Armenian News...@...Documentary & NGM....PLUS SEVEN EDITORIALS...
National Geographic Magazine October 1915
http://mfa.am/u_files/file/National_Geographic_Magazine_October_1915.pdf
Documentary: The River Ran Red
Directed by J Michael Hagopian
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/4789/The-River-Ran-Red
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2015
Turkey's politicization of Gallipoli hurts national legacy
The Turkish government's move this year to invite political leaders
from around the world to commemorate World War I's Gallipoli Campaign
on April 24-25, a date chosen to compete with Armenia's centennial
commemoration of what they consider a genocide, has only served to
politicize the Gallipoli legacy, which should be a source of pride for
the Turkish nation.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has invited more than 100 heads of
state and prime ministers for the Gallipoli commemorations this year
but only about 50 have confirmed their attendance.
Turkey traditionally commemorates its fallen soldiers in the Gallipoli
Campaign -- also known as the Battle of Çanakkale -- on March 18. Only
two years ago, then-President Abdullah Gül marked the 98th anniversary
of the battle on that date. No one in Turkey at the time suggested
that it should be remembered on April 24. Turkey has commemorated the
battle -- one of the bloodiest of World War I -- on March 18 to
coincide with the day Britain started its bombardment of the
Dardanelles.
ErdoÄ?an said last week that participants will include the prime
ministers of Australia and New Zealand, whose forces sustained great
losses while fighting against the Ottoman army during the 1915-1916
campaign and who regularly attend commemoration ceremonies in Turkey,
as well as heads of state and prominent dignitaries from other
countries.
The change in date of this year's commemorations has been widely
perceived as a crude attempt to distract attention from Armenian
commemorations of the 1915 massacres and forced deportations which
decimated the Ottoman Armenian population, which Armenians -- who
consider the events of 1915 to constitute genocide -- commemorate on
April 24. `The game TR gov't is playing with Gallipoli ` politicising
it to compete with Armenian Genocide commemorations ` is utterly
disgusting, IMO [in my opinion],' Alex Christie-Miller, an
Ä°stanbul-based journalist working for The Times, Newsweek Europe and
the Christian Science Monitor, posted on his Twitter account on March
19.
ErdoÄ?an also invited Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to the
Gallipoli commemorations. Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said in
January that Turks and Armenians fought together at Gallipoli and that
is why Turkey has extended the invitation to Sarksyan. The Armenian
president immediately rejected the invitation by ErdoÄ?an in an open
letter, stressing that the invitation itself shows that Turkey
continues to pursue its `denial policy' of the Armenian `Genocide.'
Joost Lagendijk, a former Green Party deputy in the European
Parliament who also served as the co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee, also criticized Turkey's move to commemorate
the Gallipoli Campaign on the same day as the Armenian commemorations,
calling it a `shameless and all-too-transparent effort' to try and
distract attention from the Armenian `Genocide' in his Today's Zaman
column on March 17. Lagendijk said that shifting the 100th anniversary
of the Gallipoli Campaign to the same day `won't work and it will
unnecessarily discredit Turkey.'
Turkey's move also offended Turkish citizens of Armenian descent.
Speaking to Agos - -- a Turkish-Armenian weekly formerly edited by
murder victim Hrant Dink -- after ErdoÄ?an's invitation, many Turkish
citizens of Armenian descent reacted strongly to ErdoÄ?an's invitation
to Sarksyan, calling it a `joke' and an `ill-mannered' act, and
further criticizing it as a `political maneuver.'
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an
independent think tank in Yerevan, said the timing of the Gallipoli
invitation could not have been worse. In an email to Sunday's Zaman in
late January, Giragosian stated that ErdoÄ?an's move had triggered an
intense negative reaction in Armenia and tended to confirm the
perception of Turkey as an `insincere and unreliable interlocutor.'
