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FIRST OF THREE
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
FOR PRELATE WILL TAKE PLACE SATURDAY
The first of the three celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Archbishop
Oshagan’s ordination to the priesthood, will take place this Saturday,
May 5, at the Marriott in Providence, Rhode Island. The New England committee
under the chairmanship of Yn. Joanna Baghsarian (Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Providence) and Avedis Garavanian (St. Gregory Church, North Andover)
has spared no effort to make this a memorable occasion.
The second event will take place next Saturday, May 12, at The Marriott
at Glenpointe, in Teaneck, New Jersey, with the participation of all of
the parishes in the Mid Atlantic, which includes New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
The final celebration will take place during the National Representative
Assembly (NRA) which is being hosted by St. Sarkis Church in Dearborn,
Michigan. This will take place on Friday, May 18, at Double Tree Hotel
in Dearborn, with the participation of the parishes in the Mid-West, as
well as the NRA delegates and guests.
For more information on all three events click
here.
ECUMENICAL
RECEPTION AT PRELACY TOMORROW
IN HONOR OF ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ordination of His Eminence
Archbishop Oshagan, an Ecumenical Reception will take place in the Vahakn
and Hasmig Hovnanian Hall at the Prelacy headquarters in New York tomorrow,
Friday, May 4, beginning at 3 pm. Ecumenical leaders and friends will
come to congratulate His Eminence on the occasion of his milestone anniversary.
PRELATE WILL
ATTEND 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA
This Sunday, May 6, Archbishop Oshagan will be in Philadelphia with the
parish of St. Gregory the Illuminator on the occasion of the 40th anniversary
of the consecration of the church on Ridge Ave. His Eminence will preside
over the Divine Liturgy and ordination granting the right to wear the
stole (ourar) to Garabed Sarkissian. Following the services,
His Eminence will preside over the anniversary banquet in the church hall.
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 here.
2007 NATIONAL
REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY IN DEARBORN
The 2007 National Representative Assembly (NRA) will be hosted by St.
Sarkis Church, Dearborn, Michigan. For details click
here.
Clergymen should note that the religious conference will begin
Tuesday afternoon, May 15, not Wednesday as previously announced.
PRELACY OBSERVER
WILL ATTEND DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY
Astor Guzelian of St. Stephen’s Church in Watertown, Massachusetts,
is attending the Diocesan Assembly of the Eastern Diocese, as an observer
on behalf of the Eastern Prelacy. The Assembly is being hosted by Sts.
Vartanantz Church in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, beginning today May 3
through to Sunday, May 6. The Assembly is taking place at Sheraton Tara
in Nashua, New Hampshire.
PLG MOTHERS
DAY LUNCHEON MAY 7
The popular Mothers Day luncheon presented by the Prelacy Ladies Guild
will take place this Monday, May 7, at the St. Regis in New York City.
This year’s Mother of the Year is Mrs. Lalig Bayrakdarian, mother
of six children, including the famed Metropolitan Opera star, Isabel Bayrakdarian.
A special presentation of “Musical Sounds of Armenia” will
be provided by a quartet made up of graduates and current students of
Juilliard and solo dance presentation accompanied by kanon and piano.
For more information click here.
30th ANNIVERSARY
OF ST. ILLUMINATOR SCHOOL
The 30th anniversary of St. Illuminator Armenian Day School, Woodside,
New York, will be celebrated on Saturday evening, May 6, at Terrace on
the Park, Corona, New York. Reception begins at 5 pm followed by dinner.
Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, will attend and present a
letter of blessing from His Holiness Catholicos Aram I to Mrs. Zmroukhd
Markarian, in appreciation for her many decades of service as an educator
at the school.
“NEVER
AGAIN” FOR ARMENIANS TOO
An op-ed article by Daniel Sokatch and David N. Myers, entitled “Never
Again for Armenians too” appeared in the May 1, 2007 issue of the
Los Angeles Times. The authors chide “several American
Jewish groups who abandon their anti-genocide zeal when it comes to Turkey’s
massacre of Armenians,” and find it troubling that some major Jewish
organizations have lined up in support of Turkey’s effort to keep
the U.S. Congress from recognizing the Armenian massacres as an act of
genocide. Sokatch is executive director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance
and Myers teaches Jewish history at UCLA. To read the entire op-ed article
click
here.
RWANDAN EXHIBIT
OPENS AT UNITED NATIONS
The exhibit on the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda which was
scheduled to open at the United Nations two weeks ago, and postponed because
of protests from the Turkish Mission because of a one line reference to
the Armenian genocide, opened this past Monday. The Turkish diplomats
had originally asked that the entire reference to the Armenian genocide
be removed, which the organizers refused to do. The exhibit remained the
same except that “the Ottoman Empire” was substituted for
“Turkey.” In the meantime the entire episode provided widespread
press coverage, including an editorial in the New York Times.
AND…ANOTHER
HEADLINE MAKING ENCOUNTER
Margaret Ajemian Ahnert has just published a memoir of her mother, “The
Knock at the Door,” which describes her mother’s experiences
during the Armenian genocide. The first-time author had a book-signing
and book-reading appearance at a Barnes & Noble on the East Side of
Manhattan on Tuesday evening. During the session several persons disrupted
her reading, shouting and passing out leaflets denying that the genocide
occurred. One man was arrested, and the incident resulted in a lengthy
article in today’s New York Times (page 3 of the Metro
section). In the audience were former New York Governor Hugh L. Carey
and the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, whose grandfather,
Henry Morgenthau, was the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to
1916.
