Issue14,Volume 5 5.April,2014 - ԱՌԱՋՆՈՐԴՈՒԹԻՒՆ.ՀԱՅՈՑ.ՄԵԾՆ.ԲՐԻԴԱՆԻՈՅ.ԵՒ.ԻՐԼԱՆՏԱՅԻ DIOCESE OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Տ.Վահան.Եպս..Յ ովհաննէսեան,.Հայ րապետական.Պատուիրակ.եւ.Առաջ նորդ The Right Revd Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate and Pontifical Legate

TRADITIONAL LENTEN PRAYER IN DUBLIN

On Sunday, 30 April, HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, visited the Armenian community in Dublin. The day started with a house visitation and blessing followed by the traditional Lenten Service in Taney Parish Church. Assisting at the servicewere Deacon Artur (Holy Trinity Church) and Tubeer Hovik (St Sarkis Church). During the sermon Srpazan reflected upon the importance of designing our own daily prayer discipline, emphasizing that prayer is, in the words of St Nersess the Graceful, conversation with God from the depths of our hearts. Following church services the over 100 people present were invited to a Lenten Lunch courtesy of the Parish Council. At the end of Lunch, His Grace entertained questions from the faithful regarding the various ministries and programmes of the Primate’s Office, including the forthcoming pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Meanwhile, Deacon Artur led another deacons’ training session in Dublin with three talented candidates for altar servers. God bless you all.

SPECIAL REQUIEM FOR THE LATE PATRIARCH

HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, represented the Armenian Church at the special requiem for the soul of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, at the St Thomas Cathedral in London, on Saturday, 5 April, 2014. The service was part of a Divine Liturgy celebrated on this occasion by His Eminence Abp Athanasius Toma Dawood, Primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the UK. Following Church services, HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian was invited to deliver a speech on behalf of the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK and Ireland. ‘We are gathered to celebrate,’ said His Grace, ‘the memory and achievements of a contemporary pillar of Christianity and a leader of the Orthodox world’ Following the programme the guest and dignitaries were invited to a reception in the diocesan hall. Present at the requiem and the reception were leaders of the sister churches and other religions.

PRIMATE DISCUSSES CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ON RADIO

.Dr Harry Hagopian is an EU-based 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 is also the ad hoc Ecumenical Advisor to Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate.

On Thursday, 24 April, at 10 PM, and as part of the commemorative events for the anniversary

of the Armenian genocide, our Primate, The Right Reverend Dr Vahan Hovhanessian, has been

invited by Dr Harry Hagopian as the special guest on the MENA Analysis monthly radio

programme at Premier Radio in order to discuss the theme of genocide. The Primate’s Office

will publish more information as soon as they become available. Premier Radio reaches out to

tens of thousands of listeners, and you can find out more, as well as read Dr Hagopian’s MENA-

friendly and ecumenical monthly blogs, on www.premier.org.uk/mena

UPDATES FROM THE OXFORD MISSION PARISH

On Friday, March 21st, by the blessing of H.G. Bp. Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, the Mission

Parish Council of Oxford had its initial meeting. Presiding over the meeting was V. Rev. Fr.

Garegin Hambardzumyan, visiting pastor of the parish. Following the opening prayer an election

for various duties within the council took place. The duties will be shared as follows: Mr.

VahagnAslanyan, Chariman, Mss. AniNersisyan, Vice-chairman, Mr. David Zakarian, treasurer

and Mrs. Marianna Asatryan, secretary. It was decided that the mission parish will be closely co-

operating with the Oxford Armenian Society and the Armenian Department of the University.

Apart from this a few activities have been scheduled for the coming months. The first activity

will be the joint celebration of Easter Eve Eucharist with the sister parish in Birmingham, on

Saturday, March 19th at 5pm. The Oxford Armenian Choir will be singing during the festive

celebration of Badarak! If you live in or around Birmingham, please join us!Click here for video. .

PALM SUNDAY AND BLESSING OF CHILDREN IN THE CHURCH

Sunday, April 13 is Palm Sunday. Armenians will join Christians around the world celebrating the Triumphant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. In all Armenian Churches in the UK Badarak will be celebrated with open curtain, and our clergy will reflect upon the importance of this event for us. Several years ago Palm Sunday was declared by the Armenian Church also as a day for the blessing of children. On this occasion a special blessing of the children service will be offered in our churches. Please contact your local church for the details and schedule. Bp Vahan will celebrate Palm Sunday Badarak and the blessing of the Church services in the ‘Old Church Rooms’ Church (Park Road, Radyr CF15 8DF), Wales. Fr. Garegin, will preside over the same services at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Manchester, this Sunday, April 13th, straight after Badarak. V Revd Fr Aren in St Yeghiche and Revd Fr Shnork in St Sarkis.So, bring your children and join us for this beautiful celebration!!!

PRE-EASTER DINNER AND SOCIAL

The AGBU Young Professionals’ (YP) London Pre-Easter Dinner and Social is only a few days away. Our events have been exceptionally well-received in the past and we look forward to making this event a great success with you. We have planned a wonderful evening of celebration, exclusive food in a company of good friends and music to suit all tastes. We have also exclusively reserved an elegant venue in the heart of Kensington and Chelsea from 6pm on Saturday until the early hours on Sunday. We hope you will be able to join us and look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Date: Saturday, 12 April 2014; Time: 18:00 - 02:00; Venue: Pavillion Bar and Restaurant, Regency Hotel, 100 Queens Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5AG; Tickets: £30 for a 3-course meal (No VAT or service charge), 6pm to 2am access Registration, Facebook Page.

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ARMANIA BANQUET AT SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE – SUNDAY ONLY

The Armenian Institute and the Swan Restaurant present an Armenian Banquet to precede ARMANIA, the Troubadour Evening in the Sam Wanamaker Theatre, only on 13 April 2014 at 5.30pm. Chefs of the famous Swan Restaurant are collaborating with Nouritza Matossian, Director of the Armenian Institute, to recreate mouth-watering dishes from the six provinces of historic Armenia. A unique opportunity to enjoy the splendour of mediaeval feasts with which the Kings and Queens of Armenia entertained European Kings and Princes of the Crusades in the first Christian Kingdom of Europe. Diners in the Balcony Room and the Swan Bar Restaurant of the Globe Theatre overlooking the Thames will be served on anespecially themed banqueting tables. Banquet booking essential only from the Armenian Institute website at or write to info@armenianinstitute.org.uk or call 02079383336.Online flyer

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 PALM SUNDAY – CARDIFF MPC: His Grace Bp Vahan Hovhanessian will be celebrating Badarak, Divine Liturgy at the ‘Old Church Rooms’ Church, Park Road, Radyr CF15 8DF. Badarak will start at 11:00am followed by a special service of the blessing of the children. Church services will follow by a lecture on the Badarak and lunch.

 BADARAK COURSE: HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian continues offering a course on the theology and spirituality of our Div ine Liturgy, Badara k, on Monday evenings , in Gu lbenkian Ha ll, at 7:00p m.

 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.

 BIBLESTUDY: Every Thursday at 7:00PM. Next session, 10 April in Nevart Gulbenkian Hall  PRIMATE’S OFFICE HOURS:Tuesday through Friday, 9:00amto 2:00pm.  ARMENIAN STREET FESTIVAL: Join us on Sunday, 3 August, 2014 for a day of celebration, food and fun.

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