Following Turkey's invitation, Sarksyan made a statement on Feb. 16
announcing that he had recalled the peace protocols that aim to
normalize ties and establish diplomatic relations with Turkey from the
Armenian parliament, saying that `the Turkish government distorts the
spirit and letter of the protocols, and continues its policy of
setting preconditions.'
During a conference in Yerevan this past week, Sarksyan said that
withdrawing the peace protocols from parliament does not mean that
Armenia is closing the window for normalization with Turkey.
`They were recalled from parliament, but I did not kill off those
protocols. ¦ This does not mean that we are closing the window for
rapprochement with Turkey,' Sarksyan said.
Armenia is preparing a large-scale commemoration of the 1915 events on
April 24 and has invited a number of leaders from around the world.
French President François Hollande and US President Barack Obama are
among those invited.
Armenians commemorate the mass killings every April 24 and Yerevan
often uses the anniversary as an opportunity to lobby Western
countries to acknowledge that the killings constitute genocide. Ankara
denies claims that the events of 1915 amount to genocide, arguing that
both Turks and Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against
the Ottoman Empire during World War I in collaboration with the
Russian army, which was then invading Eastern Anatolia.
TURKISH POLITICIANS HEAD TO WASHINGTON OVER WORRIES
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/4789/The-River-Ran-Red
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2015
Turkey's politicization of Gallipoli hurts national legacy
The Turkish government's move this year to invite political leaders
from around the world to commemorate World War I's Gallipoli Campaign
on April 24-25, a date chosen to compete with Armenia's centennial
commemoration of what they consider a genocide, has only served to
politicize the Gallipoli legacy, which should be a source of pride for
the Turkish nation.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has invited more than 100 heads of
state and prime ministers for the Gallipoli commemorations this year
but only about 50 have confirmed their attendance.
Turkey traditionally commemorates its fallen soldiers in the Gallipoli
Campaign -- also known as the Battle of Çanakkale -- on March 18. Only
two years ago, then-President Abdullah Gül marked the 98th anniversary
of the battle on that date. No one in Turkey at the time suggested
that it should be remembered on April 24. Turkey has commemorated the
battle -- one of the bloodiest of World War I -- on March 18 to
coincide with the day Britain started its bombardment of the
Dardanelles.
ErdoÄ?an said last week that participants will include the prime
ministers of Australia and New Zealand, whose forces sustained great
losses while fighting against the Ottoman army during the 1915-1916
campaign and who regularly attend commemoration ceremonies in Turkey,
as well as heads of state and prominent dignitaries from other
countries.
The change in date of this year's commemorations has been widely
perceived as a crude attempt to distract attention from Armenian
commemorations of the 1915 massacres and forced deportations which
decimated the Ottoman Armenian population, which Armenians -- who
consider the events of 1915 to constitute genocide -- commemorate on
April 24. `The game TR gov't is playing with Gallipoli ` politicising
it to compete with Armenian Genocide commemorations ` is utterly
disgusting, IMO [in my opinion],' Alex Christie-Miller, an
Ä°stanbul-based journalist working for The Times, Newsweek Europe and
the Christian Science Monitor, posted on his Twitter account on March
19.
ErdoÄ?an also invited Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to the
Gallipoli commemorations. Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said in
January that Turks and Armenians fought together at Gallipoli and that
is why Turkey has extended the invitation to Sarksyan. The Armenian
president immediately rejected the invitation by ErdoÄ?an in an open
letter, stressing that the invitation itself shows that Turkey
continues to pursue its `denial policy' of the Armenian `Genocide.'
Joost Lagendijk, a former Green Party deputy in the European
Parliament who also served as the co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee, also criticized Turkey's move to commemorate
the Gallipoli Campaign on the same day as the Armenian commemorations,
calling it a `shameless and all-too-transparent effort' to try and
distract attention from the Armenian `Genocide' in his Today's Zaman
column on March 17. Lagendijk said that shifting the 100th anniversary
of the Gallipoli Campaign to the same day `won't work and it will
unnecessarily discredit Turkey.'
