Tuesday 31 July 2012

HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND - CHARITY CONCERT - SATURDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2012



Hayastan All Armenian Fund is a non profit organisation focused on infrastructure development and economic facilitation projects in Armenia and Artsakh.  Hayastan All Armenian Fund headquarters are in the capital of Armenia – Yerevan.  The Fund is represented worldwide by its 21 affiliate offices, such as Fonds Armenien de France in France, Armenia Fund and Armenia FundUSA in the United States, and Armenien-Fonds Hayastan-Fonds in Germany.
Please visit:   http://www.himnadram.org

Please send any donations/bequests to:
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
c/o Armenian Vicarage
Iverna Gardens
Kensington
London W8 6TP

For general correspondence, please write to:
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
c/o Mrs Armineh Carapeti
23 Norman Way
West Acton
London  W3 0AS

Dedicated to the 21st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, and the 20th Anniversary of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.

This group of highly talented young vocalists and instrumentalists includes prize-winning musicians graduating from Yerevan’s Komitas State Conservatory and Spendiaryan State musical schools, as well as “Hochschule für Musik” in Köln, and Tchaikovsky State Moscow Conservatory. They have participated in numerous music festivals, as well as national and international competitions. The ensemble includes two vocalists and six instrumentalists, playing the piano, cello, kanon, shvi, flute and saxophone. They will be performing works from all genres of music including Armenian compositions.

Hasmik Vardanyan is winner of the Schlern International Cello Competition (2011), and President of Republic of Armenia Youth Prize in “Classical Music” (2012). Liparyt Avietisyan won 2nd prize at the International Contest of Vocalists in Moscow (2010), and in 2012 sang as a soloist in the opera “Anoush”. Hayrapet Arakelyan has won 1st prize at numerous international festival competitions, and has played with Orchestras all around the world. He represented Germany in the final of the Eurovision Young Musicians 2010 contest in Vienna. Iren Pichikyan is a Laureate of Spendiaryan Young Musicians competitions-festivals, and “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition dedicated to 140th anniversary of Komitas. Julietta Aleksanyan has participated in the Yerevan Competition-Festival (2011), Francofonia festival (2012), and is a special prizewinner at the “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition (2012). Arsen Zakaryan has participated in international festivals in Gyumri and won the competition laureate three times. Narek Kazazyan has won 1st prize at several International Festivals including “The best player of Komitas” (2009) and “VI Open International Youth Delphian Games”, and performed with Spivakov’s “Moscow Virtuosos” orchestra (2009). In 2012, he won 3rd prize at the Eurovision Young Musicians Contest in Vienna. Vardan Gyodakyan participated in the Spendaryan Competition and was awarded “Huso Mrcanak” prize (2007). He has also won the “Veratsnund” International competition (2011-2012), and the “Shnorhaliner” Festival (2011).
Ticket Sales:
Armineh Carapeti Emma Hovsepian Clara Hovsepian Silva Yeghiazarian Anahit Demirdjian Peggy Boghosian Varteni Kapikyan
Ticket Prices:
020 8993 2266 020 8567 0045 020 8946 7896
020 8864 9216 020 8452 9132 020 8203 1576 01707 875122
Charity Concert
Saturday 10 November 2012
£30, £25, £20, £15, £10
The proceeds of the concert will benefit the Fund’s Shengavit Kindergarten project in Armenia.
Julietta Aleksanyan, age 17, soprano
Hasmik Vardanyan, age 24, cello
Liparyt Avietisyan, age 22, tenor
Vardan Gyodakyan, age 12, piano
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund of Great Britain
in association with
the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
is proud to present
Saturday 10 November 2012
at 7.30 pm
St. John’s, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA Closest underground station: Westminster
Iren Pichikyan, age 19, flute
Young Talented Artists of Armenia
Arsen Zakaryan, age 16, shvi
Ella Melik-Husyan, accompanist on piano
Narek Kazazyan, age 16, kanon
Mariam Shahinyan, concert coordinator
Hayrapet Arakelyan, age 21, saxophone




