Armenian Church E-Newsletter, Issue 32

6 AUGUST 2012 FESTIVAL EDITION

ISSUE 32 VOLUME 3

E-NEWSLETTER H- J:RJIK A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION OF THE PRIMATE’S OFFICE OF THE DIOCESE OF THE

ARMENIAN CHURCH OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND

SECOND SUCCESSFUL ARMENIAN FESTIVAL

IVERNA GARDENS, ON SUNDAY, 29TH JULY, 2012 was turned into a beautiful Armenian village in the heart of London. It was the second annual Armenian Street Festival in London. For the second consecutive year, the Primate’s Office planned and executed a remarkably successful street Festival in Iverna Gardens, London, celebrating our Armenian heritage, culture, music, dance and literature. The Festival included an entertaining programme

of Armenian music, songs, dances and recitations. A special marquee was designated to selling food and deserts, and a bar for serving drinks. Thirty stalls were spread on the grounds of the Festival displaying and selling Armenian artifacts, books, jewllery, shirts, and even Armenian Cognac! The Festival included also a Brick-a-brack station, children’s programme, Nardi (Tavlee) tournament, and raffle. Over thirty volunteers were involved in the preparations and presentation of the various aspects of the Festival. Based on the number of tickets sold for full meal platters and the number of Festival brochures distributed, it is estimated that over three thousand people have passed through our Festival. Among the dignitaries

were H.E. Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, the Mayor of the RB of Kensington and Chelsea, Cllr Christopher Buckmaster, H.E. Abp. Toma, Primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Mr. Tatto Couligian, Chairman of the Church Trust in Manchester, Dr. Hratch Tchilinigirian, Chairman of the St. Sarkis Trust in London, Mr. John Torossyan, Chairman of the Cardiff Mission Parish, Dr. Paul Manook, Vice Chairman of Dublin MPC, & members of the Birmingham MPC.

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

6 August 2012

Issue 32, Volume 3

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PRESIDENT SARGSYAN STROLLS THROUGH THE ASF STALLS

HIS EXCELLENCY MR. SERZH SARGSYAN, President of the Republic of Armenia, stopped by the Armenian Street Festival last Sunday, 29th July, 2012, as part of his visit to London, to participate in the 2012 Olympic games. The President was greeted at the entrance of the Festival by His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, Cllr Christopher Buckmaster, Mayor of the RBof Kensington and Chelsea, Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian, Chairman of the St. Sarkis Church Trust, Mr. Tatto Couligian, Chairman of the Holy Trinity Church in Manchester, Mr. Dickan Bedrossian, Coordinator of the 2012 Armenian Street Festival and a large crowd of people who welcomed the president by a loud applaud. The President was escorted by the Primate to the VIP marquee, designated for hierarchs of sister churches, politicians and ambassadors. Following lunch, the President then visited the St. Sarkis Church where he offered a prayer, in the presence of the faithful in the church and lit a candle. He then visited Gulbenkian Hall, which was allotted by the St. Sarkis Church Trust to the Armenia Olympic committee to be used as a welcome hall for the athletes and Olympic committees of other countries. The remainder of the President’s visit was spent strolling through the various stalls of the Festival and greeting people. Accompanying the President was H.E. Karine Kazinyan, Ambassador of Armenia to the UK. Thank you Mr. President for honouring us with your visit.

PRIMATE THANKS ASF VOLUNTEERS

IN HIS WELCOMING REMARKS AT THE OPENING OF THE 2012 FESTIVAL, addressing the hundreds of people gathered on Iverna Gardens Road, Bp. Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, expressed his thanks and gratitude to Dick Bedrossian, the General Coordinator of the Festival and Mrs. Socie Barrera Boyadjian, for their tireless volunteer work in preparing for the second annual Festival. The Festival we all enjoyed was the fruits of months and months of hard work, application and correspondence with the RB of Kensington and Chelsea as well as tens of vendors, food suppliers, and the extended committee of the Armenian Street Festival (ASF). The Primate extended his thanks and gratitude also to the tens of volunteers who helped making the Festival a reality. Thank you all for your time, efforts and support of our all-Armenian festival. Without you, there would have been no Armenian Festival in London.

MAYOR JOINS PRIMATE OPENING 2ND ANNUAL ARMENIAN FESTIVAL

AT 12:30 SHARP, as announced by the Festival committee weeks in advance, His Worship the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Councillor Christopher Buckmaster, accompanied by Mayoress Anne Hobson, joined the Primate in officially opening the second annual Armenian Street Festival by the cutting of ribbon ceremony. Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Baroness Caroline Cox, Sgt Colin Jelliss, of the Kensington Police, and leaders of the Armenian Church in London, Manchester, Dublin, Cardiff and Birmingham. Before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bishop Hovhanessian welcomed and thanked the guests of honour for joining him in the opening ceremony, and handed a pair of scissors over to the Mayor to cut the ribbon and officially open the 2012 Armenian Street Festival. The ribbon, which blocked the entrance to the Iverna Court Street, was a beautiful interlace of three ribbons: red, blue and orange, reflecting the colours of the Armenian flag.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUPPORT THE ARMENIAN CHURCH TRUST – UK

(ACT-UK) WWW.ARMENIANCHURCHTRUST.ORG.UK

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BEAUTIFUL ENTERTAINING PROGRAMME

