| Nakhichevan.His
Eminence and the ANCA delegation noted that, despite several requests,
the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan has yet to investigate the matter or even
visit the site.
RELIGIOUS
AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS WILL MEET
The Religious and Executive Councils will meet tomorrow and Saturday,
November 30 and December 1, at the Prelacy offices in New York City.
PRELATE WILL
ATTEND LUNCHEON
HONORING POLICE AND FIRE FIGHTERS
Archbishop Oshagan will attend a special Thanksgiving and Christmas luncheon
on Wednesday, December 5, hosted by St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New
York, in honor of the members of the local New York City Police and Fire
departments (111th precinct). The day will begin with morning worship
services led by the Prelate and Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St.
Sarkis Church, attended by the police and fire fighters and members of
the parish’s seniors’ organization. Luncheon will follow.
This annual event has become a warm tradition that brings the church and
local community closer together.
GARY KASPAROV
ARRESTED
Former chess champion Gary Kasparov was arrested after leading a protest
at Moscow’s federal election authority offices. Kasparov was sentenced
to five days in jail for holding an unauthorized march. He had been on
his way to give election officials a letter claiming that the upcoming
Russian elections are biased toward President Vladimir Putin. Kasparov
is the presidential candidate for the opposition Other Russia coalition.
He was also arrested in April and was fined without incarceration.
ARMENIAN CHURCH
PARTICIPATES IN MEETING
The meeting of the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Bible
Society took place in Moscow last week. Bishop Nareg Alemezian (Ecumenical
Officer) participated on behalf of the Catholicosate of Cilicia; Archbishop
Yeznig Bedrossian (Ecumenical Officer) participated on behalf of the Catholicosate
of All Armenians, Etchmiadzin. Cooperation between these bodies has continued
since 1999. This meeting discussed the various agreements and projects
between the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Bible Society.
They also prepared the agenda for the next meeting in September 2008.
SERIES OF
PUBLICATIONS CONTINUES IN ANTELIAS
Emphasizing the importance of books during his speech at the opening of
the 29th annual Armenian Book exhibition in Antelias, His Holiness Aram
I praised all the publishing houses and individuals who support and spread
the reach of Armenian books. His Holiness particularly praised the huge
efforts of the Catholicosate and the Lisbon-based Calouste Gulbenkian
Foundation’s Armenian Department. He praised the dedication of the
director of the Armenian Department, Dr. Zaven Yegavian. Eight volumes
of the Madenakirk Hayots series have already been published by
the Catholicosate’s publishing house during the past two years.
Four new volumes will soon be added to this masterful series.
BLESSING OF
MURON IS SCHEDULED
The Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia announced that His Holiness
Catholicos Aram I will consecrate the Holy Muron (Holy Oil) next year
on June 7, 2008. The Faithful are encouraged to attend this special service
which takes place every seven years. Details will be forthcoming.
SAINTS THADDEUS
AND BARTHOLOMEW
This Saturday, December 1, the Armenian Church commemorates Saints Thaddeus
and Bartholomew, two of the twelve apostles who were the first evangelizers
of Armenia, and were martyred there, giving the Armenian Church its apostolic
identity and earning them the title, “First Enlighteners of Armenia.”
Thaddeus came to Armenia about 43 AD to preach Christianity. He was martyred
in southeastern Armenia. His tomb lies in the Armenian monastery of St.
Thaddeus (Iran) where a chapel was built in the third century. Bartholomew
is believed to have arrived in Armenia about 66 AD. He was martyred in
Hadamakert, southeast of Lake Van.
SECOND SUNDAY
OF ADVENT
This Sunday, December 2, is the second Sunday of Advent. Advent is a season
of waiting for the coming of Christ, which gives us reason to live in
hope regardless of the many challenges and vicissitudes facing us on many
fronts. John the Baptist is the great Advent figure (read Matthew, Chapter
3, and Luke, Chapter 3).
Remember that this time of the year, although filled with great joy, can
be lonely and sad for many people. Reach out with a visit, a note, or
a telephone call to an elderly person living alone, someone who is ill,
or someone who recently lost a loved one.
KING APKAR
On Tuesday, December 4, the Armenian Church commemorates King Apkar, who
according to tradition was afflicted with a debilitating skin ailment.
The King wrote a letter to Christ asking for His assistance. Christ replied
by sending a cloth with His image and the promise to send one of His apostles.
