Armenian Church E-Newsletter, Issue 33

11 AUGUST 2012

ISSUE 33 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

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY

THIS SUNDAY, 12TH AUGUST, 2012 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, one of the five annual Major Feasts of the Armenian Church. This feast is based on a pious practice of the early church which teaches that at the conclusion of her earthly life, the Virgin Mary was assumed to heaven by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Feast emphasizes the special and primary place of honour and respect that the Armenian Church renders to the Virgin Mary,

for the role she played in the history of our salvation as the birth-giver and mother of our Saviour. As in many other church feasts, several popular practices and pious traditions have been associated with this feast as well. The most widely known practice is the blessing of grapes which is conducted immediately after the Badarak. The blessing ceremony is rich in symbolism, and incorporates many biblical concepts and imageries. The custom of blessing grapes, the first fruits of the harvest, can be traced back to Old Testament times. In the Bible, vines and grapes were symbols of the people of God. In the New Testament, where wine is a symbol of Christ’s blood, the grape thus becomes a symbol of the Virgin Mary, from whom Christ was born and, as such, was offered to God in the temple. (Luke 2:25-30). The Armenian Church venerates, but does not worship, Mary as the image of humanity fully obedient to God and sanctified by fulfilling God's will. It is because of all the above, and more, that the Armenian Church blesses grapes on the Feast of Mary. Finally, traditionally we use seedless grapes to emphasize the creation of grapes without seed, pointing to the birth of Jesus which was fulfilled without any human agent. The feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15 in many churches. In the Armenian Church, the feast is celebrated on the Sunday closest to the 15th August. It is a public holiday in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Lebanon, Lithuania, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Poland, Portugal, Senegal, and Spain. To help our church purchase grapes to be blessed and distributed to the faithful on this feast, please send your donation, payable to the “Armenian Church Trust UK” and mail it to the Primate’s Office. You can also donate grapes by delivering them to St. Sarkis Church this Saturday, 11 August, @ 2pm, where volunteers will bag them.

We at the Primate’s Office would love to hear from you. Please send your comments, feedback and observations to: The Primate’s Office, c/o Hye Doon, 25 Cheniston Gardens, 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

11 August 2012

Issue 33, Volume 3

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PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND – APPROACHING DEADLINE

THE PRIMATE’S OFFICE is happy to announce the extension of the deadline for signing up for the third annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. British Airways has agreed to extend the deadline for the initial deposit to Monday, 20th August, 2012. If you are, or someone you know is, interested in joining our group of 18 pilgrims who have already signed up, please send your deposit of £500 payable to the “Armenian Church Trust UK” to The Primate’s Office, c/o Hye Doon, 25 Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG. Your cheque must be received in the Primate’s Office no later than Monday morning, 20th August. As announced earlier, the following are the dates for the third annual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Departure, Heathrow Airport, London Sunday, 6th January, 22:30, Return to Heathrow from Tel Aviv on Sunday 13th January, arriving London at 20:15. 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 Monday 20th August, 2012. An extra processing fee (charged by British Airways) will be added to applicants who send their deposit after the 20th 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 any 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. Please note: as we start reserving rooms in the hotels, we are required to pay the full amount of the hotel reservation in advance. Those pilgrims not flying with us, but joining us in Jerusalem, are kindly requested to send their cheques of the full amount of £700.payable to the “Armenian Church Trust UK” and post it to The Primate’s Office no later than Monday Morning, 20th August, 2012. An orientation day for the pilgrims will be announced in the forthcoming issues of the E-Newsletter.

PRIMATE TO LECTURE AT LAMBETH PALACE

THE ANGLICAN AND EASTERN CHURCHES ASSOCIATION in conjunction with the Nikean Club, will be sponsoring this year’s Annual Constantinople Lecture. The guest lecturer will be His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate. The title of the lecture is: “The New Testament Apocrypha and the Armenian Church Canon of the Bible.” The lecture is scheduled on Thursday 22nd November 2012. And will take place at Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU, by special permission of His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. The evening will start at 5:30 with Evensong followed by Bishop Vahan’s lecture and 7:00pm Buffet supper, carriages at 9:00pm. Tickets for the event, including buffet supper, are £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. For further information, Click Here.