''Mart-ue Hayastanum Chanch-i Nman Ban e'' By Dr. Aramais Mirzakhanian



ARTICLE  BY  DR.  ARAMAIS  MIRZAKHANIAN
STOCKHOLM,  SWEDEN

ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ  ԴՈԿՏ.  ԱՐԱՄԱՅԻՍ  ՄԻՐԶԱԽԱՆԵԱՆԷՆ
ՍԹՈՔՀՈԼՄ,  ՇՈՒԷՏ



FATHER FRANK’S RANTS - Annihilation of Olympia



Rant Number 499    30 July 2012

The bells of London churches pealed for the Games. A hallowed way of celebrating joyful events. Huh! They should rather have rung the death-bell. But ‘for whom the bell tolls’ throughout this carefully orchestrated media hysteria? It tolls for the Church. Because the Olympics are really a funeral. The funeral of British Christianity.
Are these Olympics a pagan affair? Sort of, but also an insult to paganism. (There are three types of paganism. Let me begin with the first, old one.) The gods’ old votaries evinced some spirituality. Pagans visited shrines, prayed, made offerings and sacrifices. Though misguided, the people of antiquity yearned for something higher. Besides, no religion which included worthies like Virgil, Seneca and Emperor Julian could be condemned wholesale. Nor were the Greek Olympics even remotely comparable to the modern spectacle. Only free Greek males could take part. Females, except the priestesses of Demetra, were banned, even as mere spectators. If a Hellenic athlete came back from the dead, he would gape and turn up his nose at the motley crews massed in East London. ‘A gathering of repulsive barbarians’, he would shudder. Nonetheless, when in AD 394 Theodosius the Great suppressed the Games he sent out a powerful message. Christianity, a universal faith, could countenance neither polytheism nor ethnic exclusivity. A Christian ruler, as the sword of the Church, must uphold and defend her teachings and norms. Quite right. Note how British secularist regime today does the very opposite.
Emperors Diocletian and Decius persecuted Christians ferociously. Yet, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Scores of witnesses embraced torture and death rather than worshipping the Emperor and at last the Cross triumphed over the idols. The secularist regime today is smarter. ‘Just ignore them. Churches are moribund, anyway. Fill the people’s heads with garbage and trivia, panem et circenses, bread and circuses – that will suffice.’ A phrase from poet Juvenal, the Roman satirical genius. In their decadence the Roman people were content with being tossed food and shows. From MacDonald’s to Big Brother: what’s new?
For the second type of aggressive paganism fast forward to the Berlin Olympics of 1936. Cinematically, those memorable Games’ emblem is forever Olympia, the film commissioned by Hitler and shot by Leni Riefenstahl. Susan Sontag, the Jewish radical critic, called Olympia one of the greatest documentaries ever made. (The other wasTriumph of the Will, on the Nuremberg Nazi gathering.) Olympia is about beauty, strength, health and life. It is also an unashamed pagan celebration. Riefenstahl’s movie is pure Nazi aesthetic in celluloid. The cult of youth and of the male body, heroism made into a fetish, the dissolution of the self through ecstatic absorption into the Volk, the emphasis on racial purity. A superb movie, Sontag grants, but also a most dangerous one.
Hitler’s neo-pagan leaning and policies further resulted in the overt denigration of the Old Testament and the absurdities of a ‘positive’, Aryan Church. Then the Church – her best leaders - responded. Intrepid Christians like Martin Niemoeller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Archbishop Von Galen and, above all, Pope Pius XI in his 1937 encyclical letter, Mit Brennender Sorge. Pope Pius warned the all-powerful Fuehrer that man by virtue of his God-created origins has natural rights that can be overridden by no human authority. (Topical stuff, if you consider the iniquitous laws enacted by the British regime...). Thus, the Christian Church did challenge Nazi neo-paganism – she could do no less.
The third, modern type of paganism is unlike both the classical one and the Hitlerian type. Direct persecution is not its method, not yet, anyway. Its strategy is more insidious. It consists in gradually and systematically replacing religious values and institutions, centred on transcendence, with purely immanent, horizontal criteria. It seeks to undermine and destroy Christian life on all levels, economic, financial, political, artistic, ethical and spiritual. Its obsessive plugging of sports like football is part of that strategy. Football and sport in general are now the new opium of the people. The London Olympics are the apotheosis of that and insipid ‘heroes’ like David Beckham its celebrated icons...
The English, formerly a hardy, empire-building Anglo-Saxon stock, brimful with a’asabiya, the virile quality Ibn Khaldun thought essential to a people’s success, prove how national character can change - for the worst, Ibn Khaldun would say. Or maybe was it all Danny Boyle’s fault? The director of Slumdog Millionaire in his ludicrous opening ceremony turned England into another Mombay-looking mess. Indians were rightfully angry at such depiction of their city’s horrors. The English’s sense of humour and moderation will restrain them from venting a similar anger at Boyle’s grotesque installation meant to represent England. Or is it perhaps down to lack of a’asabiya
The regime’s media blab of sport as contributing to ‘harmony’ in society. In fact, last year’s fearful riots showed how thin, how false is the appearance of harmony in the ‘communities’. Many city centres and districts succumbed to violent, rampaging mobs, looting and burning. Suddenly, the pretence of civilisation was stripped off. Life plunged back to Hobbes’ state of nature, in which man is wolf to the man. The regime and its minions have since rushed to swear up and down that all is well. The riots were a simple aberration. No! The hot summer of 2011 told the truth. It is 2012 that lies. The Olympics razzmatazz is partly an attempt to make people forget that. Nonetheless, pace media propaganda, something is rotten in the state of Britain.
The Church fought and eventually overcame paganism’s previous incarnations. Will the leaders of Christianity today show the brains and the guts for taking on the beast’s current avatar? The signs are not encouraging. Passing by a church near Earl’s Court this morning I saw a sign: ‘Come in and watch the Olympics Games from our church.’ Fools!  They don’t realise it is to the Church’s funeral that they are inviting the good folks!
Still, God’s promise is one of hope, so don’t despair, after death
comes the Resurrection.
Revd Frank Julian Gelli

