Orange County’s ‘Project Renovation’ Raises Over $500,000

March 17, 2015 By administrator

The Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church Renovation Committee

SANTA ANA, Calif.—The Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church in Orange County has announced and began a large scale renovation of its outdoor campus, hall, conference center and church. The comprehensive plan includes a four phased process whereby fundraising and construction run parallel with the ultimate objective to improve the safety and appearance of the entire complex. “The goal is not only to improve the church and hall structure, but rather to rejuvenate the entire community,” said renovation committee chairman Harout Guldjian.

Upon announcing the project and fundraising efforts, the support from the Orange County Armenian community has been overwhelming including, among various other large donations, $150,000 from Julian and Aleen Movsesian, $100,000 from Levon and Zarouhi Gugasian, $50,000 from Diko and Peggy Sulahian, $40,000 from Bedig and Maro Fermanian and $25,000 from George and Siroon Gemeyal.

On February 8, 2015, the kick-off launch dinner at 21 Oceanfront hosted by the Gugasians was a major success raising over $175,000.

The committee has thus far raised over $500,000 and set its aim high at $1M. The project’s gala / awards ceremony is slated for March 22, 2015 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California with an expected attendance of 500 people. This gala is a combined effort with Ari Guiragos Minassian School with support from a united community. If you would like to learn more or participate, please contact the church office at (714) 839-7729.

The Armenian Church of Osaka in Japan

February 26, 2015 By administrator

The Armenian Church of Osaka in Japan

Armenian church in Osaka, Japan by Sako Tchilingirian on Flickr

Armenian Church could canonise 1.5 million victims of Armenian Genocide

February 5, 2015 By administrator

Ruth Gledhill 05 February 2015

In what could stand as the biggest saint-making service in history, the Armenian Church is preparing to canonise up to 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide in one go.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is to mark the 100th anniversary of the atrocity, which saw Turkey stripped of its Armenian population in 1915, with a liturgy on April 23 at the Patriarchal See of the Catholicosate in Echmiadzin Cathedral, the extraordinarily beautiful mother church of the denomination at Vagharshapat in Armenia.

The announcement was made during a press conference held on 3 February at the Patriarchal See.

Patriarch Karekin said in a statement: “The Armenian Church does not sanctify. It recognizes the sanctity of saints or of those people that is already common among people or has been shown with evidence. The Church recognizes only what happened, that is, the genocide”.

The decision to recognise the victims of the genocide as saints was made in September 2013, during a meeting at Echmiadzin.

In the liturgy on the April 23 the Psalm “martyrs of April”, composed by the late Bishop Zareh Aznavourian, will be used as the psalm for the canonization. The canonization will be attended by heads of sister Oriental Churches and delegations of other Churches.

Soon after he became Pope in 2013, Pope Francis canonised 800 martyrs killed in the 15th century by Ottoman Turks for refusing to convert to Islam known as the “martyrs of Otranto”.

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith wrote in The Catholic Herald this week of how on April 24 1915 the Ottoman government began to arrest and deport Armenians who had been living in Anatolia “from time immemorial”.

The organised campaign of arrest, deportation, massacre and extermination led to the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians. “It is for this reason that visitors to Turkey today will find plenty of Armenian history but no actual Armenian people, or at least very few.”

He added: “The Armenian genocide is commemorated all over the world, but not in Turkey and not much in Britain, which studiously avoids mentioning the genocide in order not to jeopardise relations with Turkey.”

He cited Hitler’s view of the Armenian genocide: “Our strength is our quickness and our brutality… Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?”

Source: christiantoday.com

Historic Cemetery Returned to Armenians in Istanbul

February 4, 2015 By administrator

ISTANBUL—The Armenian community of Turkey has won a legal battle for the ownership of a historic cemetery in Istanbul in the latest success story for the return of properties seized from minorities in the wake of legal amendments, the Daily Sabah reports.

