PASSING
OF JIRAIR S. HOVNANIAN; PRELATE WILL OFFICIATE
AT FUNERAL SERVICES TOMORROW
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate, and the Executive Council received
the news of the passing of Jirair S. Hovnanian with deep sadness. Mr.
Hovnanian died on Tuesday, August 14, at his home in Mount Laurel, New
Jersey. He was 80 years old, a devoted deacon of the Armenian Church,
a pillar of the Eastern Prelacy, and a life-long member of St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, and a generous supporter of the
Armenian Sisters Academy and the Hovnanian School.
The family will receive visitors tonight at Bradley Funeral Home, Route
73 and Evesham Road, Marlton, New Jersey, 6 to 9 pm, and tomorrow morning
9:30 to 11:00 at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, 8701 Ridge Avenue,
Philadelphia. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m., with the Prelate,
Archbishop Oshagan, officiating. Interment is at Lakeview Memorial Park
in Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
Mr. Hovnanian had an optimistic outlook on life that served him well in
his business and personal life. Born in Kirkuk, Iraq, where his father
Stepan K. Hovnanian, an Armenian refugee, was a well-known successful
builder, Mr. Hovnanian was the first of the Hovnanian brothers to come
to the United States in 1948. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School in 1952. His marriage to Elizabeth Vosbikian produced two
sons, Stephen and Peter, both of whom are executives in the building business
founded by their father, J. S. Hovnanian and Sons.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Lil), his sons and daughters-in-law,
Stephen and Nancy, and Peter and Theresa, six grandchildren and two great
grandchildren. He is also survived by his three brothers and two sisters
and their spouses: Kevork and Sirvart Hovnanian, Hirair and Anna Hovnanian,
Vahakn and Hasmig Hovnanian, Ano and Raffi Missirian, Dido and Sarkis
Krikorian, and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers donations are being accepted for The Jirair S. and
Elizabeth Hovnanian Family Foundation, 900 Birchfield Drive, Mt. Laurel,
NJ 08054. The Foundation supports charitable programs and academic scholarships.
May his noble soul rest in peace.
WEEK OF PRAYER
AND CONTEMPLATION
PRECEDES FEAST DAY
The Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia organized
daily prayer and contemplation sessions in the Monastery of St. Mary in
Bikfaya, Lebanon, during the week of August 6 to 10. Bikfaya, a small
town in the mountains of Lebanon, is where the Cilician See’s seminary
and summer residence are located. The sessions began at 10 a.m. each morning,
providing the opportunity for the faithful to embrace the centuries-old
values of the Armenian Church. More than 150 believers participated each
day in the contemplation sessions, which included singing hymns and reciting
prayers written by our church fathers.
These sessions became an opportunity for spiritual renewal and preparation
for the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God last Sunday
which was attended by thousands of the Faithful.
PRELATE AND
VICAR WILL VISIT WHITINSVILLE
This Sunday, August 19, Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will
travel to Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to the parish of St. Asdvadzadzin
Church. His Eminence will preside over the Liturgy and the Blessing of
the Grapes. Bishop Anoushavan will be celebrant and preacher.
SAINTS JOACHIM
AND ANNA
Next Tuesday, August 21, the Armenian Church remembers Saints Joachim
and Anna, parents of Mary, mother of Christ. Very little is known about
them. According to tradition, Joachim and Anna were childless through
years of marriage and were reproached for their barrenness. Joachim fasted
forty days in the desert and both of them prayed for a child, but they
placed their trust in God’s will, whatever it may be. An angel appeared
to each of them, telling them they would be the parents of a child. That
child was Mary, who became mother of Jesus.
IN CELEBRATION
OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE…
To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
here.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click
here.