Sunday 29 July 2012

Armenian History in Art


Please read the comments and add to them on YouTube



http://youtu.be/fAR5Js_WEvI


Saturday 28 July 2012

Armenian Church E-Newsletter, Issue 31


27 JULY 2012
ISSUE 31 VOLUME 3
E-NEWSLETTER H- J:RJIK A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION OF THE PRIMATES OFFICE OF THE DIOCESE OF THE
ARMENIAN CHURCH OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
ACOLYTES’ ORDINATION IN MANCHESTER
THE PRIMATES OFFICE is happy to announce that His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, will be ordaining four members of the Deacons’ Training Programme, to the “Minor Orders” of Tubir (Dupir) or Acolytes of the Armenian Church. This is the first liturgical rank bestowed upon those who wish to serve the Lord through the ministry and liturgy of the Armenian Church. The ordination ceremony, which is the first one to be celebrated by His
Grace Bp. Vahan, will take place on Sunday, 1st September 2012, at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester. “We chose the Holy Trinity Church in Manchester as the church of our first ordination ceremony,” said Bishop Vahan, “because it is the mother Church for Armenians in England, Western Europe and the Western Hemisphere. It was in Manchester where Armenians built their first community church in the UK.” The ordination ceremony will start at the end of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, which is scheduled to start at 11:15. A lunch reception will follow. For further information about the programme or to reserve for lunch, please contact the Manchester Vicarage. The celebrant of the day will be Bishop Vahan. Assisting him during the liturgy and sponsoring the four candidates for the ordination ceremony will be the Very Revd Fr. Garegin Hambartsumyan. The ordination candidates are: Alex Adamov, Nairy Afrikian, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and Arman Sarvanian. All four candidates are members of the Deacons’ Training Programe (DTP) launched by the Primate two years ago, which as of today has eight registered members. Participants in the Programme meet regularly with the Primate to study and discuss the beautiful liturgy, spirituality and theology of the Armenian Church, and to practise the deacons’ parts in the liturgical services of the Armenian Church such as the Badarak, Baptisms and Weddings. If interested to join the DTP, please contact the Primate’s Office by calling 02081278463, or e-mail: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk. No knowledge of reading Armenian is required for beginners to join the programme.
The Primate’s Office c/o Hye Doon 25 Cheniston Gardens Kensington, London W8 6TG
The Primate’s Office
c/o Hye Doon 25 Cheniston Gardens Kensington London, W8 6TG
Church Website
armenianchurch.co.uk
E-mail
primatesoffice@
armenianchurch.co.uk
Telephone
0208 127 8364
27 July 2012
Issue 31, Volume 3
PRIMATE TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN YOUTH
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH YOUTH FELLOWSHIP (ACYF) is planning a meeting of young men and women with His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, on Monday, 6th August, at 8:00pm in the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall. A fellowship will follow. During the meeting, the Primate will share with the youth his vision of the concept of a UK-wide programme engaging young Armenians in various cultural, social and church programmes and activities. During the meeting with the Primate those present will discuss several activities for young Armenians in London and Great Britain in the forthcoming months, including a pilgrimage to the Armenian monastery of San Lazzaro in October 2012. The ACYF is a group of Armenians who are proud of their Armenian identity and comfortable with their ancestral Christian faith who want to work with the Armenian Church in creating a strong and unified Armenian community cognizant and proud of its past and unified and ready to conquer all obstacles and shape its future as the British Armenian Community. All young Armenian men and women are invited to the meeting. Join us! To receive updates about future other events from the ACYF, kindly send your contact info to: acyf@armenianchurch.co.uk.
A DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE ARMENIANS OF SYRIA