Turkey's move also offended Turkish citizens of Armenian descent.
Speaking to Agos - -- a Turkish-Armenian weekly formerly edited by
murder victim Hrant Dink -- after ErdoÄ?an's invitation, many Turkish
citizens of Armenian descent reacted strongly to ErdoÄ?an's invitation
to Sarksyan, calling it a `joke' and an `ill-mannered' act, and
further criticizing it as a `political maneuver.'
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an
independent think tank in Yerevan, said the timing of the Gallipoli
invitation could not have been worse. In an email to Sunday's Zaman in
late January, Giragosian stated that ErdoÄ?an's move had triggered an
intense negative reaction in Armenia and tended to confirm the
perception of Turkey as an `insincere and unreliable interlocutor.'
Following Turkey's invitation, Sarksyan made a statement on Feb. 16
announcing that he had recalled the peace protocols that aim to
normalize ties and establish diplomatic relations with Turkey from the
Armenian parliament, saying that `the Turkish government distorts the
spirit and letter of the protocols, and continues its policy of
setting preconditions.'
During a conference in Yerevan this past week, Sarksyan said that
withdrawing the peace protocols from parliament does not mean that
Armenia is closing the window for normalization with Turkey.
`They were recalled from parliament, but I did not kill off those
protocols. ¦ This does not mean that we are closing the window for
rapprochement with Turkey,' Sarksyan said.
Armenia is preparing a large-scale commemoration of the 1915 events on
April 24 and has invited a number of leaders from around the world.
French President François Hollande and US President Barack Obama are
among those invited.
Armenians commemorate the mass killings every April 24 and Yerevan
often uses the anniversary as an opportunity to lobby Western
countries to acknowledge that the killings constitute genocide. Ankara
denies claims that the events of 1915 amount to genocide, arguing that
both Turks and Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against
the Ottoman Empire during World War I in collaboration with the
Russian army, which was then invading Eastern Anatolia.
TURKISH POLITICIANS HEAD TO WASHINGTON OVER WORRIES
ABOUT ARMENIAN RESOLUTION
Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 24 2015
Worried about a draft resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives
that recognizes the 1915 killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide,
a group of Turkish politicians have set out for Washington to ensure
that the resolution does not pass.
Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek arrived in Washington and is expected
to meet his counterpart at the House of Representatives on March 25.
Foreign Minister Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu will also visit Washington
before April 24, the traditional international commemoration day
of the tragedy. Ankara and Washington have agreed on the visit,
but are still working on a suitable date in April, Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said.
The draft resolution is backed by congressmen such as Illinois
Republican representative Robert Dold, California Democratic
representatives David Paladao and Adam Schiff, and New Jersey
Democratic representative Frank Pallone.
The draft resolution, which calls on the U.S. president to recognize
the 1915 killings as a genocide, will initially be discussed and
voted on at the Foreign Relations Committee, and can be brought to
the House on the initiative of Speaker John Boehner.
Forty-six members of congress currently support the draft resolution.
In the past, similar resolutions have been passed by the Foreign
Affairs Committee, but the speaker has prevented a vote from being
held on the House floor.
armenianow.com
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS: TER-PETROSYAN REITERATES
Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 24 2015
Worried about a draft resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives
that recognizes the 1915 killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide,
a group of Turkish politicians have set out for Washington to ensure
that the resolution does not pass.
Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek arrived in Washington and is expected
to meet his counterpart at the House of Representatives on March 25.
Foreign Minister Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu will also visit Washington
before April 24, the traditional international commemoration day
of the tragedy. Ankara and Washington have agreed on the visit,
but are still working on a suitable date in April, Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said.
The draft resolution is backed by congressmen such as Illinois
Republican representative Robert Dold, California Democratic
representatives David Paladao and Adam Schiff, and New Jersey
Democratic representative Frank Pallone.
The draft resolution, which calls on the U.S. president to recognize
the 1915 killings as a genocide, will initially be discussed and
voted on at the Foreign Relations Committee, and can be brought to
the House on the initiative of Speaker John Boehner.
