This Sunday & forthcoming events of the 90th Anniversary of St. Sarkis Church
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Sunday, 30 September 2012
Armenian Church E-Newsletter, Issue 40
29 SEPTEMBER 2012
ISSUE 40 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
BADARAK & MPC MEETING IN BIRMINGHAM:
On Sunday, 23rd September, 2012, as part of the Mission Parish Outreach (MPO) programme of the Primate’s Office of the Armenian Church in Great Britain and Ireland, His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland, visited the Armenian community in Birmingham and its surroundings, where an Armenian Church Mission has been established by the Primate last year and a “Mission Parish Council” (MPC) was elected by the people, to coordinate the Armenian Church ministry and programmes in Birmingham. His Grace celebrated Badarak at the St. John Church Anglican Church, made available for the Armenians thanks to the efforts of the Mission Parish Council. His Grace celebrated Badarak and delivered the sermon, reflecting on the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia and calling on the faithful to work together to strengthen the Armenian community and people be it in the homeland, Armenia, or in England and the diaspora. Following Badarak an especial blessing service for the Republic of Armenia (Hayrapetakan Maghtank) was offered, according to the tradition of the Armenian Church. Assisting the bishop at the services were Revd Deacon Artur Bobikyan, from the Holy Trinity Church in Manchester and the newly ordained Tubir Alex Adamov, from the St. Sarkis Church, London. The Bishop and altar servers then joined the faithful in a fellowship hour hosted by the Birmingham MPC in the church hall, where a new immigrant Armenian community has been established and growing during the past decade or so. Following the fellowship hour the Bishop presided over a general meeting of the Mission Parish Council (MPC) to discuss recent developments and challenges facing
the Mission Parish in Birmingham. At the end of the MPC meeting, people were still conversing in the church hall All present were joyful and spiritually uplifted from the Badarak and the visit of the Primate. The Information Centre of the Primate’s Office, has produced a video clip on this occasion. Click here to watch the video clip. Funding for all Mission Parish Outreach programmes and activities of the Primates Office comes from the Armenian Church Trust UK.
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
29 September 2012
Issue 40, Volume 3
ACYF ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION POSTPONED - UPDATES
The Executive Committee of the Armenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF) has issued the following statement regarding its forthcoming round-table discussion on the Armenian identity of the youth in UK: “Other Armenian organisations in the UK have asked us if we can postpone our "Armenian Identity in 21st Century Europe" Round Table Discussion on the 2nd October at 7pm, for them to become part of it as well and have their youth to participate in it. Because of this we will reschedule the Round Table and will announce the new date as soon as we all come to an agreement.” Meanwhile, the ACYF is leading a group of 15 young Armenian men and women in the first ACYF Service Project in the Mekhitarist Monastery in San Lazzaro, Venice. Participants in the Service Programme will do volunteer work helping in cataloguing and digitalizing the library collection of the monastery.
EPISCOPAL BADARAK AT ST. YEGHICHE WITH SAHAK MESROB CHOIR
On Sunday, 7th October 2012, His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland, will be the Guest Celebrant and homilist of the Divine Liturgy at St. Yeghiche Armenian Church in Cranley Gardens, London SW7 3BB. Singing the choir parts on that Sunday will be the “Sahak-Mesrob Armenian Choir of Marseille” from France. The entry procession of the Badarak is scheduled to commence at 11:00am. Click here for the flyer.
BRITISH-ARMENIAN ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP: PUBLIC CALL
“Dear fellow Armenian, please contact your Member of Parliament ( MP) by accessing the “Parliament”’ site, then click “MPs by Constituency” and having located the MP who is serving your constituency , please send the letter below or create your own wording; but please send it as soon as possible because we, Armenians in UK, need the British Authorities to express condemnation at the events in Hungary and specially at the actions of President Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Please gather as many signatures of residents of the same constituency as possible and send to the MP. Thank You.” The British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group. Click here for the sample letter.
ST. SARKIS PARISH COUNCIL – “BADARAK BASICS” THIS SUNDAY th
The St. Sarkis Parish Council is pleased to announce the presentation of the fourth part of "Badarak Basics" this Sunday 30 September, which will take place at the end of Divine Liturgy. As menioned before, the aim of this programme is to help the congregation understand the various aspects of the Armenian Divine Liturgy, and enable them to participate more actively in the service. We are happy to announce that Dr.Hratch Tchilingirian, Chairman of the St. Sarkis Trust and the St. Sarkis Parish Assembly will run this session on Sunday. Further Sessions will be announced.