HIS GRACE BISHOP Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, has declared Wednesday, 1st August, as a day of fasting and prayer in solidarity with the Armenian community in Syria. The country and the surrounding areas have often served as a refuge for Armenians who fled from wars and persecutions such as the Armenian Genocide. There are roughly 100,000 Armenians in Syria, most of whom live in Aleppo (Haleb). The capital Damascus also has a large Armenian population. Meanwhile, the Syrian town of Kesab, which is the birthplace of the previous Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin I of blessed memory has an Armenian majority. The stability and security in the Armenian populated areas have been targeted in the recent weeks. Already four Armenians have been killed as a result of the political unrest in the region. To help the Armenians of the region, the government of Armenia has recently identified Syria as one of the countries whose citizens of Armenian origin can receive the Armenian passport in the Armenian diplomatic representations and consulates. May the Lord be with our brothers and sisters in Syria and protect them from visible and invisible evil.
LECTURE: “FORGIVENESS AND HEALING: INTRIGUING PARALLELS
LAST THURSDAY, 19 July, Dr. George Piligian, MD, Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, was the guest speaker for the Continuing Education Ministry (CEM) of the Primate’s Office of the Armenian Church. His lecture “Forgiveness & Healing: Intriguing Parallels between the Physical and Spiritual Effects”, at 7:00pm in the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall of the St. Sarkis Church, examined and explored the intriguing parallels between healing processes in the body and the spiritual healing of Christ. The lecture was followed by a question and answer period, engaging the audience, which filled Gulbenkian Hall, with the speaker about the lecture’s exciting subject. A wine reception followed, during which people continued their discussions with Dr. Piligian in a more relaxed and casual atmosphere. If you, or someone you know, would like to be informed about forthcoming lectures and educational programmes of the Primate’s Office, please send your e-mail address to: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUPPORT THE ARMENIAN CHURCH TRUST – UK
(ACT-UK) WWW.ARMENIANCHURCHTRUST.ORG.UK
27 July 2012 Issue 31 Volume 3
SIGN UP NOW FOR THE 3RD PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND
THE PRIMATES OFFICE is happy to confirm the following as the dates for the third annual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Departure, Heathrow Airport, London Sunday, 6th January, 22:55, Return to Heathrow from Tel Aviv on Sunday 13th January, arriving London at 20:15. Please note that arrangements have changed since our first announcement. The cost of the pilgrimage is £1,100 each, for sharing a twin room, and £1,400 each for single room occupancy. The cost includes airfare, lodging, local transportation, daily breakfast and dinner. To reserve your seat in our Pilgrimage with the prices mentioned above, please send your deposit of £500 by Sunday 12th August, 2012. An extra processing fee (charged by British Airways) will be added to applicants who send their deposit after the 12th of August. As in the previous years, the 2013 Pilgrimage will include visits and discussion sessions at the important shrines such as Nazareth, the Church of the Annunciation, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, the Sepulcher, Mount Tabor, the Mount of Temptation, and the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Pilgrims will travel to the sites and shrines via luxury coaches. Special arrangements have been made for those who are interested in the Pilgrimage but prefer flying from Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, or other country. The cost of the pilgrimage, without the airfare, will be £700 for sharing a twin room, and £1,000 each for single room occupancy.
FR. GAREGIN @ ST. SARKIS BADARAK BASICS
