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: In Armenian.htm#20
SPIRITUAL RETREAT IN THE SEMINARY
OF THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA
The 40 days long Great Lent period started in the Seminary of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia during the “Day of spiritual retreat” on Monday,
the 7th of February. This has become a tradition in the Seminary, where
students get ready for the Great Lent through a special program of lectures
and meditation. The theme of this year’s program was “The 75th anniversary
of the Seminary: A challenge for renewal.”
As established by tradition, the seven services of the Armenian Church were
held on the “Day of spiritual retreat”. Fr Bartev Gulumian, the Dean, spoke
about the significance of the day and the importance of nourishing the soul.
He also highlighted the importance of the 75th anniversary of the Seminary.
Lectures were given by V Rev Fr Yeghishee Mangigian, Fr Masdots Tchobanian
and Fr Bartev Gulumian. The lecturers emphasized the importance of renewal,
especially in the lives of today’s youth. They presented the Seminary as an
institution with 75 years of experience and one which renews the young
people who have a calling for serving.
Spiritual life plays an important role in the Seminary, an institution the
principle task of which is to prepare young people determined to serve the
church.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Seminary 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.
Editor’s Query
Washington Post
Feb 12 2005
Editor’s Query
Tell us about a disastrous or funny experience you had involving
food.
Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page W08
In late summer 2001, the State Department sent my husband to Armenia.
During our tour, some friends threw a party in our honor. Like
many Armenians, they were quite poor, but they were determined to
demonstrate their hospitality by creating a feast to remember.
Iza cooked for days. On the appointed evening, she led me out to the
patio to show me two giant tables crowded with food. There were plates
of hummus and tabbouleh, fresh figs and persimmons, roasted peppers
and tomatoes. There were pitchers brimming with apricot juice and
rose hip juice. The homemade baklava was dripping with fresh honey —
even Iza’s phyllo dough was made from scratch!
It took me a moment to locate the main course, but then I had to stifle
a gasp. Smack in the middle of the table, the giant head of a cow
glared at me, its tongue poking out. It’s your fault, the cow seemed
to be saying, that they are throwing this party and roasted my head.
But Iza’s husband, Vova, was so proud of this Armenian delicacy,
for which he’d driven three hours just that morning. He regaled us
over dinner with tales of the journey — the car bouncing over rutted
roads, the head wrapped carefully and sitting on the passenger seat
beside him.
Beaming with pride, he urged us all to taste it.
“The cheeks,” he declared, “are especially delicious.”
Watts resigns to rejoin Peace Corps
Watts resigns to rejoin Peace Corps
By: Staff Report February 11, 2005
Douglas County News-Press, CO
Feb 12 2005
Castle Rock Public Works Director Bob Watts announced Thursday he is
resigning so that he and his wife, Peggy, can return to the Peace
Corps.
Before Watts signed on with Castle Rock in January 2002 the couple
served with the Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea. In their second tour
of duty, the couple will work for two years in Armenia.
“It’s never a good time to leave,” Watts said in a prepared
statement. “This job has been an engineer’s dream.”
During his tenure, Watts oversaw some of the town’s largest
undertakings, including the construction of the Front Street flyover
two months ahead of schedule. Watts also helped bring Front Range
Express service to Castle Rock and negotiated an agreement with RTD
to fund CATCO, the town’s free shuttle bus service.
Assistant Public Works Director Bob Goebel has been named interim
director. Watts said because of the quality of Goebel and the public
works staff, Castle Rock residents “won’t miss a beat.”
Watts brings more than 30 years of engineering experience to his
service in Armenia. His last day with the town will be April 15.
Read more about Watts and his service in the Peace Corps in the Feb.
17 issue of the News-Press.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Only 7.3% Of Armenians Extremely Poor
ONLY 7.3% OF ARMENIANS EXTREMELY POOR
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11. ARMINFO. Only 7.3% of Armenian citizens are
extremely poor says the head of the social assistance department of
Armenia’s Labour and Social Security Ministry Astgik Minasyan.