St. Thaddeus was sent and subsequently the King had a miraculous recovery.
King Apkar and his family accepted Christianity and the King wrote to
other leaders (including his cousin King Sanadrook of Armenia) urging
them to accept Christianity.
KHIRIMIAN
HAYRIG
This year marked the 100th anniversary of the passing of the beloved Catholicos
Mgrdich I, lovingly known as Khirmian Hairig. Hairig died at
age 87 on October 29, 1907. His tomb, near the entrance of the Mother
Cathedral in Etchmiadzin, is a popular and honored pilgrimage site. There
is an interesting story about the location of his tomb. By decision of
the brotherhood of Etchmiadzin, Khirmian Hairig was to be buried next
to Catholicos Makar (his predecessor) to the south of the belfry of the
Mother Cathedral. On November 1, the grand sacristan, Bishop Ghevond,
performed the service attendant to the grave digging. Suddenly a popular
uprising arose. A crowd numbering in the thousands came into the courtyard
with angry shouts of “Makar wrecked Armenian homes, our dear Hairig
must not be buried next to him! Bury Hairig next to Nerses of Ashtarak.”
The newspapers wrote up the incident noting that, “The people flocked
in the Etchmiadzin Monastery courtyard from morning until noon and they
refused to permit Khrimian’s grave to be next to Catholicos Makar.
The crowd covered the grave that had been dug and dug a new grave next
to that of Nerses of Ashtarak. The Armenian people wished for Khrimian,
the Father of the Fatherland, to be buried next to Nerses, the Protector
of the Fatherland. And that is what happened.”
Khirmian Hairig has a special tie to the Armenian Church in America. It
was his encyclical of July 2, 1898, that officially established the Armenian
Church of America. Next year is the 110th anniversary of that momentous
event.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, November 29, are: Proverbs 8:33-36; Isaiah 66:18-21;
Philippians 4:1-7; Luke 9:1-6.
Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Happy
is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside
my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord;
but those who miss me injure themselves; all who hate me love death.
(Proverbs 8:33-36)
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
here.
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:
“The Persians, the Greeks, the Seljuks, the Tatars and the Turks
have all tried to crush us. Our people see that all of these conquerers
have come and gone. But they had come to stay. When the enemy wished to
enslave, wished to subdue them, they knew how to survive and live through
their culture. When the Armenians took others captive, they did so with
their books; when they dominated, they did so with the book of Nareg.
And, with that spirit, they responded to the Arab incursions with the
three-storied stronghold temple of Zvartnots; they erected the marvel
of Hripsime against Byzantium; they resisted the Seljuks with a thousand
and one churches. You may mentally pursue the course of this incomprehensible
struggle for survival by setting Datev against Tamerlane, the stones of
Etchmiadzin against Shah Abbas, and coming down to the present period
marked by the 1915 genocide and the resurrection of our people with the
bells of Sardarabad. Look and see how the spirit of the Holy Translators,
their zealousness and their unfinished dream soars above all this.
“Let us once more vow to remain faithful to the work of the generation
of Translators. Let us keep and preserve what is ours, what is genuine
to us. Let us stand up for our culture, our language, our prayers, our
fatherland and, with the determination of our Translators, say no to all
those forces which from the fifth century to the present have always waged
a struggle against our existence and our unique character. Let us again
vow to masterly use that apostolic and prophetic inspiration which has
been transmitted to us as the legacy of Mashdots and collectively bring
that to life through our lives. Only then shall we be the deserving heirs
of our illustrious saints, through our life and work glorifying the Name
of our Creator and Lord, with which you are blessed and shall be blessed.”
From Sermon delivered on October 12, 1979, by Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian,
of blessed memory, in the church of Oshagan, Armenia, burial site of Mesrob
Mashtots.
A MINI ADVENT
SERMON
As Orthodox Christians, Advent is the period in which we prepare ourselves
for the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. During this time of
spiritual preparation the three most important elements of our Advent
journey are and should be to Praise our God, to watch for His triumphant
birth as our Lord and Savior, to wait with a patient heart for His presence
among us during this most joyful time of the year, and finally to receive
Him as the Prince of Peace, the Wonder Counselor and the Mighty One who
comes to proclaim the Glory of God’s Kingdom here on Earth. Above
all, Christmas is about Christ.