The Very Revd Fr. Garegin Hambartsumyan was the guest celebrant at St. Sarkis Church in London last Sunday, 22nd July. Per the invitation of the Pastor of the Parish, Fr. Shnork Bagdassarian, Fr. Garegin was also the guest speaker of the monthly “Badarak Basics”, an educational programme at the Badarak. Fr. Garegin offered a very enlightening introduction to the meaning of Badarak and focused on the liturgical act of the Kiss of Peace, tracing its origin in the pages of the Bible and elaborating on its function and meaning through the early patristic commentaries to our contemporary times. He emphasized that the Kiss of Peace in the Badarak serves as an expression of the unity among the faithful gathered to celebrate in remembrance of the Lord.
BP. VAHAN @ THE ARMENIAN YOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB SUNDAYAFTERNOON, 8TH JULY, Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian was the guest of the Armenian Youth Football Club. His Grace attended the football match,
met with the players and their families and addressed the players and their families. The programme of the day included speeches by Nick Nicolaou and Dick Bedrossian, raffle prizes and lunch. The Armenian Youth Football Club is always looking for new members, players and supporters. If interested please contact he Club secretary Nick Nicolaou
Tell your friends and join us on Sunday, 29th July, at the Second Annual Armenian Street Festival
27 July 2012
Issue 31 Volume 3
Scripture Readings According to the Armenian Church Lectionary
Sunday – 29 July Isaiah 5:1-10
1 Corinthians 6:18-7:11 Matthew 19:3-12
Monday – 30 July Proverbs 29:2-7 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42 Hebrews 11:32-40 Matthew 5:17-20
Tuesday – 31 July Hosea 10:12; Amos 5:10-14; Micah 7:7-9; Joel 2:12-13; Obadiah 1:21; Jonah 4:2; Nahum 1:7-9; Habakkuk 1:2-3; Zephaniah 1:7-8; Haggai 2:10; Zechariah 7:9-10; Malachi 1:6; Romans 11:2-5 Luke 13:31-358
Wednesday – 1 August
Primate proclaimed fasting and prayer day for our brothers and sisters in Syria
1 Corinthians 7:25-35 Matthew 19:13-26
Thursday – 2 August
Proverbs 11:30-12:4 Hosea 14:6-9 2 Corinthians 4:6-14 Luke 12:2-10
Friday – 3 August 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 Mark 1:35-45
Saturday – 4 August Ezekiel 3:16-19 2 Timothy 1:6-14 Luke 10:16-20
STREET FESTIVAL THIS SUNDAY
It is finally here! The second annual Armenian Street Festival in London will take place at Iverna Gardens and the grounds of the St. Sarkis Armenian Church, 12:00-18:00hrs. ADMISSION TO THE FESTIVAL IS FREE. Sign up for the backgammon tournament in advance. A corner has been designated for it.
See online flyer for details. You can sign up for the tournament NOW by contacting Anais (07931 377 539). Have not volunteered yet, but are interested to help, please send an e-mail to the Primate’s Office or call Socie (0208 127 8364).
If interested in supporting the Festival financially, please send your donation payable to “The Armenian Church Trust UK” and post it to: The Primate’s Office, c/o Hye Doon, 25 Cheniston, Kensington, London W8 6TG. DONATIONS RECEIVED BY MONDAY, 23RD JULY WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE FESTIVAL BOOKLET.
Check out our ONLINE CLIP and FACEBOOK PAGE for more information. Finally, join us Sunday, on 29th July, and bring all your Facebook friends with you, in
celebrating our pride in our Armenian heritage in the heart of London!
RAISING OF ARMENIAN FLAG IN OLYMPIC VILLAGE
HG Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, and HE Mrs. Karine Gazinyan, Ambassador of Armenia, joined Armenia’s minister of Sports and Youth, Mr. Hrachya Rostomyan and a delegation of leaders of the Armenian community, to the Olympic Village on Sunday, 22nd July, to participate in the raising of the flag of the Republic of Armenia. The ceremony was the official welcome to the Olympic Village of the athletes from Armenia. Following the programme the Ambassador and the Primate attended a reception hosted by the Olympic Committee of Armenia.
ARMENIAN FILM MAKER
Hasmik, a young Armenian Filmmaker living in the UK contacted the Primate’s Office asking as to help her contact any 100 year old Armenian living in the UK. Your assistance can be very valuable at this stage of her project. If you know of such a person, please contact Hasmik directly by writing to: hasmikgasparyan.art@gmail.com.
HELP US HELP ARMENIAN GRADUATES
Armenian graduates of UK universities contact the Primate’s Office refsgularly seeking employment in the UK. If you or someone you know can help these bright Armenians find a job please contact the Primate’s Office by Clicking Here or telephoning: 0208 127 8364..

