Theophany: The Dawn Of A New Life

Once again, the Christian world is illuminated by the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the unfathomable mystery of Theophany, we perceive the humility of the Son of God, who descended from heaven to earth, ushering in the dawn of a new life.

The nativity of Jesus Christ must indeed be seen as a profound manifestation of His immense love for humanity. His birth bridges heaven with earth. We’re mindful of this truth, taught by the scriptures:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The New Year gains its spiritual dimension from the birth of Christ, opening the door for spiritual
rebirth and eternal life. Its significance echoes profoundly when we commit to live lives resembling that of Jesus.

Throughout history, humanity has renewed itself by embracing the light of divine love and wisdom.

Christmas marks the culmination of this miracle in human life—a miracle essential at every step of our existence.

To understand Theophany, one must perceive it through a spiritual prism. Only then can we grasp its ultimate truth—a deep mystery that serves as a healing balm for the wounds afflicting humanity.

Now, more than ever, we must rekindle the vision and spirit of new life, intertwined with the birth of Christ. Let us see Christ’s humility in His revelation through Christmas. May Christ’s life become a mirror for our own, allowing us to delve into the depths of our souls, acknowledging our strengths and areas for growth. When Jesus is the mirror of our life, reflection and self-awareness deepen.

Christmas is a worldwide celebration. Our prayers gain potency when we pledge to experience spiritual revival through Christ’s birth. Today’s world, especially our nation, needs to overcome life’s challenges through the mystery of Christ’s birth. The meaning of Christmas transcends worldly explanations—it is nothing short of divine. In this sense, every family with a newborn embodies a miniature nativity scene.

Hence, we must experience that holiness within our families as well.

Let us individually and collectively celebrate the birth of Christ. Let us celebrate with conviction,
knowing that Christmas keeps alive our Christian calling, our yearning for the Fatherland Armenia, and the holy land sanctified by the blood of our ancestors. In our hearts and souls, we cherish the freedom-loving spirit of Artsakh, the sanctity of the Armenian family, and our timeless spiritual and cultural values. We owe a debt of gratitude to the young heroes of our nation who sacrificed for our lives.

Today, we also renew our covenant with Holy Etchmiadzin.

Beloved faithful,
Embrace the beginning of a new life on the threshold of Christmas. Let your heart be the cradle that holds the baby Jesus. Walk with Him, drawing strength from His divine power and wisdom to stand firm against weaknesses, making your life more purposeful, successful, and creative, knowing that our lives belong to God.

Christ is born and revealed. Blessed is the revelation of Christ.

Prayerfully,

Abp. Hovnan Derderian, Primate
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America

The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research announced the winners of the 2023 Dr. Sona Aronian Book Prizes for Excellence in Armenian Studies. The recipients of the award are Dr. Vartan Matiossian for “The Politics of Naming the Armenian Genocide: Language, History and ‘Medz Yeghern'” (I. B. Tauris, 2022); Dr. Henry Shapiro for “The Rise of the Western Armenian Diaspora in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire” (Edinburgh University Press, 2022); and to Dr. Gohar Muradyan for the English-language translation “Ancient Greek Myths in Medieval Armenian Literature” (Brill, 2022), a translation of Echoes of Ancient Greek Myths in Medieval Armenian Literature (2014). The 2023 awards are for books with a 2022 publication date.

NAASR’s Aronian Book Prizes were established in 2014 by the late Dr. Aronian and Dr. Geoffrey Gibbs, to be awarded annually to outstanding scholarly works in the English language in the field of Armenian Studies and translations from Armenian into English.

“In a year with numerous ground-breaking scholarly works, it is a pleasure to recognize these three that cover such a wide range of topics with admirable scholarly rigor,” said NAASR’s Director of Academic Affairs Marc Mamigonian.

Vartan Matiossian’s “The Politics of Naming the Armenian Genocide” explores the genealogy of the concept of ‘Medz Yeghern’ (‘Great Crime’), an Armenian term for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.  The work draws upon extensive research based on Armenian sources, neglected in much of the current historiography, as well as other European languages in order to trace the development of the concepts pertaining to mass killing and genocide of Armenians from the ancient to the modern periods.  In so doing, it makes important original contributions to our knowledge of the language used to refer to the Armenian Genocide—and the uses and abuses of language.

Dr. Matiossian, a scholar of Armenian history, literature, and language, is the Executive Director of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and book review editor for Armenian Review.

“I am deeply grateful to NAASR for bestowing this truly humbling honor upon a book that was not born from my main lines of research, but from an intrinsic wish to show how knowledge of the Armenian language and Armenian sources truly matters when it comes to the ‘Medz Yeghern,’ the Great Crime of genocide against the Armenians, and the everlasting attempts at its denial.  I hope that my incursion into genocide scholarship and the adjacent territories of language, history, and politics may serve as a corrective and a reminder in these sad times when words are being twisted and perverted to the point of being unrecognizable,” said Matiossian.

Dr. Henry Shapiro is an Ottoman historian at the Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul, Turkey.  “The Rise of the Western Armenian Diaspora in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire,” based on his 2018 Princeton doctoral thesis, traces how Armenian migrants changed the demographic and cultural landscape of Istanbul and Western Anatolia in the course of the 17th century and adds a great deal to our knowledge of a hitherto understudied but crucial chapter in Armenian (and not only in Armenian) history.

Reached by email, Shapiro said, “I am truly honored to have won the Dr. Sona Aronian Book Prize for Excellence in Armenian Studies.  It takes many years to write a book, and appreciation of this kind is very valuable and motivating.  Moreover, I am grateful to NAASR for having supported research for my monograph.  Now I feel all the more motivated to work on the next one!”