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE 2012 ARMENIAN STREET FESTIVAL was entrusted into the capable hands of Dn. Artur Bobikyan, from the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester. During the past several months Dn. Artur was busy contacting Armenian singers, dancers, musicians, and DJs to design and coordinate a 6-hour programme for the Festival, and what a programme it was! As soon as the ribbon-cutting ceremony was over, the Akhtamar Dance group escorted the dignitaries and guests to the heart of the Festival in Iverna Gardens, dancing traditional Armenian dances in their beautiful costumes. The Primate’s welcoming remarks were followed by brief remarks by the Mayor and Baroness Cox. The Master of Ceremonies, Nouritsa Matossian then took over the programme and introduced the various parts of the programme in Armenian and English, including the amazing tango dances by Maral and Marino, an inspiring concert inside the church- building with magnificent performances by Artur Bobikyan, Aida Kutoyan, Anais Heghoyan, Aris Nadirian and the ASF Choir. The programme included also recitations and singing by the students of the Saturday and Sunday Schools. One of the highlights of the programme was the public dancing of Kochari led by Shakeh Major-Tchilingirian. Meanwhile, DJs Harmick, Vahan and Hagop enhanced the day by the various kinds of Armenian and non-Armenian songs and music played in between the various sections of the programme. Thank you Deacon Artur and all our performers, musicians and those who contributed to the success of the entertainment programme of the Festival.

RAFFLE, BRICK-A-BRACK AND BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT @ ASF

THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL included extra-curricular activities such as a Backgammon tournament, raffle and brick-a-brack. Thank you for Mimi Heghoyan and Anais Heghoyan for coordinating the Raffle and the Backgammon tournament. Special thanks to the following for contributing the gifts for the raffle: Maximillien De Lafayette, Rosette Ouzounian, Rouben Galichian, Davidoff London, Tateossian London, Linda Chirinian, Nara Health and Beauty, Karaam Lebanese Restaurant, Erebuni Russian Armenian Restaurant, Caroline Guevherian-Karabeykian, DIckran Bedrossian, Manas and Araxie Heghoyan, Chris and Anoushka Kurkjian, The Abingdon Restaurant, Milestone Hotel, Spiros Neophytou of Cyprus Airways, and Jeff Wayne. The drawing of the raffle numbers was conducted at 17:00hours by Mimi Heghoyan, Anais Heghoyan and Nouritsa Matossian. Thank you all and God bless.

Thank you for supporting our annual Street Festival Sunday, 29th July

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Issue 32 Volume 3

ASSUMPTION OF MARY

W;ra8o.oumn Astoua/a/ni

This Sunday, 12th August, 2012, according to the Armenian Church calendar, is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the fourth of the five annual Major feasts of the Armenian Church. Following one of the earliest Christian traditions, the Armenian Church celebrates the feast of the assumption of the Virgin Mary to heaven, following her death, on the Sunday closest to 15 August. The Feast is associated with the blessing of grapes. Join the Primate, H.G. Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, as he celebrates the Liturgy, Badarak, at St. Yeghiche Church, and expounds on the history of this feast and its relevance and meaning to us today. His Grace will then preside over the short ceremony of the blessing of grapes. So, mark your calendar and join us this Sunday at 11:00am. Badarak will also be celebrated at St. Sarkis Church followed by the blessing of grapes. The celebrant at St. Sarkis Church will be, the Revd Fr. Shnork Bagdassarian, Pastor.

JOIN THE PRIMATE IN MANCHESTER

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, 2nd September 2012, at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester. The ordination ceremony will start at the end of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, Badarak, which is scheduled to start at 11:15. The ordination candidates are: Alex Adamov, Nairy Afrikian, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and Arman Sarvanian. All are welcome to join us. If you plan to spend Saturday night in Manchester, please contact the Primate’s Office to help you make your hotel arrangements in Manchester. A lunch reception will follow on Sunday, £6 per person. For further information about the programme or to reserve for lunch, please contact the Manchester Vicarage.

SAHAK-MESROP CHOIR OF MARSEILLE IN LONDON

For the first time ever in the UK, the Tekeyan Cultural Association cordially invites you to a choral concert by the 50-member, award winning and internationally renowned “Sahak-Mesrop Armenian Choir of Marseille.” The programme will include popular Armenian choral songs, under the direction of Khatchig Yilmazian. The concert will take place in St. Yeghiche Armenian Church, Cranley Gardens SW7 3DB, on Saturday, 6th October, 2012, at 7:30pm. Tickets: £25, £20 and £10. For tickets, please e-mail tca@tekeyantrust.org.uk, or telephone: 0208 879 0758, or 0208 544 8034.

THE NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA AND THE ARMENIAN

CHURCH CANON OF THE BIBLE

H.G. Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, will be the lecturer of the Annual Constantinople Lecture sponsored by the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association in conjunction with The Nikean Club, on Thursday 22nd November 2012. The lecture will takeplace at Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU; 5:30 Evensong followed by lecture and 7:00pm Buffet supper, carriages at 9:00pm. Tickets for the event, including buffet supper £23 per person. For tickets please write to The General Secretary, Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, c/o The Old Deanery, Dean’s Court, London EC4V 5AA, or e-mail: janet.laws@btopenworld.com. Closing date for booking tickets is: Friday, 9th November 2012. Places are limited and will be allocated to AECA & Nikaean members first – please send a separate cheque for guest tickets).

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..