MARCH 6, 2008

REQUIEM SERVICE AND PRAYERS FOR ARMENIA THIS SUNDAY

    Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan has sent a message today to all Prelacy parishes asking them to offer special prayers for Armenia as well as a requiem service for the victims of the recent clashes in Armenia, this Sunday, March 9. The Prelate sent the message following a directive received from His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, who has been in frequent consultation with His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. The Central Committee of the Cilician See called upon all the leaders of Armenia and the children of the nation to hold onto the nation’s and homeland’s supreme and collective interests. The two Pontiffs agreed to the special requiem service to be performed in all Armenian churches this Sunday in memory of those who fell victim to the March 1 clashes.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL MEETING THIS SATURDAY

    The New England Regional meeting for pastors, boards of trustees, and National Representative Assembly delegates with the Executive Council will take place this Saturday, March 8, hosted by St. Asdvadzadzin Church in Whitinsville, Massachusetts.

    The Prelate and Vicar will participate in the regional meeting. On Friday evening Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will attend the Lenten Vigil Service at St. Asdvadzadzin Church;   Bishop Anoushavan will deliver the sermon.

ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL BE IN NEW JERSEY

    Archbishop Oshagan will preside over the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, March 9, at Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey.

VISITS TO ARMENIAN HOME AND ST. SARKIS SENIORS

    On Wednesday, March 12, Archbishop Oshagan, Bishop Anoushavan, Archpriest Mousegh Der Kaloustian, Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, and Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian will visit the Armenian Home in  Flushing, New York, and later that same day they will visit with the Senior Citizens group at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.

40^TH ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION OF ARCHPRIEST ARSHAG DAGHLIAN

    Under the auspices of Archbishop Oshagan, the 40^th anniversary of Archpriest Fr. Arshag Daghlian will be celebrated on Saturday, March 29, at St. Stephen’s Church Hall, Watertown, Massachusetts. Dinner will be served at 6 pm, followed by a program. Reservations for the event (donation of $20), can be made by contacting the church at 617-924-7562.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY

    The Eastern Prelacy’s National Representative Assembly will be hosted by St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, May 8-10. Information for delegates, including hotel reservations, meal plans, and airport shuttle service are on the Prelacy web page. Additional information will be posted on a regular basis, so check the site often. In addition to the NRA, the National Association of Ladies Guilds (NALG) will be meeting and celebrating its 25^th anniversary; and a conference of Yeretzgeens will take place. To get to the NRA site click here.

YEAR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

    His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has designated the year 2008 as the “Year of Christian Education.” 

    To read His Holiness’ message in Armenian click here.

    To read His Holiness’ message in English click here.

PRELACY LENTEN LECTURE SERIES CONTINUES

    The fifth of the six-part Prelacy Lenten program took place last night at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City with the participation of more than sixty people. After the Husgoom Service (Peace-Compline), Deacon Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), spoke about “Prayer and Christian Formation.”

    Dn. Shant first defined Christian formation as total integration and incorporation into the life of the Church with its distinctive worldview and lifestyle that is different from the general culture. A disciplined prayer life plays an essential role in that process, he said.

Prayer is spontaneous when we

are at the mountain top or in the valley of life. But if we wait only at these two poles to pray we will pray very infrequently. Life is in the plain. Hence, the need for a disciplined prayer life. Following Scripture to remain steadfast in prayer, Christians from the earliest days have observed fixed hours of prayer both in private and with other believers. Dn. Shant emphasized how the Lord’s Prayer is at the Center of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), indicating that prayer is at the heart of the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and thus it is central to our life and our faith in God. In fact, the Lord’s Prayer is the paradigm of Christian prayer. “If one prays and lives the Lord’s Prayer, he will certainly experience the reality of the Kingdom of God here and now, and he could anticipate sharing in it in the life to come,” said Dn. Shant. After the lecture, an animated discussion ensued.

    The final Lenten lecture will be next Wednesday, March 12, and will be presented by Rev. Fr. Vartan Kassabian, pastor of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts, who will speak on “Family as Christian Educator.” The Lenten program is sponsored by the Prelacy Ladies Guild (PLG), the St. Illuminator’s Ladies Guild, and the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC).

MUSICAL ARMENIA CONCERT ENJOYED BY ALL

    Musical Armenia 25 was heartily applauded by an appreciative audience last Sunday at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. The first part of the program featured violist Aleksandr Nazaryan with Bo-Kyung Park on the piano and the Yerevan Quartet composed of Srbouhi Pantikian (violin), Alexander Dzyubinsky (violin), Aleksandr Nazaryan (viola), and Lilit Kurdiyan (cello). The second part featured the pianist Karen Tchougourian whose exceptional talent captivated the audience. Musical Armenia 25 was dedicated to the memory of three former prelates of the Eastern Prelacy: Archbishop Hrant Khatchadourian, Archbishop Karekin Sarkissian, and Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, who was the founder of the Musical Armenia series.