There is a beautiful Christmas hymn titled, “Hark the Herald Angels
Sing, Glory to the Newborn King.” This is not only a song of the
Nativity, but the reality of who Jesus Christ is—the Lord of Lords,
the King of Kings, the Mighty One, the Wonderful Counselor. Remember that
Jesus Christ was proclaimed not only as the Son of God, but God who became
man and lived amongst us. You cannot separate the two, for our Lord Himself
proclaimed: “My Father and I are the same, he who does not believe
in me does not believe in the one who sent me.”
This is indeed a very special time of the year and perhaps more joyful
than any other. But, remember the real joy of Christmas cannot be complete
without recognizing why we celebrate it and whose feast day this really
is. The answer is simple and not complicated. The choice is yours.
Rev. Fr. Vartan Kassabian, pastor
St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover,
Massachusetts. |
| CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
September
27 to November 29—Christian
Education classes at Sourp Khatch Church in Bethesda, Maryland, 8 pm in
the church sanctuary. Topic: The Badarak. Classes held second and fourth
Thursdays of each month, except Thanksgiving week when classes will take
place Friday. Armenian and English. Prior attendance is not a requisite.
For information: 301-229-8742.
October
16 to December 18—“From Jesus’ meals with sinners
to the Lord’s Supper,” a five part Bible study at the Armenian
Prelacy will begin on October 16 and continue on the first and third Tuesday
of the month, from 7:15 to 8:45 pm. Conducted by Dn. Shant Kazanjian,
director of the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC). For information
and registration, please send e-mail to arec@armenianprelacy.org or call
212-689-4481.
November
30—“And Three Chairs Fell from Heaven,” written
and directed by Herand Markarian. Performed by the Hamazkayin Theatre
Group of New York, sponsored by the Mayr Chapter of the Armenian Relief
Society. All proceeds will benefit the St. Illuminator’s Armenian
School. 8:35 pm, Armenian Center, 69-23 47th Ave., Woodside, New York.
For information and tickets: 718-961-9550.
December
1—Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts,
annual church bazaar. For information www.armenianchurchofwhit.org or
508-234-3677.
December
1—St. Paul’s Church, Waukegan, Illinois, Annual Bake
Sale, Crafts and Café St. Paul. For orders or more information,
847-244-4573 or www.StPaulArmenian Church.com.
December
2—Hamasdegh Armenian School of Sourp Khatch Church presents,
Taline and Friends, Armenian Christmas Show at Walt Whitman High School,
7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, Maryland. For information: 240-418-5253
or 301-793-5622.
December
9—St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts,
50th anniversary dinner dance, Marriott Hotel, Burlington. For information,
(617) 924-7562.
December
9—Family Christmas Concert sponsored by St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral, featuring Maggie Tune (from California) and Gaghant Baba, 4:30
pm, at IS5 High School, 50-40 Jacobus Street, Elmhurst, New York. For
information contact cathedral office, 212-689-5880.
December
9—Town Hall style meeting in Jaffarian Hall of St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts.
Immediately following Divine Liturgy.
December
9—Christmas Boutique Sale, ARS Mayr Chapter of New York,
at St. Sarkis Church, Pagoumian Hall, 38-65 234th Street, Douglaston,
New York. For information 718-961-9550.
December
16—St. Gregory Church (North Andover, Massachusetts), Children’s
Christmas Pageant and Party following the Divine Liturgy. Luncheon buffet.
December
23—St. Stephen’s Day Celebration, Watertown, Massachusetts.
The Golden Jubilee celebration will come to a close with a commemoration
of the church’s patron saint, the first deacon and martyr, St. Stephen.
December
31—New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance, Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey, and ARF Dro Gomideh, The Sheraton Meadowlands,
E. Rutherford, New Jersey. For information 201-943-2950.
February
24, 2008—Annual Membership meeting, St. Gregory Church
(North Andover, Massachusetts).
June
7, 2008—Blessing of Holy Muron in Antelias, Lebanon. Details
will follow.
August
15-17, 2008—International Gathering of Youth and Pilgrimage
to Der Zor, organized by the Catholicosate of Cilicia. Details will follow.
June
27 to July 6—St. Gregory of Datev Institute, Summer Christian
Studies Program for youth ages 13-18 at St. Mary of Providence Center
in Elverson, Pennsylvania, organized by the Armenian Religious Education
Council. For more information click here.
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