DIOCESE OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - Issue 18 - Volume 5

ԱՌԱՋՆՈՐԴՈՒԹԻՒՆ.ՀԱՅՈՑ.ՄԵԾՆ.ԲՐԻԴԱՆԻՈՅ.ԵՒ.ԻՐԼԱՆՏԱՅԻ  Տ. Վահան.Եպս..Յովհաննէսեան,.Հայրապետական.Պատուիրակ.եւ.Առաջնորդ The Right Revd Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate and Pontifical Legate

4 May, 2014

PRIMATE CELEBRATE BADARAK AT ST LEON’S IN LOS ANGELES By the invitation of His Eminence Abp Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, HG, Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, was the guest celebrant and homilist at the Armenian Cathedral of Sts Leons in Burbank, California. At the conclusion of the Badarak, His Eminence welcomed and introduced Bishop Vahan to the congregation to deliver the sermon which focused on John 3:3,

‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless

one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Elaborating on this biblical verse, Bp

Vahan stated, ‘every human being experiences the first birth, that of the flesh. However, only we,

Christians, go through the second birth which is when we commit ourselves to living the Gospel

of Jesus Christ, giving birth to a new person within us, renewed by faith.’ Following the

celebration of Badarak a reception was organised to welcome Bp Vahan. During his visit to Los

Angeles, Srpazan met with Abp Derderian several times to discuss diocesan matters of concern.

HELP US MAINTAIN EASTERTIDE ARMENIAN ANCIENT PRACTICE One of the beautiful Armenian traditions that our people have maintained for centuries is the priest’s blessings of Armenian homes on major feast days such as Nativity, Easter, and other. This practice finds its roots in the biblical teachings where our Lord instructed the Apostles to visit the people and teach them the message of the Gospel, bringing the joy and peace of the Lord. ‘I remember in my childhood years’ says Bp Vahan, ‘families joyfully anticipated the arrival of the priest any time after the Easter Badarak, to bring the blessing of the miracle of resurrection to our family members.’ Here in the Armenian Diocese of the UK and Ireland, we want to maintain this sacred practice. In addition to the spiritual aspects of this pastoral visit, House blessings are great opportunities for the clergy to meet the flock and for the faithful to get to know more about the Armenian Church and be involved. The visit and the blessing take roughly 10 minutes. To schedule a meeting contact your local pastor of the Primate’s Office.

HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGE ORIENTATION AND REUNION

The Primate’s Office is happy to announce the scheduling of the second 2014 Holy Land Pilgrimage Orientation on Wednesday, 28 May at 7:00pm. During this orientation session, the finalized schedule will be distributed and discussed as well as the Pilgrimage Booklet. The pilgrims will also get to discuss the details of the transportation arrangements locally and the lodging hotels. This will be the fourth annual pilgrimage organised by the Primate’s Office of the Armenian Church and funded by the Armenian Church Trust of the United Kingdom (ACTUK). The Primate has appointed a Pilgrimage Committee to help the Primate coordinate future pilgrimages. The Pilgrimage committee will be reporting directly to the Primate and ACTUK, to prepare and facilitate future Pilgrimages. The forthcoming Orientation will also be a Reunion of those who participated in the previous pilgrimages. All are welcome to attend.

Bethlehem 2012

DEACONS’ TRAINING PROGRAMME: EXAM & ORDINATION

Mark your calendar and join us on Sunday, 11 May, 2014, at the St Yeghiche Church, when HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate, will ordain several members of the Deacons’ Training Programme to the sacred rank of Subdeacon (Gisasargavak - Kisasarkauag). Meanwhile candidates from the Deacons’ Training Programme will undergo a day-long retreat with the clergy and senior deacons on Saturday 10 May. During the retreat the candidates will go through written and oral tests examining their knowledge of the liturgy and theology of the Armenian Church. The ordination service will take place during the celebration of the Badarak on Sunday, the 11th of May, which will be celebrated by His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate. The candidates of the ordination have been part of the Deacons’ Training Programme launched by the Primate in 2010,and have been serving in the various churches of our diocese since then. Make every effort to join us and be part of this historic event in the life of our Diocese.

Deacons’ Training Session at St Sarkis

BUSY WEEKEND IN DUBLIN

26-27 April was a very active weekend for the Armenian Church Parish of Dublin. The activities started on Saturday, 26 April, with greeting Fr Garegin Hambardzumyan in Dublin on his first visit to our Parish. We were also blessed to welcome our visitors from the Armenian Church Parish of Wales, including Canon Patrick Thomas, John Torosyan, Chairman, Dr Ara Kanekanian, Treasurer, and others. In the evening, our guests were invited for diner with Abp Michael Jackson & his wife, Fr Garegin, Canon Robert Warren & his wife, Canon Desmond Sinnamon & his wife, Canon Patrick Thomas and all our visitors from Cardiff at the Fire Restaurant. A joint Church Service, English and Armenian, was offered on Sunday, at Taney Church. Fr Garegin and Canon Robert led the service which ended with an inspiring talk on the Genocide by Canon Patrick. Lunch in the main hall of Taney Centre followed. Fr Garegin and Canon cut a cake specially made for this occasion. On the same day, Fr Garegin visit 3 classes of St Hripsimeh Armenian Sunday school and talk to the kids.

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Taney Parish Dublin

ARMENIAN CROSSES - THE ARMENIAN GIFT SHOP ONLINE

One pf the articles in the growing collection of the Armenian Gift Shop (armeniangiftshop.org) are

Armenian style crosses made of olive tree wood. These beautiful Armenian style wooden

crosses are hand carved in Armenia. It comes with the thread that enables the cross to be worn as

a necklace as well. . You can learn more about these and other crosses by visiting the website of

the newly launched project of the Armenian Church Trust UK (ACTUK):

www.armeniangiftshop.org. The online gift shop already includes an impressive number of

Armenian articles including Armenian Church religious artifacts, CDs, DVDs, books, and gifts.

The Armenian Gift Shop has established ties with several major Armenian Church centres around

the world to secure the latest products in the fields of Armenian culture, identity, history, the Genocide and religion. You can order any item, which interests you to purchase online, and it

ARMENIAN PAVILION IN LONDON – A SMASHING SUCCESS

‘The publishing world descended on London from April 8th to 10th with exhibitors from around the world discussing and negotiating contracts on a global scale and for the second consecutive year, the Armenians were represented in a unique formula under the banner of the Armenian Pavilion incorporating authors and publishers from Armenia and the Diaspora.. After a difficult start to this journey and with no funds allocated, it required imagination, coordination and the fortitude to see the bigger picture. The Armenian Pavilion would not have been repeated, were it not for the generosity of Mr. Raffi Tanielian and his sister Nyree who funded a very large proportion of the project. The Tanielian family have supported many projects in the British Armenian community and to whom a debt of gratitude is certainly owed. With contributions also ...

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:  VOLUNTEERS FOR ASF: Those interested to volunteer for the 2014 Armenian Street Festival are encouraged to

contact the Festival committee by e-mailing: festival@armenianchurch.co.uk/  BADARAK COURSE: HG Bp Vahan Hovhanessian will resume offering his talks on the theology and spirituality of

our Divine Liturgy, Badarak, on Monday evening, 12 May, 2014 in Gulbenkian Hall, at 7:00pm.  BIBLE STUDY: Every Thursday at 7:00PM. Next session, Thursday, 8 May in Nevart Gulbenkian Hall.  PLEASE SUPPORT THE PRIMATE’S OFFICE by clicking here

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