DIOCESE OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - Issue11, Volume 5 13 March, 2014

ԱՌԱՋՆՈՐԴՈՒԹԻՒՆ.ՀԱՅՈՑ.ՄԵԾՆ.ԲՐԻԴԱՆԻՈՅ.ԵՒ.ԻՐԼԱՆՏԱՅԻ

Տ.Վահան.Եպս..Յովհաննէսեան,.Հայրապետական.Պատուիրակ.եւ.Առաջնորդ The Right Revd Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate and Pontifical Legate

BISHOP VAHAN MEMBER OF THE SUPREME SPIRITUAL COUNCIL Under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Supreme Spiritual Council ( ) convened a regular meeting in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, 11-13 March. At the meeting His Holiness expressed his appreciation to the council members and thanked them for their active participation in the Council. The agenda of the meeting covered every aspect of the Armenian Church ministry worldwide, the activities of the joint Etchmiadzin-Cilicia committees and the Armenian Church’s programmes for the centennial commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. At the end of the meeting the Catholicos announced the appointment of three new members to the Supreme Spiritual Council: Abp KarekinBekjian, Bishop HaigazounNajarian and Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian. The Supreme Spiritual Council is ... Click here

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LENTEN REFLECTION: THE PRODIGAL SON

Leading us during the past two weeks of Lent through reflectionsupon the consequence of sin, which is alienation from God and the inheritance of mortal life, which deprived us from the state of eternal joy that God originally created us to enjoy, the Mother Church starts the third week of Lent discussing ways of reconciliation with God and returning to the original and blessed state which He created us to live. The theme of the third Sunday, the Prodigal Son, comes from the parable of the Lord recorded in Luke 15:11-32. The parable highlights the forgiving and welcoming nature of the father, who in the parable represents God, as soon as his son realizes that he was wrong and decides to return to his father top beg his forgiveness. All it takes is genuine self examination and determination to do whatever it takes to correct our mistakes, for God to run to us and meet us half way to help us return home: the Kingdom of God.

ASF GENERAL MEETING – WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH, 2014

As announced in the previous issues of the E-Newsletter and on the official website and Facebook pages of the Armenian Church in the UK and its affiliate organisations, this year annual Armenian Street Festival (ASF) will take place on 3 August 2015. Please mark your calendar, join us and bring a friend along on that day. The Primate’s Office has sent invitations to all Armenian Church councils in the UK and Ireland seeking their feedback and ideas to be incorporated into the Annual festivities. Meanwhile, a general meeting will be convened IN Gulbenkian Hall on Wednesday, 26 March at 7:30pm of the Armenian Street Festival committee, under the presidency of HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, to discuss the various aspects of the planning of this year’s Festival. All Armenian organisations and individual volunteers who helped during the festivals of the past years, are encouraged to attend the meeting.

ST SARKIS PARISH THIRD ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

Dues-paying members of the St Sarkis Parish gathered inside the church building last Sunday,

9 March at 3:00pm, constituting the third annual Church Assembly of the St Sarkis Parish, under

the presidency of HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate. The assembled faithful adopted the

agenda, confirmed the quorum according to the bylaws of the Armenian Church approved by the

Primate and elected the Assembly’s chairman, vice-chairman and secretaries. The agenda

included discussion and receipt of reports by the pastor, parish council, nominating committee

and auditing committee. The Assembly then elected four new members of the Parish Council, in

a staggering system that prevents the control of the Parish Council by the same people for four

years. The final item on the Agenda was the discussion of various issues raised by the dues-

paying members who stayed at the Assembly until 5:30pm. For more information about the

Assembly or to become a dues-paying member, please click here to contact the Parish Council.

OXFORD MISSION PARISH SCHEDULES A LENTEN VIGIL

The recently appointed Oxford Mission Parish Council of the Armenian Church of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is happy to announce the scheduling of a Lenten Vigil on Wednesday, 19 March, 7:30-8:00PM. The Very Revd Fr GareginHambardzumyan will lead the half-hour service, which is traditional offered mostly during Great Lent and is comprised of various hymns and prayers addressed to the Lord for peace at the end of the working day. The prayers and the hymns of the Vigil remind us that God is with us even when we are facing trials and temptations.The service will take place at at St. Michael's Church at the North Gate which is situated in the heart of Oxford. All are welcome to join us! For more information about the Oxford Mission Parish Council in Oxford and its ministries and activities, please contact the Primate’s Office. If you live, or someone you know lives in or near Oxford, please send contact e-mail address to: information@armenianchurch.co.u. Thanks and see you in Oxford!

JOINUS ON FRIDAY LENTEN VIGILS AND DINNERS

The Primate’s Office is happy to announce the scheduling of the weekly Lenten Vigils every Friday evening during Great Lent at 6:45PM in the St Sarkis Church in Kensington, London, followed by Lenten dinner in the Gulbenkian Hall (dinner: £5 per person, Children under 12 free). Our host for this Friday, 14 March is the St Sarkis Women’s Guild. The schedule of the remaining Fridays are:

21 March: St Sarkis Parish Choir 28 March: Armenian Church Trust UK 4 April: Armenian Church Youth Fellowship (ACYF) 11 April: St Yeghiche Parish Choir

ALTAR SERVERS’ ONE DAY RETREAT IN OXFORD

On Tuesday 11 March a group of altar servers joined the Primate, Bp Vahan, on a one-day retreat in Oxford. The retreat started with the attendance of the thought-stimulating talk by DrHratchTchilingirian, Oriental Institute, Oxford University. The talk, “Church, Religion and Politics in the Armenian Diaspora” continued Professor Tchilinigrian’s discussion of the subject of "Church Crisis" in the 1950s and how Armenian and international politics exacerbated multiplicity of conflicts in the Diaspora during the Cold War era and continuing in contemporary times. By way of conclusion to the lecture series, the session highlighted the contemporary crossroads where religion, society and politics intersect in Armenia and the Diaspora. The altar servers then spend the rest of the evening discussing various aspects related to the talk with the Bishop and Fr Garegin who attended the lecture. The following day included a prayer service in the Lady Chapel of the St Michael’s Church, group discussion and an administrative session.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  GARINEH OPERA: 'Garineh' the first completed operatic work written by an Armenian composer, originally

performed under the title of 'LebledjiHorHor Agha' in Istanbul in 1875 will be performed by the London Armenian Opera on Saturday 29 March (7:30pm) and Sunday 30 March (6:30pm), in the Tabernacle. To purchase tickets online, click here, call 01923 773 277 / 07867 672 787 / 07850 777 520 or E-Mail: LondonArmenianOpera@virginmedia.com.

 BADARAK COURSE: HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian continues offering a course on the theology and spirituality of our Divine Liturgy, Badarak, on Monday evenings. The course will now meet in Gulbenkian Hall, at 7:00pm, and is offered free of charge. Registered members will receive printed notes of each session. Make an effort to join us and ask all the questions you wanted to ask about this central celebration of our faith. Those interested to sign up for the course are requested to contact the Primate’s Office via e-mail or telephone: 0208 127 8364.

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: The Primate’s Office has prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (collected from different people and parish council members), which is published in a document accessible by clicking here. Please send your questions or comments to the Primate’s Office.

 BIBLE STUDY: Every Thursday at 7:00PM. Next session, 20 March in Syrian Orthodox Church.

The Primate’s Office, Hye Doon, 25 Cheniston Gardens, Kensington, London W8 6TG – 0208 127 8364 – primatesoffice@armenianchurch.co.uk