Forty-six members of congress currently support the draft resolution.
In the past, similar resolutions have been passed by the Foreign
Affairs Committee, but the speaker has prevented a vote from being
held on the House floor.
armenianow.com
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS: TER-PETROSYAN REITERATES
CRITICISM OVER GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL DECLARATION
23.03.15
Opposition Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
continues to criticize the adoption of the Pan-Armenian Declaration
on the occasion of the approaching Genocide Centennial.
In an article published in the Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspaper late
last week Ter-Petrosyan, who led Armenia as president in 1991-1998, for
the third time in less than two months drew the Armenian government's
attention to "threats present in this document."
"I have no doubts that these threats will beget serious problems for
Armenia in the near future," he said in the piece entitled "A Voice
in the Wilderness".
In his previous article followed by an open letter to President Serzh
Sargsyan in February Ter-Petrosyan also warned that legal claims set
out as a policy in the recently adopted Pan-Armenian Declaration
on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will affect the
process of Armenian-Turkish normalization.
The 12-point Declaration promulgated by the State Commission on
Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on January 29, in particular,
expresses "the united will of Armenia and the Armenian people to
achieve worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the
elimination of the consequences of the Genocide, preparing to this
end a file of legal claims as a point of departure in the process of
restoring individual, communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate
interests."
In his latest article Ter-Petrosyan again contended that the
Pan-Armenian Declaration does not aim to solve neither of the two
"vital" political problems facing Armenia - normalization with Turkey
and settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, he wrote, it will only inevitably cause new obstacles
in the matter of overcoming these problems.
"This document written in the confrontational spirit will make Turkey
assume a tougher position towards Armenia both in the matter of
Armenian-Turkish normalization and in the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict," Ter-Petrosyan claimed. "And this, at best, means preserving
the status quo with all the negative consequences for Armenia and
Karabakh, including economic decline, dwindling investments, political
isolation, growing emigration, etc.."
23.03.15
Opposition Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
continues to criticize the adoption of the Pan-Armenian Declaration
on the occasion of the approaching Genocide Centennial.
In an article published in the Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspaper late
last week Ter-Petrosyan, who led Armenia as president in 1991-1998, for
the third time in less than two months drew the Armenian government's
attention to "threats present in this document."
"I have no doubts that these threats will beget serious problems for
Armenia in the near future," he said in the piece entitled "A Voice
in the Wilderness".
In his previous article followed by an open letter to President Serzh
Sargsyan in February Ter-Petrosyan also warned that legal claims set
out as a policy in the recently adopted Pan-Armenian Declaration
on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will affect the
process of Armenian-Turkish normalization.
The 12-point Declaration promulgated by the State Commission on
Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on January 29, in particular,
expresses "the united will of Armenia and the Armenian people to
achieve worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the
elimination of the consequences of the Genocide, preparing to this
end a file of legal claims as a point of departure in the process of
restoring individual, communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate
interests."
In his latest article Ter-Petrosyan again contended that the
Pan-Armenian Declaration does not aim to solve neither of the two
"vital" political problems facing Armenia - normalization with Turkey
and settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, he wrote, it will only inevitably cause new obstacles
in the matter of overcoming these problems.
"This document written in the confrontational spirit will make Turkey
assume a tougher position towards Armenia both in the matter of
Armenian-Turkish normalization and in the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict," Ter-Petrosyan claimed. "And this, at best, means preserving
the status quo with all the negative consequences for Armenia and
Karabakh, including economic decline, dwindling investments, political
isolation, growing emigration, etc.."
armenpress.am
THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA RECOGNIZES THE GREEK AND
ASSYRIAN GENOCIDE: EDUARD SHARMAZANOV
23 March, 2015
YEREVAN, 23 MARCH. The declaration of the National Assembly
"On the Genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians Perpetrated by Ottoman
Turkey between 1915 and 1923" means that the Republic of Armenia
recognizes the Greek and Assyrian genocide.