ST. SARKIS BAKE SALE – RAISING FUNDS FOR ARMENIANS IN SYRIA
The St Sarkis Parish Council is hosting a cake sale on 30th September 2012 in the Gulbenkian Hall after Badarak, to raise money for Arnenians in need in Syria. Please do come and buy delicious home-made cakes!! Donations of Cakes for sale will be most appreciated. Please bring them to the Gulbenkian Hall on the day by 12 noon.
AREV – CHILDREN’S PLAY GROUP The AREV Children’s Play Group, for Pre-School to 7 years old children, of the St. Sarkis Parish will have its monthly play day this Sunday, 30th September, at St. Sarkis Church. 11:30am Storytelling and programme in Nevart Gulbenkian Hall; 12:30-12:45 children and parents attend church service. The group meets the last Sunday of each month. For more information please call or text Shakeh Major Tchilingirian 07968 4463223, or e-mail: parish@stsarkislondon.com.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUPPORT THE ARMENIAN CHURCH TRUST – UK
(ACT-UK) WWW.ARMENIANCHURCHTRUST.ORG.UK
29 September 2012 Issue 40 Volume 3
AMBASSADOR, MAYOR AND PRIMATE JOIN
CHILTREN-ARMENIAN SOCIETY PRAYS FOR VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE
The Chiltern-Armenian Society (CAS) , in cooperation with the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland, the St Mary's and All Saints Church in Beaconsfield and the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in UK, held on Sunday 23rd September a Eucharist celebration in memory of the Victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915. Rev Jeremy Brooks, pastor, celebrated the Eucharist assisted by the Clergy of St Mary's. His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, presided over the services and delivered the Sermon and the final Blessing. The two biblical lessons of the day were read by Christopher Kurkjian and Rev Cassa Messervy, and four hymns were sung by Anais Heghoyan (Mezzo Soprano) and Nikita Bazil (Soprano) accompanied by the organist David Hackett. Attending the service and the reception that followed were the Armenian Ambassador HE Mrs Karineh Kazinian, the Worshipful Mayor of High Wycombe Cllr Dr Chaudry Shaffique , Cllr Alistair Pyke (representing Beaconsfield Council ) and, filling the St Mary's Church to full capacity, a large congregation of local and Armenian parishioners. The Der Vghormya and “Lord’s Prayer” in Armenian were inserted in the Order of Service. His Grace Bishop Vahan elaborated on the two biblical lessons read during Badarak and connected the theme with that of seeking divine wisdom to be peace-makers.
- The Chiltern-Armenian Society
LIMITED SEATING REMAIN FOR THE DINNER & TALK @ LAMBETH PALACE
THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP OF LONDON has informed our Primate’s Office that in an unprecedented situation, a large number of tickets for the “Annual Constantinople Lecture” are already sold. This year’s guest lecturer, as announced earlier in this publication, 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, which is sponsored by the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association in conjunction with the Nikean Club, 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 at 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.
DID YOU MISS THE GREAT PERFORMANCE OF ANOUSH OPERA IN LONDON? No Worries! The Primate’s Office was informed by the London Armenian Opera that its members are already in full swing rehearsal mode in preparation for the repeat performance of Anoush Opera scheduled which is scheduled on the 27 and 28 of October 2012. As in the previous time, the Opera will be performed at The Tabernacle, Powis Square, London W11 2AY. So, don’t miss this opportunity as well! Because of the limited space available, the Company urges people to buy their tickets in advance and secure their seats by calling 01923 773277, or e-mail: LondonArmenianOpera@virginmedia.com. You can read more about the Opera by browsing the FLYER posted on our CHURCH WEBSITE
Are you interested to help in the ministry of the Armenian Church by joining the Church choirs or altar servers?
Please write to the Primate’s Office: primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk
29 September 2012
Issue 40 Volume 3
SCRIPTURE READINGS According to the Armenian Church Lectionary
Sunday – 30 September
Proverbs 3:18-26 Isaiah 65:22-25 Galatians 6:14-18 Matthew 24:30-36
Monday – 1 October Proverbs 13:1-7 Micah 7:18-20 Hebrews 12:1-7 Luke 13:22-30
Tuesday – 2 October Lamentations 3:22-56 2 Timothy 3:10-15 Matthew 5:1-12
Wednesday – 3 October 2 Corinthians 12:10-18 Mark 10:35-45
Thursday – 4 October Wisdom 6:11-21 Jeremiah 17:7-8 Romans 8:18-26 John 16:1-4
Friday – 5 October 2 Corinthians 12:19-13:4
Mark 11:15-26
Saturday – 6 October Wisdom 9:9-10:2 Exodus 15:27-16:1 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:3 Luke 10:1-9
NO BIBLE STUDY SESSION THIS THURSDAY
DUE TO A PRIOR COMMITMENT, His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, will be out of town this Thursday, 27 September 2012, consequently there will be no Bible Study session in English. The regular study sessions will resume the following Thursday, 4th October at 7:00pm. The group continues reading the thrilling Book of Revelation every Thursday. All are welcome.