Armenian Olympic News sent by A Topalian


Armenian Olympic Athletes Off To London
Hovannes Shoghikian
26.07.2012
A group of Armenian athletes have left for London to take part in the
2012 Olympic Games that will officially start there on Friday.
A total of 25 athletes will represent Armenia at the 2012 games,
competing in sports such as judo, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling,
swimming, gymnastics, shooting, track and field athletics and
taekwondo.
Boxer Andranik Hakobian, one of the Armenian Olympians departing from
Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport Wednesday night, told RFE/RL's Armenian
service (Azatutyun.am) that he is in good form and aiming for an
Olympic medal. `We are going [to London] with high expectations,' said
Hakobian. `We should try to do our utmost to return home with a
medal.'
`We expect a good result,' said Karen Aghamalian, the head coach of
Armenia's national boxing team. `He [Hakobian] has worked hard to
approach [the Olympics] in good form. He is the sole representative
[of Armenia] in boxing, but he's got real quality.'
Judo fighters Armen Nazarian and Hovannes Davtian are also part of
Armenia's Olympic team in London.
`They both are quite experienced judokas with achievements made in the
past,' David Khitarian, deputy chairman of the Armenian Judo
Federation, told RFE/RL's Armenian service at Zvartnots. `The Olympic
games will be the heights that they have so far been unable to
climb. We hope we can win medals at these games.'
Nazarian, 30, won a European title in 2005 and also became a bronze
and silver medalist at European championships before and after
that. And Davtian, 28, won a silver medal at the 2007 European
championship and a bronze medal at the world championships two years
later.
For the first time ever, Armenia will have a taekwondo fighter
competing in the Olympics.
Gagik Tsarukian, the head of the Armenian National Olympic Committee,
has promised a $700,000 bonus to athletes for each gold medal won in
London. In addition, the government said it would pay an equivalent of
about $72,000, $48,000 and $24,000 to gold, silver and bronze
medalists, respectively.
Armenian athletes won six bronze medals at the 2008 Olympic games held
in Beijing, China.