    Following the concert a reception for the artists and benefactors took place at the Prelacy. Photos are by Antranig Sarkissian.

BLESSING OF MURON

    The Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia announced that His Holiness Catholicos Aram I will consecrate the Holy Muron (Holy Oil) on June 7, 2008. The Holy Muron, symbol of the grace of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally blessed every seven years. Only the Catholicos can consecrate the oil which is then distributed to the various dioceses for distribution to the parishes. The oil consists of 48 different herbs, flowers, and oils which are combined in a

special vessel and mixed with some of the old Muron, thus creating an unbroken chain with the past. The preparation of the Holy Muron is a long process and each stage is accompanied with special prayers. Prior to its blessing, the Muron remains for forty days on the altar of the Cathedral. The Muron Blessing is expected to attract a large number of pilgrims from various parts of the world.

    During this same period the World General Assembly of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia will convene in Antelias beginning on June 3 through to June 5.

    The Prelacy is organizing a pilgrimage to Antelias for the Muron blessing. For details click here.

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH GATHERING

    An international gathering of youth is being organized by the Holy See of Cilicia. His Holiness Aram I is inviting the youth, 18 years and older, to attend this gathering from August 13 to 20, 2008, coinciding with the annual pilgrimage during the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God.

    Plans are underway for the Catholicosate, the Prelacy, and our Parishes to facilitate the travel of the young adults to the gathering by assisting with a portion of the travel expenses. For information contact your local parish.

ST. GREGORY COMMITMENT TO PIT

    This Saturday, March 8, the Armenian Church commemorates one of three days in the Armenian liturgical calendar in memory of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Church. The three days of remembrance are: Entrance into the Pit; Emergence from the Pit; and Discovery of his remains. This Saturday we commemorate his commitment to the pit.

    Gregory stood fast to his faith and refused to renounce Christ. He endured many tortures and his final punishment was banishment into a deep pit (Khor Virab) where he remained for a period of thirteen or more years. Miraculously he survived the ordeal, thanks in large part to a woman (identity

photo by Hrair "Hawk" Khatcherian

unknown) who secretly lowered food into the pit, permitting Gregory’s survival.

    The Monastery of Khor Virab is a major destination for tourists and pilgrims who visit Armenia. The church complex was built on the exact location where St. Gregory was imprisoned. The pit is intact and it is possible for visitors to climb down the ladder (27 steep steps) into the pit. The church, named Sourp Astvatsatzin dates to the 17^th century. The area is one of the most picturesque in Armenia, with the absolute best view of Ararat!

    We would like to point out that in the Armenian Church during Lent saints are commemorated only on Saturdays. During the remainder of the year, saints are commemorated on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Commemorations never take place on Wednesdays or Fridays, these being fasting days.

SUNDAY OF ADVENT

    Our journey through Lent continues, as we approach Holy Week. This Sunday, March 9, the sixth and final Sunday of Lent, is the “Sunday of Advent” (Galstyan Kiraki). On Advent Sunday we are asked to ponder on the mystery of the first coming of Christ and especially His second coming, which is mentioned in the prayers read this Sunday. Christ came to the world for the salvation of humankind. He will come again for the judgment of sinners, and when the righteous will become worthy of entering the Kingdom of God. Advent Sunday has its own special hymn, which proclaims that the apostles knew the mystery of the advent of Christ. The story of the expulsion from paradise is repeated and an appeal is made to Christ to ask the Heavenly Father to establish peace on earth.

PILGRIMAGE DAY IN ANTELIAS

    Consecrated relics of St. Gregory are preserved in Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia and the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. This Saturday, which as noted above commemorates the beginning of St. Gregory’s imprisonment in the pit, is a day of pilgrimage in Antelias. Thousands of pilgrims come to the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator for the service and procession and for an opportunity to see the sacred relic of the patron saint of the Armenian Church. It is brought out each year on this occasion. It is also used every seven years during the consecration of the Holy Chrism (Muron).

DAILY BIBLE READINGS

    Bible readings for today, March 6, are: Isaiah 53:1-54:5; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

    Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because  we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

    For listing of the week’s Bible readings click here.