This is what Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov said in response to Deputy of the faction
of the Republican Party of Armenia of the National Assembly Koryun
Nahapetyan. "We have chosen to adopt a declaration because the National
Assembly of Armenia adopts declarations in very important cases. In
this case, we proposed, discussed and came to the conclusion that
the adoption of a declaration would be more appropriate because it's
not every day that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
adopts a declaration. In this sense, by submitting the draft as a
declaration on condemnation, we want to show society and our Greek
and Assyrian brothers and sisters and the international community
that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and all the
political forces attach importance to condemnation of the genocide
perpetrated against the Greeks and Assyrians," Sharmazanov
23 March, 2015
YEREVAN, 23 MARCH. The declaration of the National Assembly
"On the Genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians Perpetrated by Ottoman
Turkey between 1915 and 1923" means that the Republic of Armenia
recognizes the Greek and Assyrian genocide.
This is what Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov said in response to Deputy of the faction
of the Republican Party of Armenia of the National Assembly Koryun
Nahapetyan. "We have chosen to adopt a declaration because the National
Assembly of Armenia adopts declarations in very important cases. In
this case, we proposed, discussed and came to the conclusion that
the adoption of a declaration would be more appropriate because it's
not every day that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
adopts a declaration. In this sense, by submitting the draft as a
declaration on condemnation, we want to show society and our Greek
and Assyrian brothers and sisters and the international community
that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and all the
political forces attach importance to condemnation of the genocide
perpetrated against the Greeks and Assyrians," Sharmazanov
underscored, as "Armenpress" reports.
armradio.am
CYPRUS PRESIDENT CONFIRMS PARTICIPATION IN ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL EVENTS
24 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades will visit
Armenia April 23-25, Press Office of Vartkes Mahdessian, Member of
the Cyprus House of Representatives, informs.
According to the source, "Nicos Anastasiades has accepted the official
invitation of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
to visit Armenia from 23 to 25 April to attend the Armenian Genocide
centennial commemoration events to be held in Yerevan and confirm
the support of the Government of Cyprus to the Armenian people."
armenpress.am
INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITIES TO READ TESTIMONIES OF
24 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades will visit
Armenia April 23-25, Press Office of Vartkes Mahdessian, Member of
the Cyprus House of Representatives, informs.
According to the source, "Nicos Anastasiades has accepted the official
invitation of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
to visit Armenia from 23 to 25 April to attend the Armenian Genocide
centennial commemoration events to be held in Yerevan and confirm
the support of the Government of Cyprus to the Armenian people."
armenpress.am
INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITIES TO READ TESTIMONIES OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EYEWITNESSES FOR 100 SECONDS
23 March, 2015
YEREVAN, 23 MARCH. The dissemination of individual stories
about the Armenian Genocide is of special significance in the context
of commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Those
stories show how every Armenian village, family and community was
subject to the crime.
This is what Secretary of the State Commission on Coordination of
the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic
of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan said during an event marking the launch of
the project called "100 Seconds", which is carried out by MediaMax
and VivaCell-MTS.
The presentation of the project based on eyewitness accounts of the
Armenian Genocide released by the National Archives of Armenia was
held at Komitas Museum-Institute on March 23. Various renowned people
from different countries, including actors, writers, musicians and
others have been offered to read excerpts from those testimonies for
100 seconds. There are 24 video clips, which will be shown every day
until April 23rd.
Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic of Armenia Vigen
Sargsyan mentioned that the commemoration of the centennial of the
Armenian Genocide is hinged on four pillars, including remembrance,
gratitude, international struggle and renaissance.
"The main goal of the project is to draw the attention of mankind to
the horrible sufferings that the Armenians underwent a century ago.
It's not easy to read and listen to those testimonies, but the more
people are shocked by what they hear, the greater the likelihood
that they will do everything they can to prevent future genocides,"
Director of MediaMax Ara Tadevosyan said.