These are people scoring 41.01 and more points of eligibility for
poverty allowance. The families with such an index will get 6,000 AMD +
4,000 per child in Mar 2005, while families living in highlands and
borderline regions will get 4,500 AMD. Large families – 6 children
or more – will get 22,000-24,000 AMD.
The families scoring 38.01-41 points will get 6,000 AMD + 3,500 AMD
per child and 4,000 AMD for highland and borderline region residents.
34 or less point scorers will get 6,000 AMD plus 3,000 AMD and 3,500
AMD respectively. This year the beneficiary families with a new born
child will get 70,000 AMD instead of 35,000 AMD. The additional 35,000
AMD can be received at office or regional social services.
Last year 135,000 families got poverty benefits. Some 20 bln AMD has
budgeted to this end this year against 16 bln AMD last year.
Armenian Defense Minister Sure That Azerbaijan’s Military Statements
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SURE THAT AZERBAIJAN’S MILITARY
STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN FAVORED BY USA
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11. ARMINFO. says Secretary of the Presidential National
Security Council, Defense Minister of Armenia Serge Sargsyan in
response to the questions of the readers of “Yerkir” newspaper.
As regards Azerbaijan’s direct threats to resume military actions,
they are for both “internal and external consumers,” he says, i.e. 11
years have passed since the cease-fire agreement and the staff of
the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has not changed practically. That is
why the ministry tries to prove the fighting efficiency of its army,
which is allegedly able to solve the problem in the military way.
Otherwise,
Meanwhile, the “external consumption” of the Azerbaijani military
statements is a way to exert pressure both on the Armenian party and
the mediators to catch compromises in favor of Azerbaijan, he says.
Maybe it is to some extent simplified, but the aforementioned is most
likely to be the goal of the militarist statements of Azerbaijan,
which are, undoubtedly, a style to work, Minister Sargsyan says.
Karabakh leader names new deputy police chief
Karabakh leader names new deputy police chief
Arminfo, Yerevan
11 Feb 05
Stepanakert , 11 February: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic [NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, has signed a decree appointing
Col Sergey Grigoryan to the post of deputy chief of the NKR Police,
the press service of the NKR president has told Arminfo news agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
“Peace To Karabakh”
“PEACE TO KARABAKH”
Azg/arm
12 Feb 05
Vladimir Kazimirov Surveying Events of 1992-1996 on Pages of Daily Azg
Vladimir Kazimirov, representative of former Russian president on
Nagorno Karabakh, former head of Russian mediatory mission and former
co-chair of OSCE Minsk group, will post a series of publications
on Karabakh conflict at his () and daily
Azg’s websites.
Citing the words of Alexander Tvardovski “Let it be true no matter
how bitter it is”, Kazimirov notes that the “events of not remote
past unfortunately suffer unintentional confusion and deliberate
distortion”.
Six publications by Kazimirov – “Why?”, “Prologue”, “First restrictions
of military operations”, “December fraud of 1993”, “The Bishkek
protocol”, “A break-through to ceasefire”, “What part did Russian
mediation play in reaching ceasefire?” – are already available in
Russian. The English translation of Mr. Kazimirov’s publications will
be available with time.
It should be noted that few views of the Russian diplomat perhaps
contradict views existing in Armenian reality.
By Tatoul Hakobian
Antelias: His Holiness Aram I in Geneva
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:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I IN GENEVA
His Holiness Aram I on Saturday 12 February 2005 traveled to Geneva. In
the coming two weeks His Holiness will chair the meetings of the
Executive and the Central Committees of the World Council of Churches
(WCC). He will also chair at the headquarters of the WCC the Officers’
meeting and other ecumenical meetings.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.
Turkey tells Azeris no plan to open Armenia border
Turkey tells Azeris no plan to open Armenia border
Reuters
02/10/05 17:11 ET
ANKARA, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Turkey reassured its ally Azerbaijan
on Thursday it had no plans to open its border with Armenia while
Armenian forces occupied part of Azeri territory. Turkey shut its
border in 1993 to show solidarity with oil-rich, Turkic-speaking
Azerbaijan in its long and bitter dispute with Armenia over the
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite Armenia’s continued occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is
inside Azerbaijan’s borders, some Turkish businessmen and media have
called for an opening of Turkey’s border and a resumption of trade.