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

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

11 August 2012 Issue 33 Volume 3

PRIMATE MEETS WITH ENTHUSIASTIC ARMENIAN YOUTH GROUP

LAST MONDAY, 6TH AUGUST, His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, met with a group of young Armenian men and women in the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall, to share with them his vision of the concept of the church ministry in the UK and a UK-wide programme engaging young Armenians in various cultural, social and church programmes and activities, such as the Armenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF). The evening started with a payer followed by a reception. Half an hour or so later, the group gathered with the Primate around a table who started the meeting by welcoming all and reviewing some of the previous activities of ACYF, and discussed with those present, what they think the Armenian Church needs to do and what kind of programmes the ACYF should plan. The Primate listened to the comments, suggestions, complaints and ideas of the young men and women present, who promised him in return to work with the church in creating a strong and vibrant Armenian community cognizant and proud of its past and unified and ready to conquer all obstacles and to shape its future as the British Armenian Community. The group then discussed with the Primate several programmes to pursue in the coming year, and elected a group of five

young men and women to be their executive committee for the year 2012-2013. They are: Davit Gulakyan, Kevork Hagopjian, Lilly Moskofian, Stepan Yeghiazarian, Hovik Hovhannisyan and Vahak Gulakyan, as artistic advisor. To the pleasant surprise of the Primate those present suggested that such a group focuses also on some service work such as visiting shelters and raising funds for projects in Armenia. The group discussed in detail also the pilgrimage to Venice, where they will volunteer to help organize the catalogue of the library collection of the Mekhitarist Fathers in San Lazzaro. The suggested dates are: Departure to Venice on Thursday night, 11 October and return to London Sunday night, 14 October. The group hopes to prepare a package inclusive of airfare and lodging for less than £300. If interested to join in this project to Venice, please e-mail: ACYF@armenianchurch.co.uk. At the end of the meeting, the Primate thanked all for coming and for their constructive comments and suggestions, and invited the newly formed executive committee to meet soon to pursue the various programmes and projects suggested at the meeting. If you have not yet joined our online list of ACYF members, please e-mail your name to: ACYF@armenianchurch.co.uk. Stay tuned for updates. Meanwhile, you can check the ACYF out at their Facebook page.

SPONSORING A PILGRIM

AS WE HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCING DURING THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, the Primate’s Office is planning our third Annual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Since the establishment of the Church, pilgrimages have been an essential component of the ministry and mission of the Armenian Church all over the world. Writings of the early Church describe the difficulties Armenians had to endure traveling for weeks from Armenia to the Holy Land to be part of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Pilgrimages are great opportunities to connect with the grounds, symbols and shrines that combined served as the context in which our faith was born. During the past two years since we started our annual pilgrimages, students and young men and women have approached the Primate asking him if the Church can help them financially to participate in the pilgrimage. Unfortunately, we have to turn such requests down because of the fact that we charge pilgrims exactly what the cost of the Pilgrimage is. In the past centuries, Armenian benefactors contributed financially to sponsor a pilgrim, who cannot otherwise afford paying for his way. Can you help a young Armenian experience the spiritually uplifting and rejuvenating experience of the holy pilgrimage this year? Please send your donation of a full or partial pilgrimage, payable to the “Armenian Church Trust UK” to the Primate’s Office, 25 Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG. Thank you and God bless.

BAPTISMS  SOPHIE ANOUSH YOGINI KATHRANI, daughter Paresh Kathrani and Nvard Stepanian was baptised on 14th July,

2012 at St. Sarkis Church. The Godfather was Hratch Tchilingirian.  ARDEM PETER MCNIVEN, son of Neil Alexander McNiven and Nairi Salpi Nakashian was baptised on 15th July, 2012

at St. Sarkis Church. The Godfather was Hratch Djerahian.

Congratulations to all! There were no baptisms at St. Yeghiche Church this month.

WEDDINGS  PETER THOMAS FORD, son of Tom and Eve Ford, and NELLY POGHOSYAN, daughter of Vanik Poghosyan and

Marina Hakobyan, were married on 20th July, 2012, at St Yeghiche Church. The best man was Tim Ford.  ALEX PILAGOSIAN, son of Iskender and Seyran Pilagosian, and LUCY MARIA KHORASSANJIAN daughter of

Jacques & Eleni Khorassandjian, were married on 22nd July, 2012, at St Yeghiche Church. The best man was Robert Demir.