A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble said it was unusual for a reading
to be disrupted. Passing out pamphlets violated the company’s no-solicitations
policy, she said. “They were asked to stop passing out leaflets.
They refused. They were jeering the author. They were asked to sit down
and they refused.” The police were called.
Last night Ms. Ajemian Ahnert was a guest on the Joey Reynolds show on
WOR radio (710 AM) which is heard Monday to Friday from Midnight to five
o’clock in the morning. A portion of the show was devoted to the
new book and the incident related above.
Crossroads suggests you order the book from Barnes & Noble
via the internet or in person.
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.
“Nerses Shnorhali [the Graceful] was one of the most remarkable
figures of medieval Armenian literature. Nerses was born in approximately
1100 in the castle of Tzovk, the seat of the catholicos, in the Tluk province
of Armenian Cilicia. He received his education in Karmir Vank (the Red
Monastery) in the Black [Amanus] Mountains of southeastern Cilicia, where
his teacher was Stepanos Manuk…. Shnorhali was a prolific poet,
theologian, composer, pedagogue, and publicist. The poetic grace and clarity
of his style and the articulateness of his language are indications of
the lucidity and precision of his mind. He is the leading literary and
religious figure of the Silver Age…. Shnorhali’s literary
output is rich and varied; he wrote poems, sermons, canticles, riddles,
and commentaries on Scripture. He also enriched the liturgy of the Armenian
Church with many hymns, anthems, prayers, and sacred poems.”
From The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Volume II
To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
here.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click
here.
DAILY BIBLE
READINGS
Bible readings for today, May 3, are: Luke 10:25-42; Acts 15:1-29; 2 Peter
2:9-22; John 6:22-38; Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 6:1-6.
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples
followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many
who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get
all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of
power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son
of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Juda and Simon, and are not
his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said
to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown,
and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do
no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people
and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
here.
70th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE HINDENBURG CRASH
This Sunday, May 6th, is the 70th anniversary of the crash of the dirigible
(zeppelin), Hindenburg, at the Navy base in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It
was the 20th century’s first transportation disaster captured by
newsreel, audio recordings, and still photos. The German zeppelin, with
a length of three Boeing 747s, was on its 63rd flight when it went up
in flames as it was preparing to land on May 6, 1937. Controversy still
continues about the exact cause of the accident.
APPARITION OF THE CROSS
This Sunday, May 6, is the Feast of the Apparition of the Cross (Yerevoumun
Sourp Khatchi). The Apparition of the Holy Cross is the third feast
of the Holy Cross. It is celebrated on the fifth Sunday of Easter, in
remembrance of the apparition of the sign of the cross that appeared over
the city of Jerusalem in 331 A.D. The apparition was brighter than sunlight
and seen by clergy and laity.
MEDITATION
BY REV. FR. VARTAN KASSABIAN
We end this week with a meditation by Rev. Fr. Vartan Kassabian about
the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Der Vartan is pastor of St. Gregory Armenian
Apostolic Church of Merrimack Valley in North Andover, Massachusetts.
“In the wake of the recent school massacres at Virginia Tech, I
have thought time and again about how much we have progressed as a society.
But, I also have thought about just how apathetic and uncaring we have
become. We seem to be so wrapped up in this vicious cycle of life that
we seem to have become immune to the evils around us. The question still
remains what could have caused one human being to inflict such pain and
suffering on so many others for no apparent reason? Perhaps the answer
comes to us and the society and world we live.
“The worse sickness that we suffer today more than ever is the disease
of indifference, apathy, and not speaking out against what we know to
be wrong and unacceptable, especially since we claim to be a society endowed
with civility and respect for human life. Alas, reality tells a different
story. We have become a society which is now known as the culture of death.
There is no longer a sacred respect for human life and dignity. There
is no longer a sense of God, Faith, and the value of human life. Family
life, the concept of a community which loves and nurtures is for all intents
and purposes virtually nonexistent. What comes from such a tragedy is
a wake up call to each of us that we have to change and start caring more.
We, too, may someday receive the very news those grieving parents did
on that day. The decision to do what is right in the face of such evil
is a choice only we can make.”
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CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
May
5—40th anniversary of ordination
of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in the New England area will take place
in Providence, Rhode Island.
May
6—30th anniversary of St. Illuminator’s Armenian
Day School, Terrace on the Park, Corona, New York, at 5 pm.
May
7—Prelacy Ladies Guild Mothers’ Day Luncheon, 11:30
a.m., St. Regis Hotel, Two East 55th Street (at Fifth Avenue), New York
City. Special entertainment, “Musical Sounds of Armenia.”
May
12—40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan in Mid Atlantic area will take place at the Marriott at Glenpointe,
Teaneck, New Jersey.
May
12—Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, 50th anniversary
concert featuring Onnik Dinkjian and John Berberian.
May
12—Armenian Dance party, St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard,
Massachusetts.
May
18—40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan in Midwest will take place at the National Representative Assembly.
May
20—“Hello Ellis Island” and Reception, St.
Stephen’s Church Hall, Watertown, Massachusetts. $20 per person.
Information, 617-924-7562.
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 here.
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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