“The continued occupation (by Armenia) and the fact that nearly a
million of our Azeri brothers are refugees remain an obstacle (to
opening the border),” Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said
after talks with his Azeri counterpart.
“From this point of view I hope talks towards a peace settlement
will be productive … and that the occupation will come to an end.
Then all relations can be normalised,” Gul told reporters.
Azerbaijan suffered a humiliating defeat in a 1988-94 war with Armenia
over Nagorno-Karabakh after the region’s mainly Armenian population
tried to break
away from Azeri rule.
An estimated 35,000 people were killed and one million refugees fled
to Azerbaijan, where they remain. At the same time, thousands of
ethnic Armenian refugees fled to Armenia.
A ceasefire ended the conflict but the dispute persists despite
international efforts to broker a deal.
Turkey’s relations with Armenia are also clouded by Armenian claims
that Ottoman Turkish troops committed genocide against its people
between 1915 and 1923. Turkey denies the claims.
Turkey is due to begin entry talks with the European Union. Some
in the EU, especially in France, home to Europe’s biggest Armenian
diaspora, say Turkey must open its border with Armenia and recognise
the “genocide” before it can join the bloc.
Film classics at the Trianon
Film classics at the Trianon
Organized by the Greek Film Center, tribute takes
place on Saturday afternoons and runs to April 23
Kathimerini (Athens)
Thursday February 10, 2005
A multitude of new films may be released at cinemas
around Athens every week, but there are still chances
to watch old classics. Once more, the Greek Film
Center presents the “Appointment with the Classics”
series at the Trianon Filmcenter, a program which
began last November and will run to April 23.
Screenings take place every Saturday at 4.30 p.m. and
the program for the coming weeks is as follows: this
Saturday, February 12, features Polish filmmaker Jerzy
Kawalerowicz’s 1961 film “Matka Joanna od aniolow”
(Joan of the Angels), set in the 17th century, in
which a Catholic official is summoned to exorcize a
nun in a convent in a small town. The film stars
Lucyna Winnicka and Mieczyslaw Voit. Five shorts by
Alain Resnais will be screened on February 19,
including “Nuit et brouillard” (Night and Fog), a 1955
short which proves that cinema is not just about
viewing but also about memory.
A love story that unravels the legends and the pace of
life in an Armenian village is next on the agenda, in
Sergei Parajanov’s 1964 film “Tini zabutykh predkiv”
(The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors), starring Ivan
Mikolajchuk and Tatyana Bestayeva, which will be shown
on February 26, while Krzysztof Zanussi’s “Bilans
Kwartanly” (A Woman’s Decision) of 1975, a film where
the director seeks the truth in the face of a woman
who tries to halt the ravages of time, will be
screened on March 5. Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1972
documentary “Chung Kuo-Cina” (China) will give the
audience a taste of China on March 19, to be followed
by Dziga Vertov’s “Chelovek s kinoapparatom” (The Man
with a Camera) of 1929 on March 26, considered one of
cinema’s most modern films, in which a man goes around
the city with a camera on his shoulder and documents
urban life.
Saturday, April 2’s screening will feature Grigori
Kozintsev and Iosif Shapiro’s take on “Hamlet,” in
their 1964 “Gamlet,” starring Innokenti Smoktunovsky
in the lead role; Alain Resnais’s 1959 drama about
love and memory, “Hiroshima Mon Amour” (Hiroshima My
Love), starring Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada, a film
that was also shown in open-air cinemas last summer,
will be screened on April 9.
The series will end with Leo McCarey’s classic 1933
comedy “Duck Soup,” featuring the Marx Brothers, on
April 16, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Mamma Roma” of
1962 on April 23, the story of a middle-aged
prostitute in Rome who decides to quit and stars the
striking Anna Magnani.
The Trianon Filmcenter is situated at 21 Kodringtonos,
tel 210.822.2702.
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