hope of Environmental Justice in New York City."
Organized by the Interfaith Center, the conference will take place at the
Stony Point Center in Stony Point, New York.

CATHOLICOS ARAM I PRESIDES OVER GROUNDBREAKING
FOR NEW HAIGAZIAN SCHOOL IN ALEPPO
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, who is
currently on a pontifical visit to Syria, presided over groundbreaking
ceremonies for a new building for the famed Haigazian School in Aleppo, on
May 20. The old building which for decades served as an important center for
the formation of new Armenian generations, is being replaced by a new
building thanks to the commitment and will of the Armenians of Aleppo. A
large gathering of community members was joined by the mayor of Aleppo,
government officials and guests. Highlighting the unique role of the
Armenian school, His Holiness called on the people to support and preserve
it for the achievement of Armenians’ national vision, goals and dreams. "The
Armenian school has a special place on the agenda of the Catholicosate’s
activities. In all our dioceses, our prelacies are active initiators and
supporters of the Armenian school’s progress and development," the Pontiff
said.

ST. ILLUMINATOR’S PARISHIONERS VISIT PHILADELPHIA
More than 20 parishioners of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, accompanied by
their pastor, Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, visited the St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 22, before going on a
tour of historic Philadelphia. They were greeted at the church by Rev. Fr.
Nerses Manoogian, pastor of St. Gregory (see photo).

MOTHERS DAY AT THE CATHEDRAL
Last Sunday, May 20, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, New York City honored
the mothers of the congregation with a special Mother’s Day luncheon.
Honored as the mothers of the year were Yn. Vartouni Der Kaloustian, Mrs.
Azadouhi Vartanian, and Mrs. Lusig Khatchadour.
The Cathedral is in the midst of a major renovation and one of the most
memorable events of the day was a gift from a ten-year-old Sunday school
student, Anais Gharibian, who brought her piggy bank to church and donated
its contents for the renovation campaign. The gesture came as a complete
surprise and all those present were deeply moved by Anais’s thoughtfulness.
On the same day the Sunday school students organized a bake sale and donated
all of the proceeds toward the renovation fund.
".And the children shall lead them."

2007 DATEV INSTITUTE SUMMER PROGRAM
The 21st annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute Christian summer studies
program will take place July 1 to 8 in Elverson, Pennsylvania. For details
click

SUNDAY IS PENTECOST
This Sunday, May 27, is Pentecost (Hogegaloust), which is celebrated
fifty days after Easter. Jesus had commanded the apostles to, "Go therefore
to all nations and make them my disciples," (Matthew 28:19). Christ
recognized the difficulty of this great responsibility and had advised them
not to begin their teaching mission until after the "Descent of the Holy
Spirit." In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that on the day of Pentecost
the apostles gathered in one place, and that suddenly a strong wind seemed
to fill the house in which they were assembled. "And there appeared to them
flames like tongues of fire distributed among them and coming to rest on
each one. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them power of utterance," (Acts 2:2-4).
Many of the people in Jerusalem were from foreign lands. They marveled at
the fact that each one of them could understand the Apostles’ words in his
own language. The first gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles was
the ability to speak and be understood by people who came from many
different nations.

89th ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
This Monday, May 28, is the 89th anniversary of the independent republic
of Armenia of 1918. After defeating Turkish forces at Sardarabad,
Bashabaran, and Karakilise, the Armenians proclaimed an independent
democratic Armenian Republic on what was left of their homeland on May 28,
1918. On this occasion Archbishop Oshagan has asked all Prelacy parishes to
conduct a service of thanksgiving and blessing of the flag on Sunday, May
27, in honor of the 89th anniversary of the first republic and the 16th
anniversary of the Armenian Republic of today.

IN CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
designated 2007 as the Year of the Armenian Language. In celebration of this
year-long tribute, each week we will offer an interesting tidbit about the
Armenian language.
St. Gregory has been called the "illuminator of the spirit" since he
brought the light of the Christian faith to the Armenian people. St. Nerses
has been called "the illuminator of the heart" because he attempted to teach
Christian love to his people. But human beings also have a mind, and Jesus
said "Love the Lord your God with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). It is
with the mind that we think, and human thought is conducted in language. So
to love God with our minds means to be able to speak with God in our
language. To further the work of Gregory and Nerses, Armenia needed
"illuminators of the mind." And that is what Armenia received in the fifth
century, perhaps the most decisive and important century in the history of
Armenian Christianity. Armenian was not a written language until the fifth
century. It was spoken by the people but most of them were illiterate. The
educated classes, both clergy and lay, studied Greek and Syriac. And the
only bibles and liturgical books available were written in these languages,
so Christianity remained foreign to the people.
>From chapter five, "The Written Word," in Light from Light: An Introduction
to the History and Theology of the Armenian Church, by Michael B. Papazian.

To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click

DAI LY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, May 24, are: Luke 20:27-21:4; Acts
25:23-26:32; Jude 1:8-15; John 13:1-15; Matthew 22:15-46; Mark 12:35-44.

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes
say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit,
declared, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your
enemies under your feet." David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his
son? And the large crowd was listening to him with delight. As he taught, he
said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to
be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in
the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses
and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the
greater condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the
crowd putting money into the treasury. A poor widow came and put in two
small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples
and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than
all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have
contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in
everything she had, all she had to live on." Mark 12:35-44.

For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IS 70
The famed Golden Gate Bridge, which connects San Francisco and Marin
County, will be seventy years old on May 27. The bridge officially opened at
6 a.m. on May 27, 1937, with 100,000 pedestrians crossing what at the time
was the world’s longest suspension bridge. Vehicular traffic began the next
day. In 1964 the Golden Gate became out-distanced by New York’s
Verazzano-Narrows Bridge.

THE BEGINNING OF GREEN
The 100th birthday of Rachel Carson will be marked on May 27. A marine
biologist, her book Silent Spring, published in 1962, is credited with the
start of the American environmental movement. Silent Spring was a
condemnation of the indiscriminate use of DDT and other pesticides. Carson
died of cancer in 1964, at age 56. In 1972 the use of DDT was banned in the
U.S. in large part because of Silent Spring.

"Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes
unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely
silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song. . As crude
a weapon as the cave man’s club, the chemical barrage has been hurled
against the fabric of life."
>From Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962).

MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY
This Monday, May 28, is Memorial Day-a day of remembrance for those who
died in service to our nation. It was originally for the Union and
Confederate soldiers who died during the U.S. Civil War. After World War I
it was expanded to honor all American men and women who died in service.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling
place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. . Those who
love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they
call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will
rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show
them my salvation.
Verses 9, 10, 14, 15, and 16 of Psalm 91, sometimes called the "Soldier’s
Psalm."
(Note: Psalm 90 in the Armenian edition).

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July 1-8-St. Gregory of Datev Institute, 21st annual summer Christian
studies program for junior and senior high school students, at St. Mary of
Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania. For information click

July 7-St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, gathering at the
home of the parish priest, Rev. Father Bedros Shetilian.

July 21-Sts. Vartanantz Church Ladies Guild, Providence, Rhode Island, and
ARS Ani Chapter present "A Hye Summer Night 2." For information
401-286-8107.

August 7-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual golf
tournament at Blackstone Country Club.

August 19-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church picnic.

September 27-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, 5th Annual Golf
Outing at River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey. Registration
begins at 11 a.m. and tee time at 1 p.m. For information, 201-943-2950.

September 29-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, 50th
anniversary banquet at Pleasant Valley.

December 1-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church bazaar.

December 9-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
celebration. For information, (617) 924-7562.

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