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 and literature:
“In the latter part of the tenth century and especially in the eleventh,
at the height of the period of Armenian independence under the Bagratids
and other minor rulers, sumptuous manuscripts were produced for kings,
high dignitaries of the church and other wealthy patrons. … After
a lull of more than a century following the Seljuk invasion, work was
again resumed. The political center was then no longer in Armenia but
in Cilicia, on the shores of the Mediterranean. Large numbers of the population
had migrated there after the conquest of their mother country and they
established a barony which was raised to the status of a kingdom with
the coronation of Leo I in 1198. Soon after their arrival the Armenians
founded scriptoria in different monasteries and at the see of the catholicos,
the head of the church, at Hromkla. The art which flourished in these
centers had its roots in the Byzantinizing style of the luxurious manuscripts
illustrated in Armenia in the eleventh century, but Cilician painting
was soon to develop along original lines. Figural representations had
at first been limited to the portraits of the evangelists and to selected
Gospel scenes. The latter increased in number in the manuscripts copied
in the course of the thirteenth century, particularly in those which were
illustrated at Hromkla during the enlightened rule of the catholicos Constantine
I, who was a great patron of the arts. The head of the patriarchal scriptorium
was then the renowned painter T’oros Roslin. Seven manuscripts,
signed by him and ranging in date from 1256 to 1268, are preserved.”
From An Introduction to Armenian Manuscript Illumination: Selections
from the Collection in the Walters Art Gallery, by Sirarpie Der Nersessian,
Baltimore, Maryland, 1974.
DAILY BIBLE
READINGS
Bible readings for today, August 16, are: Proverbs 11:30-12:4; Zechariah
2:10-13; 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Luke 1:39-56.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and
dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves
to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your
midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The
Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again
choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 2:10-13)
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
here.
ROBERT FULTON
AND THE FIRST STEAMBOAT
The first successful steamboat trip took place 200 years ago on August
17, 1807, when Robert Fulton’s Clermont made the trip from
New York City to Albany, thus beginning commercial steam boating on the
Hudson River. That first trip took 32 hours.
Fulton conceived the idea of propelling boats by steam when he was quite
young, perhaps as young as twelve. While others also had the same idea
and were experimenting, he was the first to demonstrate that it could
work with the maiden voyage in 1807.
It has been said that Fulton proposed the idea of a steam ship to Napoleon,
and after listening to the concept, Napoleon incredulously said, “You
would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire
under her deck? Excuse me, I have no time to listen to such nonsense.”
Fulton is buried at Trinity Church in the Financial District in New York
City.
|
| CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
August
19—Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church,
Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual church picnic. For information www.armenianchurchofwhit.org
or 508-234-3677.
September
9—Annual picnic of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley
at American Legion Grounds in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
September
9—St. Stephen Church, New Britain, Connecticut, annual
picnic at Quartette Club grounds, New Britain.
September
9—St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 234th Street, Douglaston, New
York. Annual picnic on the church grounds following church services. For
information 718-224-2275.
September
15—Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, “The
Moon*The Stars*and All that Jazz.” An evening of music and mezze
under the stars, presented by the Ladies Guild. For information 845-735-8713
or 201-445-6867.
September
25—Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, Worcester, Massachusetts,
4th annual golf outing at Juniper Hill Golf Course, Northboro, Massachusetts.
Registration at 8 am. Tee off at 9 am. $125 includes golf cart, dinner
and prizes. For information 508-852-2414.
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. For information www.armenianchurchofwhit.org
or 508-234-3677.
October
7—St. Stephen Church, New Britain, Connecticut, 82nd Anniversary
banquet, Marriott Hotel, Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
October
7—Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, “Hello
Ellis Island,” the latest production of The Way We Were Troupe,
hosted by the Ladies Guild, 1 pm. Lunch served. For information 201-943-2950.
October
18, 19, 20, 21—Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland,
Annual Food Festival and Bazaar.
October
21—St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, Philadelphia, celebrating
the 20th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, under
the auspices of the Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan. For information www.saintgregory-philly.org
or 215-482-9200.
November
11—37th anniversary of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack
Valley and ordination of Nishan Dagley to the office of acolyte and stole
bearer. Presided over by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar
General of the Prelacy.
November
10-11—Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island,
annual “Armenian Fest,” at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, Cranston,
Rhode Island. For information 401-831-6399.
November
17—Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 43rd Anniversary
Banquet.
December
1—Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts,
annual church bazaar. For information www.armenianchurchofwhit.org or
508-234-3677.
December
9—St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts,
50th anniversary celebration. For information, (617) 924-7562.
|