The Turkish Prime Ministry’s Directorate General of Foundations, which oversees properties belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, has handed over the title deed for an ancient Armenian cemetery in Istanbul’s central Şişli district to an Armenian church organization.

Following new laws requiring the return of properties to their rightful owners, Beyoğlu Üç Horan (Yerrortutyun or Trinity) Church Foundation had applied to the Directorate in 2011 for the ownership of the cemetery. After four years and a settlement of legal matters, the Directorate granted ownership to the foundation for the cemetery, which covers some 41,950 square meters in the heart of Istanbul.

The cemetery’s history dates back to the 19th century in which a Sultan’s decree ordered its handover to the Armenian community. In the 1930s, its ownership was transferred to the Istanbul Municipality. Yet, Armenian families were allowed to bury their deceased next of kin in the cemetery even though they had no official deeds for the plots.

Among the cemetery’s notable occupants are Arman Manukyan, a notable professor of economy from Boğaziçi University, opera singer Toto Karaca, composer Onno Tunç, Armenian patriarchs, and Armenian lawmaker Berç Keresteciyan Türker, who is known for his contributions to the Turkish War of Independence.

The place is the latest property that the Armenian community has obtained back after their confiscation by the state. In 2012, the Directorate General of Foundations had returned the title deed of the Armenian Catholic Cemetery in Şişli to the community and a valuable plot in Zeytinburnu district to Yedikule Surp Pergich Hospital Foundation.

Foundations set up by non-Muslim minorities were granted the right to acquire properties in 1912 but a new law in 1935 ordered them to declare the properties they owned and register their title deeds. In 1936, a list of entire properties owned by minorities was handed to the Directorate General of Foundations and minorities were prevented from acquiring any property other than those in the list, thanks to an unofficial ban that was viewed as the state’s hostility towards minorities who were treated as “second-class” citizens. In 1976, the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals had effectively enforced the ban and also ordered the return of properties minorities had acquired until that year. Soon, countless plots and buildings, especially in upscale districts of Istanbul, were handed to the Treasury after their seizure from Greek and Armenian communities.

Markar Esayan, a columnist for Daily Sabah, says minorities have suffered from “illegal policies” of the state-run foundations authority that exploited legal loopholes. “Until [2008], they suffered at the hands of fascistic measures,” he says, referring to the year that an amendment in the relevant laws “helped the state to repair its past mistakes.”

“Laws in the past dealt a blow to the self-sustainability of the churches whose survival solely depended on schools, hospitals and other sources of revenues,” Esayan says. He noted that a series of decrees helped minorities to regain their rights in terms of return of properties. “Currently, properties returned constitute 10 percent of the total properties supposed to be returned. Nevertheless, it is a very important, democratic step that the state stopped seeing minorities as enemies,” Esayan says. He said that minorities complain of several technical shortcomings in laws regarding church foundations that sometimes complicate the procedure of returning the properties. “The rate of returns is not sufficient. Yet, what matters more now is a change in the mindset, a very radical change (in the view of minorities by the state),” he says.

Associate Professor Toros Alcan, chairman of Armenian community’s Surp Haç Tibrevank Foundation and board member of Directorate General of Foundations, says the return of properties was “what the minorities yearned for decades.” “I can safely say on behalf of minorities that we are very happy with decisions to return the properties,” Alcan says. He said what then prime minister and incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once said, “It is not a blessing by the state for minorities but rather a resumption of their rights.”

Armenian church in Turkey’s Izmir turned into stable

January 21, 2015 By administrator

The Armenian church of Turkish city Izmir is now used as a stable. Moreover, the local residents, who bring their horses and cows here, complained about the drug addicts and drunkards who have turned the construction into a den.

Turkish newspaper Milliyet reports that the Armenian Gregorian church is located in the Menemen district of Izmir. It is supposed to be a 19th century building, although no record of that has been preserved. The church is now in a miserable state and is filled with manure and other contamination.