Congratulations to all! There were no Weddings at St. Sarkis Church this month.

FUNERALS

There were no Funerals this month at either St. Sarkis or St. Yegiche Churches this month.

JOIN THE DEACONS’ TRAINING PROGRAMME

AS WE HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCING during the past several weeks, four of the participants in our Deacons’ Training programme have completed the first stage of the training programme and passed the required test, qualifying them for ordination to the rank of Tubir in the Armenian Church. The ordination will take place in the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester, Sunday, 2nd September, 2012 at 11:00am. The Primate’s Office is happy to announce that already three young men have registered for a new group of trainees who will join the rest of the Deacons’ Training group. However, because of the growing number of candidates and the time that has passed since the first group has started its training programme, the Primate decided to divide the programme into two groups. This will allow the beginners to start anew, and those who have advanced in their training to continue on that level. If you are interested to join the new class, or to consider joining it, please send us your name and e-mail address and we will invite you to an orientation session. Please forward your name via e-mail to: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk. No knowledge of reading or writing Armenian is required to join.

11 August 2012

Issue 33 Volume 3

Scripture Readings According to the Armenian Church Lectionary

Sunday – 12 August

Assumption of Mary – W;ra8o.oumn Proverbs 3:9-10 Isaiah 65:8-10 Hebrews 6:18-7:7

John 15:1-8

Monday – 13 August Proverbs 11:30-12:4 Zechariah 2:10-13 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1

Luke 1:39-56

Tuesday – 14 August Song of Solomon 6:3-8 Malachi 3:1-2 Galatians 3:24-29 Luke 2:1-7

Wednesday – 15 August Song of Solomon 4:9-15, 8:14. Isaiah 7:10-16 Galatians 3:29-4:7 Luke 2:1-7

Thursday – 16 August

Proverbs 11:30-12:4 Zechariah 2:10-13 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 Luke 1:39-56

Friday – 17 August Song of Solomon 6:3-8

Malachi 3:1-2 Galatians 3:24-29 Luke 2:1-7

Saturday – 18 August Song of Solomon 4:9-15, 8:14 Isaiah 7:10-16 Galatians 3:29-4:7 Luke 2:1-7

PRIMATE TO CELEBRATE BADARAK THIS SUNDAY

His Grace Bp. Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, will be celebrating Badarak at St. Yeghiche Church this Sunday, 12 August, 2012, on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Badarak will start at 11:00sharp followed by the delivery of the sermon, at the conclusion of the distribution of the Holy Communion. Following Badarak, His Grace will preside over the traditional blessing of the grape ceremony, which will then be distributed to the faithful.

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.

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..

PRAYER REQUESTS

THE HOLY BIBLE encourages us to pray for each other—9A[7j;zhq irarou famar orphsxi bv,kouiq! Ardarin n;rgo/o[ a[;rsanqe ,at axd;zik h0 “Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" says the Apostle James (5:16). If you are, or someone you know is, in need of prayer, for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact the Primate’s Office by e-mail: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk, or telephone 0208 127 8364, and convey the name of the person for whom prayer is requested, and if possible, the reason for the request. The Primate will personally remember the person in his daily prayers. We will also be happy to share the prayer request in our Sunday Church bulletin, with our worshipping faithful in the churches ONLY if the person requesting the prayer wishes to have the request published.

THE PRIMATE’S OFFICE:

Is open Monday-Friday from 11am-3pm. Phone: 0208 127 8364 or email: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk. During the weekend, please leave a message and someone will return your call. Appointments are welcome through the above mentioned contact information. For Hokehankist, please contact the local church priest or office directly.

E-NEWSLETTER FOR YOUR RELATIVE OR FRIEND

Forward your relative’s or friend’s e-mail address to: information@armenianchurch.co.uk, and we will be happy to add him or her to our E-Newsletter growing mailing list.

The Primate’s Office c/o Hye Doon 25 Cheniston Gardens Kensington, London W8 6TG