General sponsor of the "100 Seconds" project, General Director of
VivaCell-MTS Ralph Yirikian says the project is a message to the
civilized world to remember and condemn the Armenian Genocide.
TURKEY: NO BELLS RING TO MARK 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF
23 March, 2015
YEREVAN, 23 MARCH. The dissemination of individual stories
about the Armenian Genocide is of special significance in the context
of commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Those
stories show how every Armenian village, family and community was
subject to the crime.
This is what Secretary of the State Commission on Coordination of
the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic
of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan said during an event marking the launch of
the project called "100 Seconds", which is carried out by MediaMax
and VivaCell-MTS.
The presentation of the project based on eyewitness accounts of the
Armenian Genocide released by the National Archives of Armenia was
held at Komitas Museum-Institute on March 23. Various renowned people
from different countries, including actors, writers, musicians and
others have been offered to read excerpts from those testimonies for
100 seconds. There are 24 video clips, which will be shown every day
until April 23rd.
Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic of Armenia Vigen
Sargsyan mentioned that the commemoration of the centennial of the
Armenian Genocide is hinged on four pillars, including remembrance,
gratitude, international struggle and renaissance.
"The main goal of the project is to draw the attention of mankind to
the horrible sufferings that the Armenians underwent a century ago.
It's not easy to read and listen to those testimonies, but the more
people are shocked by what they hear, the greater the likelihood
that they will do everything they can to prevent future genocides,"
Director of MediaMax Ara Tadevosyan said.
General sponsor of the "100 Seconds" project, General Director of
VivaCell-MTS Ralph Yirikian says the project is a message to the
civilized world to remember and condemn the Armenian Genocide.
TURKEY: NO BELLS RING TO MARK 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Independent Catholic News
March 24 2015
Armenian churches around the world began ringing their bells at 19.15
yesterday - the hour chosen to symbolically recall the year 1915 -
and in this way commemorate the eve of the hundredth anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. The initiative, proposed by Patriarch Karekin
II, united Armenian communities around the world.
But there was one notable exception. The churches of the Armenian
Patriarchate of Constantinople, throughout the Turkish territory did
not participate in the event.
The bilingual Armenian weekly newspapers in Istanbul reported that
Archbishop Aram Ateshian, current General Vicar of the Patriarchate,
said that the Armenian communities will simply mark the anniversary
with Requiem Masses and prayers, but without the hundred ringing of
the church bells.
The current Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople is still formally
Patriarch Mesrob II, but he has been suffering from a serious illness
for the past seven years and unable to carry out his duties - which
are being taken care of by Archbishop Aram Ateshian.
The Armenian Apostolic community of Turkey is discussing his possible
succession. Some are calling for the election of a Co-Patriarch with
full functions, who could assume leadership of the Patriarchate.
Independent Catholic News
March 24 2015
Armenian churches around the world began ringing their bells at 19.15
yesterday - the hour chosen to symbolically recall the year 1915 -
and in this way commemorate the eve of the hundredth anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. The initiative, proposed by Patriarch Karekin
II, united Armenian communities around the world.
But there was one notable exception. The churches of the Armenian
Patriarchate of Constantinople, throughout the Turkish territory did
not participate in the event.
The bilingual Armenian weekly newspapers in Istanbul reported that
Archbishop Aram Ateshian, current General Vicar of the Patriarchate,
said that the Armenian communities will simply mark the anniversary
with Requiem Masses and prayers, but without the hundred ringing of
the church bells.
The current Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople is still formally
Patriarch Mesrob II, but he has been suffering from a serious illness
for the past seven years and unable to carry out his duties - which
are being taken care of by Archbishop Aram Ateshian.
The Armenian Apostolic community of Turkey is discussing his possible
succession. Some are calling for the election of a Co-Patriarch with
full functions, who could assume leadership of the Patriarchate.
No comments:
Post a Comment