Armenian News

RFE/RL Report

Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Garegin Meets Aliyev, Visits Armenian Church In Baku
27.04.2010
Emil Danielyan

Catholicos Garegin II met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
prayed in an abandoned Armenian church in Baku as he ended a landmark
visit to Azerbaijan late on Monday, it was reported on Tuesday.


Aliyev and the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church
reportedly discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the ongoing
summit of world religious leaders in Baku in the presence of
Azerbaijan's top Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur
Pashazade.

Aliyev's office said they `stressed the importance of the Baku summit
... for strengthening inter-religious dialogue and expanding contacts
among religious leaders.' It gave no further details.


Azerbaijan -- Catholicos Garegin II and other Armenian clerics outside
an Armenian church in Baku, 26 April 2010.
A separate statement issued by the Echmiadzin-based Mother See of the
Armenian Apostolic Church on Tuesday said the one-hour meeting took
place `in an unconstrained and sincere atmosphere' and also touched
upon the unresolved Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute over Karabakh.

`In that context, the parties welcomed efforts aimed at a peaceful
resolution of the conflict, finding important the role of religious
leaders and servants in them,' said the statement. `A great deal of
importance was attached to mutual visits and contacts among the two
peoples, which will further bolster mutual trust and a spirit of
cooperation.'

Garegin and Pashazade were received by the Azerbaijani leader just
hours after voicing support for the long-running international efforts
to end the Karabakh dispute, in a joint declaration that was also
signed by the Russian Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Kirill II. The
two spiritual leaders also vowed to help reconcile their nations,
which have been in a de facto state of war for nearly two decades.


Azerbaijan -- The 19th century Armenian church of St. Gregory the
Illuminator in Baku, 26 April 2010.
Also on Monday, Garegin and high-ranking Armenian clerics accompanying
him visited a 19th century Armenian church in Baku. The Echmiadzin
statement said they prayed and sang medieval hymns there. It said the
Armenian pontiff expressed hope that the Saint Gregory the
Illuminator's Church will eventually `reopen its doors to believers.'

Built in 1887, the church was the main site of worship for Baku's
sizable Armenian community until its forced exodus from the
Azerbaijani capital in 1988-1990. An arson attack had seriously
damaged it in 1990. The building reportedly underwent renovation in
2004.

Garegin, who became the first leader of the Armenian Church to set
foot in Azerbaijan in decades, flew back to Armenia later in the
day. His office said the two Armenian bishops that accompanied him
stayed in Baku to take part in the second and final day of the
religious forum.

SPIRITUAL LEADERS OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA, AND RUSSIA

SUPPORT EFFORTS OF SECULAR AUTHORITIES ON KARABAKH

SETTLEMENT
Interfax
April 26 2010
Russia

A declaration was signed at the end of a Monday meeting between Russian
Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Grand Mufti of the Caucasus Sheikh ul-Islam
Allahshukur Pashazadeh and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on
the sidelines of the World Religions Summit in Baku.

"I believe that the provisions of the declaration are very important.

I hope that the spirit of the declaration will influence specifically
the atmosphere of the political talks," Patriarch Kirill told the
press after the meeting.

In the declaration the religious leaders welcome "acts of goodwill of
each side and the release of POWs" and call on political and religious
figures "to intensify efforts in this noble and humane process."

"We denounce acts of vandalism and find it important to preserve
the religious monuments and sacred places of our peoples," the
declaration says.

"By supporting the efforts of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
we intend to promote their aspirations. In this context we find it
important that a direct discussion would continue between spiritual
leaders with the purpose of assisting the settlement of the conflict
which would permit people to return to places from which they had
been driven by war," the declaration says.

ARMENIAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY HAS HAD OVER 500 STUDENTS

UP TO DAY
ARMENPRESS
APRIL 27, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Virtual University
designed by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) has had
over 500 students in about a year since its foundation. Founder and
Chairman of the university Yervand Zoryan told Armenpress that it is
a great success for a novice university.

According to him, the majority of the students are from countries
with the largest number of Armenian communities - the USA, France
and Russia; there are students from Argentina, Canada, Brasilia and
Spain as well.