The locals complain that the area has become a place for dangerous drug addicts and drunkards. It is under supervision of the police, the children cannot play there quietly, as strangers walk around the church.

One of the inhabitants of the district, Nurten Yelmaz, said that this is an Armenian historical church. “Unfortunately, Turkey does not give much significance to historical buildings. One should stand up for spiritual values, regardless of one’s religion. There are very few building like this remained. This historical building has become a stable now. We must stand up for these places”.

The building served as a church until 1922. When the Turkish army entered Izmir, burned it and massacred the Greek and Armenian population, the church was abandoned. Until recently it was used as a military warehouse, but now it is empty. Three years ago with Menemen municipality initiative the local Greek Church Agios Konstantinos was renovated which is also a 19th century structure. At that time they promised that the Armenian Church will be repaired too, but no work has been done until now.

Izmir (Turkish: İzmir, Greek: Σμύρνη, old name: Smyrna) is a city in the West of Turkey, the capital of the state of the same name. It is the second largest city in Turkey with a population of (2009 census). The city is situated on Aegeyan sea, in front of the Izmir Gulf. It is the second most important port after Istanbul. and is linked to other major cities of the country through railway.

Milliyet. Իզմիրի հայկական եկեղեցին որպես ախոռ է օգտագործվում. Panorama.am

Turkey supported Jabhat Al-Islamiyya militants destroy Armenian cathedral in Syria’s Aleppo

January 10, 2015 By administrator

Militants from the Islamic Front’s (Jabhat Al-Islamiyya) largest milita Harakat ‘Ahrar Al-Sham (Liberators of the Levant Movement) fired multiple mortar shells Friday, Jan 9, at the St. Rita Cathedral in the Al-Tillal District, resulting in the exterior destruction of this historical Armenian Catholic Church in the Aleppo Governorate, Al-Masdar News reported.

The St. Rita Cathedral has been targeted by Harakat ‘Ahrar Al-Sham on numerous occasions; it holds no strategic advantage to these militants, due to the fact that civilians – specifically, Aleppo’s large Armenian community – attend this church. Non-Armenian Catholic civilians occasionally utilize the Cathedral’s wells because of the absence of water in some communities due to the obstruction of the water flow to the people of Aleppo.

According to a source in the area, no civilians were harmed as a result of this callous attack on the Cathedral; however, there were a number of hellfire cannons fired into the surrounding civilian neighborhoods by the militants of Harakat ‘Ahrar Al-Sham.

The attack on the St. Rita Cathedral in Al-Tillal comes 4 months after the destruction of the Armenian Genocide Memorial by militants from the Islamic State in the Deir ez-Zor province.

Syria’s Armenian community is one of the largest in the Middle East – the city of Aleppo was a safe haven for many Armenians attempting to flee the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks.

Photo: Almasdar News

Prince Charles visits Armenian church in London

November 20, 2014 By administrator

Prince Charles visited an Armenian church in London where he spoke of his heartbreak at the ‘soul destroying tragedy’ facing Christians in the Middle East, the Daily Mail reported.

Prince Charles talked to the representatives of the local Armenian community, Bishop Vaham Hovhannosyan as well as Armenia’s Ambassador Armen Sargsyan at the St Yeghiche Armenian Church in South Kensington, London today.

In his speech, Prince Charles said Christianity is being ‘quite literally, grotesquely and barbarously assaulted’, in particular in Syria. He emphasized that the Armenian Christians live in peace with their neighbors.

“’It is heartbreaking to learn of the attacks on Christians and on Churches where they gather, such as the Church in Deir el Zour (Syria) earlier this year”, he said.

During the service, Avak Asadourian, the Archbishop of Iraq, spoke of the problems facing Armenian Christians in the region from his own experiences.

‘Due to assaults Iraqi Christians are leaving the country of their forefathers. In 1980 there were 1.5 million, this is now down to 400,000 due to the encroachment of Isis,’ the Daily Mail quotes Archbishop.