Dr. Gohar Muradyan is a philologist and translator. She is a senior researcher and head of the Department for the Study of Translated Literature at the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts / Matenadaran in Yerevan.  “Ancient Greek Myths in Medieval Armenian Literature” brings together all the known references to ancient Greek myths in medieval Armenian literature.  Alongside the original Armenian passages and, when extant, their Greek originals, Muradyan provides annotated English translations.

When informed of winning the prize, Dr. Muradyan said that he was “delighted to be awarded this prize and I thank you heartily.”

Authors or publishers wishing to submit books for consideration for future Aronian prizes may contact NAASR Director of Academic Affairs Marc A. Mamigonian at [email protected].

In an effort to preserve a crucial chapter of Armenian history, the Armenian National Committee Western Region’s Education Committee joined forces with the Rerooted in April 2023 to record and share the deeply personal and painful stories of those who survived brutal pogroms of Armenians in Soviet Azerbaijan, which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of more than 300,000 Armenians from Baku, Kirovabad, Sumgait and other regions of Soviet Azerbaijan.

Beginning with the Sumgait massacres in February 1988 and continuing with the pogroms in Kirovabad and Baku in November 1988 and January 1990 respectively, the pogroms were comprised of a series of severe and systemic acts of violence, including killings, sexual violence, and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Armenian civilians at the hands of Azerbaijani residents and authorities.

The End of the 20th Century Anti-Armenian Pogroms Collection Project, also known as The Pogroms Collection, is focused on creating a comprehensive archive of survivor testimonies to serve as an essential resource for education, research, public awareness, and advocacy. This effort is a step towards honoring the memory of the victims and survivors, ensuring that their experiences of endurance in the face of adversity are recognized and preserved, and that the atrocities committed are met with the due diligence of accountability, including through restitution and the preservation of the right of return of Armenians to their homes.

“Survivor testimonies from this significant period of history are primary sources that reveal the realities of man’s inhumanity to man and the lasting impact of these experiences,” said Alice Petrossian, Chair of ANC WR Education Committee. “They remind us of the importance of protecting human rights and drive our agency to stand for justice.”

One of the survivors of the pogroms interviewed by ANC WR’s Education Committee member Arpi Krikorian said “I was told to go to a theater in downtown [Baku] where a lot of Armenians gathered to hide and protect themselves… I didn’t end up going, and I’m glad I didn’t, because I later saw on the news that they [Azerbaijanis] had set fire to that theater.”

Another survivor interviewed recalled a painful moment of his experience, stating: “I overheard a police officer’s radio… he was being told that Azerbaijanis broke into a hospital and killed Armenian babies, pregnant women…”

“Rerooted is grateful to the Education Committee members for their commitment to this joint effort to document the truth and to build a repository that will combat denialism and revisionism,” said Ani Schug, co-founder of Rerooted.

“We believe oral history allows for interviewees to feel an individual acknowledgement of the harms they suffered while facilitating collective acknowledgement through accountability efforts on a greater scale,” said Anoush Baghdassarian, co-founder of Rerooted.

Survivors of the 1988-1990 Kirovabad, Sumgait, and Baku pogroms who are interested to provide recorded testimony may complete this form. Individuals interest in volunteering for the Pogroms Project are encouraged to apply.

About the ANC-WR Education Committee: Comprised of dedicated community members from the field of education, the ANC-WR Education Committee fosters and maintains relations with officials, education stakeholders, and representatives from community-based organizations that deal with education and youth matters. More specifically, the committee focuses on implementing Genocide Education curricula including understanding of the Armenian culture and current critical issues in public schools and works with local ANC-WR chapters to address the needs of Armenian-American teachers, parents and students at school sites by monitoring and proposing activities and programs.

Rerooted celebrates and explores Armenian identity in communities around the world and advocates for their just and safe futures. We produce accessible, digital collections of testimonies, photographs and documents to be used to create resources that display the resilience of our Armenian communities and tools to advocate for their prosperity in the face of modern-day challenges. Rerooted was founded in 2017 by Anoush Baghdassarian and Ani Schug, two Armenian Diasporans, on the values of being a trustworthy and open archive that would be used for action. They began their collection focusing on the Syrian-Armenian community to document both the harms they experienced during war and the beautiful identity and community they had created over one hundred years. With the philosophy they developed and skills they acquired from their first collection, Rerooted expanded to Armenian communities around the world.

Prelate Bishop Torkom Donyan with the lead architect and design team of the church

Months after announcing that the La Crescenta parish will have its own church, the Western Prelacy announced that construction on the new Holy Archangels Church has begun and is being closely overseen by Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donyan.

“We are hopeful that by mid-year the church will be ready to be officially anointed by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia,” Bishop Donoyan said in a statement last week.

The Western Prelacy announced in May that the new La Crescenta Church, whose benefactors are Mr. & Mrs. Varant and Hoori Melkonian, will be named “Holy Archangels” Church, with the blessing from Catholicos Aram I.

Varant and Hoori Melkonian, accompanied by Angel Melkonian visited Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan

Community leaders and benefactors Varant and Hoori Melkonian announced a generous donation and became the lead contributors of the new church. They also asked that the church be dedicated to in memory of Varant Melkonian’s father, Melkon, and to honor his mother, Angel, for whom the church was named “Holy Archangels.”

“Varant and Hoori Melkonian are not only a permanent presence in our community through their hard work and support, they are also always ready to ensure that community projects are successful. They bring their unwavering contribution to projects that aim to elevate our nation, homeland and the Western Prelacy through their generosity,” Prelate Donoyan said last March of the couple who have been bestowed with the “Cilician Prince” medal by the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia.

A special committee, comprised of professionals specializing in the fields of architecture and construction, is overseeing the renovation and redesign of the building, which will house the Holy Archangels Church and comply with architectural motifs of the Armenian Church.