RFE/RL Report
Armenia’s Olympic Athletes in London
On Tuesday the Armenian National Olympic Committee hosted a sendoff for
Team Armenia
LONDON—Athletes representing Armenia in the Olympic Games arrived in
London where they will be competing in a variety of sports, including boxing,
weightlifting, wrestling judo, swimming, gymnastics, shooting, track & field
and taekwondo.
The 25-person team includes four women, two of whom will compete in
weightlifting and the other two in swimming and track each. On the men’s
side, seven will compete in wrestling, six in weightlifting, four in track & field,
two in swimming, two in judo and one each in boxing, taekwondo, gymnastics
and shooting.
President Serzh Sarkisian also left for London Thursday to attend the opening
ceremonies of the Olympic Games, which will be held on Friday.
Prior to his departure, Sarkisian issued an encouraging statement to the athletes.
“Our compatriots in Armenia and the Diaspora will attentively follow your
performances. I believe you will meet the expectations, and will join Olympic
champions and prize winners from Armenia and find your place in the history
book of Armenian athletics,” said Sarkisian in his statement.
“I am confident that you will represent our country with honor, embark on fair
competition, fully demonstrate your skills, and protect the honor of Armenia’s
athletic flag,” said Sarkisian, who added that he would like to become an
“eyewitness of your victories to share with you the joy of triumph.”
Armenia took away six bronze medals in the 2008 Beijing Games. This time, too,
they are looking to come back winners.
Boxer Andranik Hakobyan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on
Wednesday before leaving for London that he is in good form and aiming for an
Olympic medal. “We are going [to London] with high expectations,” said Hakobyan.
“We should try to do our utmost to return home with a medal.”
The youngest of the Olympic team members are 18-year-old swimmer Anahit
Barseghyan and 19-year-old gymnast Artur Davtyan. Also on the team are
wrestling champion Artur Aleksanyan, 20, who earlier this year won a gold medal
at the European Wrestling Competition and weightlifter Norayr Vardanyan, 24.
Vardanyan trained with his father, Yuri, who won a gold medal in the 1980 Moscow
Games. The team also includes 2008 bronze medal winners 24-year-old Tigran
Martirosyan (weightlifting and 32-year-old Yuri Patrikeyev (wrestling). Veteran
Olympians Armen Nazarian, 30 (Judo), and Norayr Bakhtamyan, 41 (shooting) will
compete in their third Olympic Games.
Chairman of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee Gagik Tsarukian, has pledged
a $700,000 bonus to athletes for each gold medal. Meanwhile the government has
said it would reward the equivalent of about $72,000, $48,000 and $24,000 to gold,
silver and bronze medalists, respectively.
Aside from the 25 athletes competing in Team Armenia, an estimated seven athletes
of Armenian descent will represent other countries.
Artur Ayvazyan, who won a gold medal in 2008, will again represent Ukraine in
shooting competitions, while Misha Aloyan (boxing, 52 kg), David Ayrapetyan
(boxing, 49 kg) and Arsen Galstyan (judo, 60 kg) will be competing for the Russian
 team. Vazgen Safaryants will represent Belarus (boxing, 60 kg). Tvin Moumjoghlian,
23 (table tennis) and Gretta Taslakian, 27 (track & field) will compete in the Lebanon
team.
Below is the list of athletes (in alphabetical order) and the field of their competition.
Name                            Age             Competition
Artur Aleksanyan                20              Greco-Roman wrestling, 96 kg
Norayr Bakhtamyan               41              Pistol and Air Pistol shooting
Anahit Barseghyan               18              Swimming, 100 m backstroke