The last Armenians of Myanmar (The 150-year-old church )

August 28, 2014 By administrator

By Andrew Whitehead
BBC World Service, Yangon

One of the oldest churches in Myanmar, also known as Burma, is struggling to keep going – its congregation only occasionally reaches double figures. But the opening up of the country to outside investment and tourism is offering new hope.

Reverend John Felix, priest at the Armenian church in Yangon, also known as Rangoon, can’t speak Armenian – but then neither can his congregation. Not that there is much of a congregation these days – just seven, myself included, on a recent Sunday morning.

The 150-year-old church enjoys an imposing location, at a street corner in downtown Yangon. It’s a beautiful building, a patch of calm in a bustling city. The Armenian Orthodox church of St John the Baptist – standing, suitably, on Merchant Street – is almost all that’s left of what was one of the city’s main trading communities.

“To judge from church records, there were once a few hundred Armenian families in Burma but the last ‘full’ Armenian died last year. Across the country, there are no more than 10 or 20 families who are part Armenian – and just a handful still come to the church,” says Felix.

Rachel Minus, in her mid-30s, can sing in Armenian – and does with reverence – but can’t speak the language. She attends on Sundays with her father, who also tolls the church bells.

“My grandfather was full Armenian and our family name is derived from the Armenian surname of Minossian. We’re part Armenian and this church and its services mean a lot to us,” she says.

On that Sunday, just one other worshipper was of Armenian descent. Percy Everard has been coming to the church for decades. His wedding, the priest believes, was the last to be conducted at the church – but it’s so distant no one is quite sure how long ago it took place.

In the early 17th Century, large numbers of Armenians fled the Ottoman Empire and settled in Isfahan in what’s now Iran. From there, many travelled on in later years to form a commercial network which stretched from Amsterdam to Manila.

Their influence in the British Raj reached its peak in the late 19th Century, when census records suggest that about 1,300 Armenians were living principally in Calcutta, Dhaka and Rangoon.

Their closeness to the Burmese royal court gave them a particularly privileged status in Rangoon’s trading community. The land on which the church stands is said to have been presented to the Armenians by Burma’s king.

The region’s most prestigious hotels – including The Strand a short walk from the church in downtown Yangon and the even more famous Raffles in Singapore – were established by Armenians.

But bit-by-bit over the past century many in these small Armenian outposts, worried by political and economic instability, have looked for a new home – with Australia the most favoured destination.

John Felix – whose bishop is based thousands of miles away in Sydney – is a welcoming and enthusiastic clergyman, proud of his church and unbowed by the difficulties of keeping going as the congregation steadily shrinks.

Felix took over as priest of the Yangon church from his father, who died three years ago after more than 30 years as minister. Like his father, he was initially ordained into the Anglican communion and then re-ordained as an Orthodox priest.

He was born in Myanmar, speaks Burmese – but is of south Indian origin, and so has his roots in another of the migrant communities which once made Yangon such a thriving commercial hub.

One of the earliest Christian civilisations, Armenia’s first churches were founded in the 4th Century
According to tradition, Armenia was evangelised by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus
Now churches in many countries including India, Singapore, Uruguay, Argentina, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Swaziland, Australia, US, Sudan, UAE, Romania and Italy

He worries about the upkeep of the building. “There are three spots in the roof where the water’s coming in, and we need to get them fixed.”

But this is by any standards a neat, well-kept church, and an important part of Yangon’s rich colonial-era architectural heritage which is increasingly attracting tourists and international attention.

Sunday worship has all the hallmarks of an Orthodox church service – icons, incense and, in spite of the slender attendance, entrancing hymn singing. Felix doesn’t wear the ornate priestly robes in which his father once conducted ceremonies, but he remains firmly part of the Orthodox tradition.

That Orthodox lineage could be key to the survival of the church – as a spiritual home to all the various forms of Orthodox Christianity as well as a last vestige of an almost-gone Armenian community.

