E-NE W S L E T T E R ...............Է-ԹԵՐԹԻԿ 6 The official online publication of the Primate’s Office of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland Issue 50..(Volume 4),

BYLAWS COMMITTEE MEETS IN HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

15 December. 2013

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By the invitation of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, members of the Church Bylaws Committee met last Friday through Thursday, 6-12, 2013 to review and examine the bylaws of the Armenian dioceses around the world. In 2009, by the orders of HH Karekin II, a meeting of the Representatives of the Armenian Dioceses around the world met in Etchmiadzin and adopted a guideline for bylaws based on the canons of the Armenian Church for all Armenian dioceses around the world. Consequently, a committee was appointed by His Holiness to examine the diocesan bylaws and offer its suggestions to the Catholicos for approval or modification. The committee met under the chairmanship of Bp Mikael Ajapahyan, Primate of the Diocese of Shirak, and with the participation of Bishop ArshakKhachatryan, Chancellor, Bishops MkrtichBroshyan, Primate of the Diocese of Aragadzotn and Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate of the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is interesting to note that several dioceses worldwide are still governed by a version of the bylaws (Ազգային.Սահմանադրութիւն.Հայոց) that was imposed on the Armenian Church by t he Ottoman Empire since 1863.

WHAT DO YOUGIVE TO SOMEONE WHO HAS IT ALL!

Christmas is the season of exchanging gifts to express our love for one another. Obviously, we are mindful of the greatest  gift  of  all:  God’s  love  for  us.  As  the  Evangelist  John  says,  “For  God  so  loved  the  world  that   He   gave   His   only   son   to   die   for   us.”   The   question   in   my   mind   is:   what   gift   can   we   give   to   our   God   to   express our gratitude and appreciation for His love for us. This question led me to contemplate a phrase in our Sunday Liturgy (Badarak, Patarag) said by the priest celebrating Badarak (hereafter “Celebrant”) every Sunday, which I believe holds the key to answering the question mentioned above. Allow me to take you to that specific moment in the Badarak. As soon as the chalice is brought to the altar, the Celebrant extending his arms holds the chalice, as if presenting it to an invisible God, proclaiming:  “Thine  of  Thy  Own  we  offer   to  Thee,”  or  “Yours  of  Your  own  we  offer  to  You.”  As  if  this  much  is  not  mysterious enough, the prayer continues  further,  adding,  “on  behalf  of  all  and  for  all.”  What do we mean by this prayer and what are we offering to God? To answer these questions, we need to examine the prayers and hymns of the entire Badarak, which shed light on what our forefathers understood  “offering  to  God”  to  mean.                    

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BUILDING A STRONGER ARMENIAN CHURCH FOR TOMORROW

HG Bp Vahan, Primate, has launched the second Annual Advent Appeal to raise funds for the various ministries of the Armenian Church in the UK and Ireland, which are directly under the supervision of the Primate. This is the only annual fundraising that the Primate’s   Office conducts to raise funds for the Armenian Church in the UK and Ireland. We appeal to our faithful to be partners in the Armenian Church mission by raising funds for the projects of the Primate’s  Office, including the Armenian Street Festival (ASF), Armenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF), Continuing Educational Programmes (CEM), lectures and the weekly Bible Study sessions, pilgrimages, Mission Parish Outreach (MPO) ministries in Birmingham, Cardiff and Dublin, pastoral visitations, the publication of this E-Newsletter and the weekly Sunday Bulletin and many other ministries. Click  here  to  read  the  Primate’s  letter for the 2013 Annual Advent Appeal. Click here to read highlights of some of the ministries of the Parimate’s  Office of the Armenian Church. If you are UK taxpayer please click here to download the Gift Aid form. Finally, for any questions or comments regarding any of the programmes and activities of the Armenian Church please contact the Primate’s  Office at 0208 127 8364. Thank you in advance for your generosity and partnership with the Armenian Church.

PRIMATE’S PASTORAL VISIT TO HOLY TRINITY, MANCHESTER

HG Bp VahanHovhanessian, Primate, will lead a pastoral visit to the Armenian community in Manchester 19-21 December. On Thursday His Grace will attend the classicalChristmas Piano Recital by the internationally acclaimed pianist, and deacon of the Armenian Church in Manchester,Artur Bobikyanwhich will take place in St  Ann’s  Manchester  Church.  On Friday morning, His Grace will join the Manchester chapter members of the ACYF in visiting houses of the elderly and those who are sick, for prayer and blessing. That evening, the Primate will preside over the Evening Vespers incorporating Christmas Carol singing and an Advent programme by the Sunday School children. Saturday evening, there will be a general meeting of the members and friends of the Manchester ACYF followed by lunch. If you live in or near Manchester, or have just recently moved to areas close to Manchester, please contact the chairman of the Church Wardens, MrHagopYeramian, for further information about different activities in the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester. You can also visit the church website by clicking here. Accompanying the Primate will be the V RevdFrGareginHambardzumyan, and members of the  Deacons’  Training  programme.  

JOIN US NEXT TUESDAY SINGING CHRISTMAS CAROLS!