FROM THE BOOKSTORE THIS WEEK…

A New CD from ZULAL—“Notes to a Crane.” Zulal, the a cappella trio, has a new CD called “Notes to a Crane.” It is a beautiful CD that adheres to the groups name Zulal, which means “clear water.” The group (comprised of Yeraz Markarian, Anais Tekerian, and Teni Apelian) takes Armenia’s village folk melodies and weaves intricate arrangements that pay tribute to the rural roots of the music while introducing a sophisticated lyricism and energy. The CD has 18 selections and can be purchased from the bookstore for $15, plus shipping and handling. For a brief example of Zulal’s clarity click here.

We remind you of the recent CD issued by the Prelacy….

YERKABSAG (Musical Wreath), a musical tribute to the genocide martyrs, which was produced on the occasion of the 90^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, under the direction of Armenian American musicologist Krikor Pidedjian conducting the Chamber Choir of Yerevan and the Alan Hovhaness Chamber Orchestra. Available at the bookstore for $15, plus shipping and handling. To hear the beautiful rendition of Giligia click here.

Two DVDs: “Uprooted” and “Journey to Resurrection,” by artist Lucy Janjigian.

“Uprooted” is a powerful documentary that begins with a brief history of Christian Armenia depicted by this talented artist’s works. “Journey to Resurrection” depicts the artist’s religious journey and personal experiences growing up in Jerusalem. Lucy Janjigian’s works have been exhibited around the world and are in many public, private and corporate collections. Each DVD sells for $25, plus shipping and handling.

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THESE AND OTHER ITEMS AT THE BOOKSTORE VISIT THE PRELACY’S WEB SITE (WWW.ARMENIANPRELACY.ORG) OR CONTACT THE BOOKSTORE BY EMAIL (BOOKS@ARMENIANPRELACY.ORG) OR BY TELEPHONE (212-689-7810)

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS SUNDAY MORNING

    This Sunday, March 9 at 2 a.m., we officially switch to Daylight Saving Time (three weeks earlier than normal). Don’t forget to advance your clocks ahead one hour (spring ahead). Congress made this decision for an earlier return to DST beginning last year, supposedly as an energy-saving move. It will be darker in the morning upon rising, but lighter at night for the commute home.

“REMEMBER ME WITH MUSIC”

    This Sunday evening, at 5 pm in the Choral Room 264, at the Aaron Copeland School of Music at Queens College the Mark Kyrkostas “Remember Me with Music” birthday concert will take place. Mark Kyrkostas was a featured artist in the Prelacy’s Musical Armenia concert of 1989. For information 718-428-5650.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 8—New England Regional Conference with Board of Trustees and NRA delegates hosted by St. Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts.

March 30—Second lecture of a series presented by St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, 1:15 pm. With participation of Samvel Jeshmaridian, PhD and Elize Kiregian, M.A. Information: church office 718-224-2275 or Dr. Arthur H. Kubikian 718-786-3842.

April 11—Photo Art Exhibit featuring the work of Levon Berberian. Opening reception, 7 to 11 pm, at the Prelacy offices, New York City. Jointly sponsored by the Prelacy and the New York Mayr Chapter of the Armenian Relief Society. Proceeds will benefit the ARS Centennial Fund. The exhibition will also be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, from 1 pm to 5 pm.

April 20—Third lecture of a series presented by St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, 1:15 pm. With participation of Samvel Jeshmaridian, PhD and Elize Kiregian, M.A. Information: church office 718-224-2275 or Dr. Arthur H. Kubikian 718-786-3842.

May 5—Mothers’ Day Luncheon, sponsored by the Prelacy Ladies Guild, St. Regis, New York City. Reception at 11:30 followed by luncheon.

May 8-10—National Representative Assembly of the Eastern Prelacy, hosted by St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts. Click here for details.

May 8 and 9—National Association of Ladies Guild (NALG) conference in conjunction with the National Representative Assembly, celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the NALG, will take place at St. Stephen Church, Watertown, Massachusetts.

June 3-5—World General Assembly of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia will convene in Antelias, Lebanon.

June 7—Blessing of Holy Muron in Antelias, Lebanon. Click here for details.

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.

July 19—“A Hye Summer Night 3,” dance hosted by Ladies’ Guild of Sts. Vartanantz Church and ARS Ani Chapter, Providence, Rhode Island. For details 401-434-4467.

August 15-17—International Gathering of Youth and Pilgrimage to Der Zor, organized by the Catholicosate of Cilicia. Details will follow.

October 25—Gala celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America under the jurisdiction of the Great House of Cilicia and the 110^th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Church of America. Marriott at Glenpointe, Teaneck, New Jersey. Details to follow.

Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacy’s web site.

To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox, add email@armenianprelacy.org to your address book.

Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please credit Crossroads as the source.

Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about their major events to be included in the calendar. Send to: info@armenianprelacy.org