Armenians of nearly 35 countries of the world participate in the
classes of Armenian Language, History and Culture. There are also
foreign students, who have working or family ties with Armenians
and want to get acquainted with Armenian culture and history. "In
this case the presence of the internet is very useful. It unites the
world-spread Armenians of the world," Y. Zoryan said.

According to him, the expectations connected with the university are
justified and it is intended to expand the frameworks of its activity.

First of all the number of the languages is intended to add; currently
the classes are conducted in 6 languages - West Armenian, East
Armenian, English, Russian, French and Spanish. There is an intention
to conduct the classes in Turkish and in other languages as well.

According to the chairman of the university, the framework of study
of Armenian history and culture will be expanded too, by involving
different periods. Y. Zoryan noted that the teachers of the university
pass special trainings; they must master languages fluently, as well
as must have well-developed communications kills.

Diplomas are given to the students of the university. The goal of
the Armenian Virtual University is to help students to gain basic
knowledge on Armenian culture, history and Armenian language through
on-line education.



RFE/RL Report

April 27, 2010
A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers said on Monday they
believe they may have found Noah's Ark - 4000m up a mountain in Turkey.

The team say they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount
Ararat in eastern Turkey that carbon dating proved was 4800 years old,
around the same time the ark is said to have been afloat.

"It's not 100 per cent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 per
cent that this is it," said Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary
filmmaker and member of the 15-strong team from Noah's Ark Ministries
International.

The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human
settlement on the grounds that one had never been found above 3500m in the
vicinity, Yeung said.

Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply
for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major
archaeological dig is conducted, Yeung added.

The biblical story says God decided to flood the earth after seeing how
corrupt it had become, and told Noah to build an ark and fill it with two of
every animal species.

After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a
mountain. Many believe that Mount Ararat, the highest point in the region,
is where the ark and her inhabitants came aground.


THE SEARCH FOR NOAH'S ARK: A HISTORY
Ben Leach
Telegraph
28 Apr 2010

A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical Christians claim to have
uncovered remnants of Noah's Ark on its legendary mountain resting
place in Turkey.

It has long been believed that Mount Ararat, the highest point in
the region, is where the Ark and it inhabitants came aground.

The Ark is described in the Book of Genesis as 300 cubits long,
or approximately 450 feet (137m).

According to Genesis 8:4, it came to rest "in the mountains of Ararat."

Experts have agreed that these mountains are to be located in
present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey.

Modern-day searches for the Ark have focused on two main candidates:
the so-called "Ararat anomaly" near the main summit of Ararat and a
site at Durupinar near Dogubayazit, on the Turkish-Iranian border.

In 2004, Daniel McGivern, Honolulu-based businessman, announced he
would finance a £600,000 expedition to the peak of Greater Ararat in
July to investigate the Ararat anomaly.

But he was refused permission by the Turkish authorities, as the summit
is inside a restricted military zone, after he paid for commercial
satellite images of the site.

The expedition was labelled as a stunt by National Geographic News,
which claimed that the expedition leader, a Turkish academic, had
previously been accused of faking photographs of the Ark.

In 2006, Bob Cornuke of the Bible Archeology Search and Exploration
Institute began an expedition to Iran to visit a site in the Alborz
Mountains, purported to be a possible resting place of the Ark.

His team claimed to have discovered an object 13,000 feet above sea
level, which looked to be made of blackened petrified wooden beams, and
was "about the size of a small aircraft carrier" (400 ft long (120m)).

The team also claimed to have found fossilised sea creatures inside
the object but no independent evidence has ever been put forward to
validate their claims.

There have also been a number of hoax claims about the discovery of
the Ark.

In 1993, CBS aired a programme called "The Incredible Discovery of
Noah's Ark".

In the programme George Jammal claimed to have "sacred wood from the
ark", gathered during an expedition which allegedly took the life of
"his Polish friend Vladimir".

Mr Jammal, who was really an actor, later revealed that his "sacred
wood" was wood taken from railroad tracks in Long Beach, California,
and hardened by cooking with various sauces in an oven.