HELP US SUPPORT THE ARMENIANS IN SYRIA
AS ANNOUNCED BY THE ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS ON THE 12TH OF AUGUST, and reiterated in the statement by His. Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, the Armenian Church worldwide is raising funds in support of our brothers and sisters in Syria during these times of war, uncertainty and lack of security and peace. Following the call of our Catholicos and Primate, we in the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland are continuing our efforts to raise funds from our faithful in support of this relief mission. All the funds raised by our church will be forwarded entirely to the Armenian Church in Syria, and a copy of the list of donors and funds raised will be published in our E-Newsletter. Please post your donations payable to the Armenian Church Trust UK to: The Primate’s Office, 25 Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG.
CLASSES IN WESTERN ARMENIAN
COURSES IN WESTERN ARMENIAN will be offered for beginners, intermediates and advanced students in Hye Doon by Professor Krikor Moskofian of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London). Courses will start the first week in October. For further information or to register please click here, or e-mail: moskofiank@hotmail.co.uk
SAHAK-MESROP CHOIR OF MARSEILLE IN LONDON
Tickets for over 300 seats have already been sold for the Tekeyan Cultural Association sponsored 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. Please make sure to reserve your seat ASAP. 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.
ARMENIAN VERSION OF OUR E-NEWSLETTER
The Primate’s Office is considering the possibility of publishing the E-Newsletter in Armenian as well as English. If you are, or someone you know is, interested in receiving the Armenian versiojn of the E-Newsletter, please send the name and e-mail address to: information@armenianchurch.co.uk
OVER 10,000 VIEWERS! DID YOU KNOW that the video clip released by the Information Centre of the Primate’s Office about our second annual Armenian Street Festival (ASF) has been viewed by over 10,100 viewers within a one-month period. If you have not seen it yet, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
The Primate’s Office c/o Hye Doon 25 Cheniston Gardens Kensington, London W8 6TG
Hayastani Pataskhan-ue - Voch Madridyan Skzbounknerin By Stepan Sargsyan
ARTICLE BY STEPAN SARGSYAN
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՍՏԵՓԱՆ ՍԱՐԳՍԵԱՆԷՆ
ԵՐԵՒԱՆ, ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ
FATHER FRANK’S RANTS - Atheism & Immaturity
Rant Number 507 27 September 2012
‘The attack against all religions constitutes our identity...We are anarchists, ecologists, communists, trotzkysts and socialists...we are all atheists.’ Thus in Le Monde Monsieur Charb, editor of Charlie Hebdo, notorious for its anti-Prophet caricatures. You can’t say the guy does not nail his lurid colours to the mast...
In a previous avatar the priest was a Marxist-Leninist and an atheist so he knows the syndrome. Folies des jeunesse, bien sur. The marvellous insipience of youth. Charb looks young enough to be stupid. His first duty should be, as philosopher Benedetto Croce once advised some youths, to grow older as quickly as possible. To grow out of childish inanities like blasphemy and atheism. But cultures and ideologies too can be immature. They need to grow up. What is to be done if they refuse? The problem is large. As vast as human imbecility.
This is the age of immaturity – well, at least in what passes for Western culture. Occidental man has grown childish. It was not always so but now it is. Involution exists, as much as evolution. John Milton, the great Puritan poet, had no illusion about the future of the human race. Writing 400 years ago, he believed human beings were actually growing physically and mentally smaller, degenerating into gnomes and fairies. Whether he meant it or not, quite an apposite, prescient allegory of our stupid times.
Theology may confirm the regression hypothesis. St Clement of Alexandria argued long ago that Adam was as a child, created to grow up, to be perfected into a virtuous, mature being. But, just as Adam and Eve slipped, like naughty children, so does Western man today. Again, regression is the name of the game. Sinking back into a foolish childishness. Basking into blasphemy, refractoriness and wilful disobedience.