Meline Daluzyan         24              Women’s weightlifting, 69 kg
Artur Davtyan                   19              Gymnastics
Hovhannes Davtyan               28              Judo, 60 kg
Andranik Hakobyan               30              Boxing, 75 kg
Kristine Harutyunyan            21              Javelin throw
Mihran Jaburyan                 27              Freestyle wrestling, 55 kg
Melik Janoyan           27              Javelin throw
Arsen Julfalakyan               25              Greco-Roman wrestling, 74 kg
Ara Khachatryan         29              Weightlifting, 85 kg
Hripsime Khurshudyan    24              Women’s weightlifting, 75 kg
Mikael Koloyan          29              Swimming, 100m freestyle
Tigran Martirosyan              24              Weightlifting, 77 kg
Arakel Mirzoyan         22              Weightlifting, 69 kg
Armen Nazaryan          30              Judo, 66 kg
Gadzhimurad Nurmagomedov, 25            Freestyle wrestling, 84 kg
Vardan Pahlevanyan              24              Long jump
Yuri Patrikeyev         32              Greco-Roman wrestling, 120 kg
David Safaryan          22              Freestyle wrestling, 66 kg
Arsen Sargsyan          27              Long jump
Norayr Vardanyan                25              Weightlifting, 94 kg
Hovhannes Varderesyan   23              Greco-Roman wrestling, 66 kg
Arman Yeremyan          26              Taekwondo, 80 kg
TURKISH-ARMENIAN REFEREE DIES IN LONDON
news.am
July 27
Turkish-Armenian Olympic boxing referee Karnik Garip Erkuyumcu was
found dead in a London hotel room, Sport Express informs.
The 73-year-old referee had arrived in London to officiate in the
London 2012 boxing matches. According to preliminary data, Erkuyumcu
lost his life from a heart attack.
He was an International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Refereeing &
Judging Commission member, and he was to help the ring referee during
the London Olympics.
Karnik Garip Erkuyumcu was found dead by his colleague, and his body
will be transferred back to Turkey next week. To note, the 2012 London
Olympics will officially kick off on Friday and come to a close on
August 12.
ARMENIA BECOMES PART OF RUSSIA? - LONDON 2012
news.am
July 26
Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics have made yet another mistake
by including former-USSR countries within Russia.
After Georgia and Ukraine, this time it was Armenia's and Kazakhstan's
turn in this regard. In the information about world boxing champion
Misha Aloyan, Armenia is indicated as his place of birth, whereas
Russia is indicated as the region.
Aside from Aloyan, similar information is made public about the
birthplaces of judoist Arsen Galstyan and boxer David Ayrapetyan. The
entry for Galstyan lists his place of birth as "Armenia (RUS)"
while Ayrapetyan is listed as having been born in "Baku (RUS)",
RFE/RL informs
To note, representatives from the Georgian National Olympic Committee
had sent a letter of complaint on Wednesday to the organizers of
London 2012.
The 2012 London Olympics will officially kick off on Friday and come
to a close on August 12.

BRITISH EMBASSY IN ARMENIA TO MARK THE START OF LONDON
OLYMPIC GAMES IN YEREVAN'S LOVERS' PARK
arminfo
Friday, July 27, 13:57
The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Armenia will mark the start of
the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London in Yerevan's Lovers' Park on
Friday evening.
The press service of the Embassy reports that at 11:00 PM they will
present the best British songs and at midnight they will broadcast
the opening of the games on a big screen to be placed in the park.
The games are starting today. They will involve as many as 10,500
sportsmen from 205 countries and will be covered by over 28,000
journalists.