The members and friends of the Armenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF), London chapter, joyfully invite you to what promises to be yet another fabulous evening of celebrating the spirit of Christmas on Tuesday, 24 December 2013 at 7:30pm, at the magnificent St Yeghiche Armenian Church in Cranley Gardens, London. The highlight of the evening will be the joining of the congregation with the members of the choir in singing along several traditional Armenian and English Christmas carols and hymns, with the organ accompaniment. The evening will include readings of biblical passages about the story of the Nativity, the recreation   of   the   Nativity   Scene   by   children   from   our   London   parishes,   commemoration   of   St   Stephen’s   day, prayers and psalmody. Joining the ACYF members and our altar servers will be Mezzo Soprano AnaisHeghoyan and Manchester Organist Deacon ArturBobikyan. All are welcome to join us at our fourth annual Christmas Carols Evening service in London. As always admission is free. So bring your family, children, friends and neighbors along with you and join us. For more information about the evening please click here. To contact the ACYF click here.

CLASSICAL ARMENIAN COURSES ONLINE

In addition to his intensive academic research and loaded pastoral responsibilities in our Diocese, V Revd Fr Garegin Hambardzumyan is very actively involved in promoting the Classical Armenian language, Krapar or Grabar, among our contemporaries. The website www.grabar.am is one of many initiatives of TsiraniNGO. Launched in May 2012 it aims to make Grabar accessible to everyone through video tutorials and other tools contained on the website. Prior to making the website, the bilingual Grabar lessons, offered both in Armenia and Britain by our own Father Garegin Hambardzumyan and Tom Samuelian, have shown that there is a huge interest among Armenians of all ages. One of the challenges facing Armenian Church is the inability of many people to understand the Ecclesiastical language. Through this website help and the necessary tools are offered to explore more about the language of our ancestors. The browser will find out that Grabar is not a complicated but rather a rich and beautiful language which rather than being used only by the Church, also enriches the two branches of our language: Eastern and Western Armenian.

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HELP OUR YOUTH REACH OUT TO THE ELDERLY AND THE LONELY

Annual Advent Appeal

ACYF in Armenian Monastery San Lazzaro. Venice

Members of the London chapter of theArmenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF) are updating their list of elderly Armenians in London who will not be able to participate in the Nativity Badarak on the 5th/6th January. At the same time, the ACYF is preparing their Christmas baskets which will contain traditional Armenian Christmas pudding, biscuits, chocolate, dried fruits, prayer book and Nushkhar, to be delivered to the elderly. If someone you know lives alone and cannot come to Church, please contact the Primate’s  Office at 02081278364, or e-mail ACYF@armenianchurch.co.uk,  to  give  us  the  person’s  contact  info.  Meanwhile,  to  support  this  nice  gesture  by  our  youth, please send your donation, payable to the Armenian Church Trust UK to the Primate’s  Office at 25 Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG.

BROADCASTING THE 5 JANUARY ARMENIAN BADARAK

A team from the leading British Christian radio programme, Premier Christian Radio, will visit the St Sarkis Church to record segments of the Nativity Badarak. The recorded segments will be broadcasted a day or two from the date of the recording. This valuable arrangement was made thanks to the efforts of our own Dr Harry Hagopian. A consultant to the Primate, Dr Hagopian is a public international lawyer who also holds a number of key consultancy positions on political, ecumenical and inter-faith issues relating to the Middle East, North Africa & Gulf regions. He has an impressive list of published articles on political, church-related and non-governmental organisations as well as on issues dealing with Jerusalem, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Middle East & North African region, Muslim-Christian relations, and on broader issues impacting either the wider ecumenical movement or Armenians.

impressive list of published articles including his popular blog on Christians and the MENA region. Click here to read his latest published blog:  “Christmas  In  the  Holy  Land”  

DO YOUR LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WHILE SUPPORTING THE CHURCH

The Primate’s  Office of the Armenian Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland has organised a new way of financially supporting the Church ministry. Simply by shopping online through easyfundraising.org.uk, at any of your favorite stores online, you help making a donation from the store to the Armenian Church. There are no catches. It's completely free to use and no body would know how much you spent or what you bought from which store. It's really simple – just  click  the  link  below,  and  sign  up  for  free.  Click  on  “Support  a   Good Cause”  and  search  for  the  Armenian  Church  Trust,  and  choose  it.  Then,  shop  online  with  well  known  retailers  like  Amazon,  Argos,   M&S, Tesco, eBay, and many more. Get started now by clicking here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 NATIVITY: By a directive of the Primate, there will be no celebration of Badarak on the morning of the 5 January. That day in the evening there will be the Eve-of-Nativity Badarak celebration in the Armenian Churches in London and Manchester. Instead, on Sunday morning Armenian churches will conduct the traditional morning service, according to the Armenian Church canons.

 WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY: There will be no Bible Study session this Thursday. The group will suspend its study sessions until the celebration of Nativity on 6 January. The date of the resumption of the study sessions will be announced here.

 VOLUNTEERS are  needed  for  the  “2014  Reunion  Committee”  of  the  K.  Tahta  Armenian  Community  Sunday  School.  Those   interested are requested to e-mail: armenianschool@hotmail.co.uk

The  Primate’s  Office c/o HyeDoon, 25 Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG www.armenianchurch.co.uk information@armenianchurch.co.uk