Sounds implausible? With all the wonders of technology, getting more and more astounding by the day, available to all. Touch iPods, mobiles, ultra-fast Apples, the world wide web. A brave new world, surely. If that ain’t progress, what is?
A simple answer. A moron with an iPod is still a moron. Gadgets are tools, no more than that. People in the Tube fiddling with their gadgets are not getting brighter because of them. No, if anything, judging by the cacophonies emanating from their i-Pods, they are degenerating. Getting more childish. More infantile. QED.
French anticlericalism has had long innings. Dates back to the sanculottes and even before. Voltaire, the father of all modern mockers of Christianity, wrote a play, a scurrilous attack on Islam’s Prophet. Cunningly, he dedicated his work to the Pope, in fulsome language. They say Voltaire was actually gunning for Christ, under the guise of Muhammad. Perhaps. The old fox must have known of that other irreverent, anonymous tract, De Tribus Impostoribus. It circulated in the Middle Ages. A foul attack on the three founders of the supreme monotheistic religions. It charged them with cheap magical tricks, lies and deceptions. The author was never discovered. Another prankish, immature atheist, no doubt. But the point is that an attack on a prophet of God is an attack on all of them. Muslims may rub their hands when the Church, Islam’s ancient rival, gets vilified by secularists – they should know that they will be next – they already are. Monsieur Charb is quite clear about that.
Mocking sacred persons and things is not new. It is made easy when they exhibit traits that invite malice. So Lucian of Samosat, a Greek satirist, lampooned the gods of his culture. I guess some pious pagans may have been shocked. But how can you refrain from smiling or laughing at gods who share, reproduce the failures and flaws of human beings? Zeus, the father of the Olympians, kidnaps and rapes males and females, children and adults alike. Hermes protects thieves. Hera is jealous, Hephaestus a cripple, Ares is quarrelsome and Bacchus a drunk. Deities like those are fair game and Lucian’s satires are still hilarious to read.
Admittedly, there will always be disagreement about the character and personality of any great man, especially the founder of a world religion. In Why I am not a Christian Bertrand Russell – he was not stupid, granted – gave grounds why he did not think Jesus’ character admirable. They are not very profound, alas. Wittgenstein was right when he said that Russell in later life had given up thinking hard about philosophy. He wasn’t thinking deeply about religion, either.
Islam’s Prophet too has his detractors. Cyberspace is chock-a-bloc with it. But surely there is a difference between academic and historical criticism and childish obscenities? It is an objective fact that Muhammad, like him or not, was the legislator of a world religion and the founder of a new civilisation. The Washington US Supreme Court in a frieze even includes him amongst many universal lawgivers – though American Muslims, of all people, objected to the representation. To persist on filthily besmirching such a man, a figure surrounded with a halo of great reverence by a fourth of human beings on earth can only be a cheap tantrum, a mark of immaturity.
What is to be done? No bombs but education must be key. Not simply a matter of individuals, like the staff of Charlie Hebdo. As far as the transcendent, religion is concerned, a whole culture, a whole civilisation is in need of education. As in Adam all human beings fell short, so they all share in Adam’s immaturity. Too many seem to have slipped back, into crudeness, rawness and non-culture. The Church, mater et magistra, surely should be proclaiming and promoting the necessary task. God-driven, God-mandated, stern pedagogy is the job ahead.
Education, education, education, yes. But not a’ la Tony Blair. (The Labour Party has indeed been the grave-digger of education.) Don’t give a damn if it is un-PC. A great Englishman, indeed, a great Christian, Dr Samuel Johnson, once spoke the unpalatable truth about the immature, the stupid and the childish: ‘They, being irrational, can only be governed by fear.’ Till they grow up.
The fear of the Lord, however, is the beginning of wisdom.
Revd Frank Julian Gelli
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Voch Yev-ues E Prof. Bedros Hadjian
OBITUARY FOR PROF. BEDROS HADJIAN
ՄԱՀԱԳՐՈՒԹԻՒՆ ՓՐՈՖ. ՊԵՏՐՈՍ ՀԱՃԵԱՆԻ
Aliyev-ue Chuepetk e Muena Anpatij By Sona Arshuneci
ARTICLE BY SONA ARSHUNECI
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՍՈՆԱ ԱՐՇՈՒՆԵՑԻ-ԷՆ
ՊՐԻՒՔՍԷԼ, ՊԵԼՃԻՔԱՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՍՈՆԱ ԱՐՇՈՒՆԵՑԻ-ԷՆ
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