Already diplomats, business visitors and tourists from a range of Orthodox countries and churches – Russian, Greek, Serbian – occasionally swell the numbers at St John the Baptist, the only Orthodox church in Myanmar’s biggest city.

A new worshipper here, Ramona Tarta, is Romanian, a globetrotting business woman, publisher and events organiser who has lived in Yangon for the last few months.

“My faith is very important to me. Wherever I am in the world, I seek out an Orthodox church. But I was about to give up on Yangon. I thought it was the only city I’d ever lived in which had no Orthodox place of worship,” she complains.

She chanced across the Armenian church when driving past, and believes that with a little promotion, this historic building – and the tradition to which it bears testimony – could have a more secure future.

If the church reached out more actively to all strands of Orthodoxy then, she argues, it could attract more worshippers and find a renewed purpose. She’s set up a Facebook page for the church as a first step towards getting more attention.

Myanmar has had more than its share of troubles and upheaval over the last century. The country was occupied by the Japanese during World War Two, and suffered greater privation and damage to its infrastructure than almost anywhere else in the region.

Many Armenians were among those who embarked on the arduous wartime trek north through jungle and forest to the relative safety of British India – a memorial in the church lists the 13 members of one Armenian family who died during the journey.

Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, several months after India and Pakistan. Within a few years, it had a military-backed government which made little effort to develop commercial links beyond the country’s borders. The army’s violent suppression in 1988 of the democracy movement further heightened the country’s international isolation.

Over the past few years, Myanmar has been edging towards greater democracy, and has started to open its doors more widely to foreign business and investment. What was one of Asia’s most international cities is again starting to develop a more global aspect.

And a church which has its roots in an earlier era of international commerce may find fresh succour from a new bout of globalisation.

The Armenian Church Surb Aménaprguitch Isfahan (Iran) will be entered on the list of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO

May 24, 2014 By administrator

The Iranian news agency Mehr reported that the Armenian church Surb Amenaprguitch (Saint Saviour) at Esfahan (Iran) will incorporate the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

The Armenian Church Surb Aménaprguitch Isfahan (Iran)

Sherly Avedian, the head of Iran registration records of the churches of Iran in the list of World Heritage of Unesco said that the record of the church and monastery Surb Armenaprguitch Isfahan is complete and submitted to the examination of Unesco, the file should be quickly validated and accepted.

The Armenian Church Surb Aménaprguitch Isfahan (Iran)

Recall that 9 places of worship of Iran are already included in the list of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, including the Armenian Church Karakikissé located in the region of West Azerbaijan northwest Iran.

The Armenian Church Surb Aménaprguitch Isfahan (Iran)

In this same area is also Makou Armenian church Surb Maryan (Saint Mary). The other major Armenian spiritual center in Iran being the convent and church Surb Stepanos (St. Stephen) dating from the 10th-12th centuries is located near Julfa, on the banks of the Araxes northeast Iran .

Krikor Amirzayan

NY, Armenian Church Leaders Welcome New Assyrian Patriarch

May 20, 2014 By administrator

By: http://www.reporter.am/
NEW YORK — On May 13, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), hosted an ecumenical gathering at the Diocesan Center in honor of His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Karim, the former Metropolitan of the Syriac Archdiocese of the Eastern United States who was recently elected as Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Leaders of the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Episcopalian, and Eastern Orthodox churches came together at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral for a prayer service, followed by a reception to honor Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visiting New York after having traveled to Rome, where he met with His Holiness Pope Francis, presided over the gathering.

The assembled church leaders congratulated the new Patriarch on this latest calling in his ministry, and expressed their solidarity as he embarks on leading a church that finds itself beleaguered by the conflict in Syria.

Metropolitan Tikhon, head of the Orthodox Church in America, delivered the invocation, and Archbishop Barsamian welcomed the clergy to the Diocesan Center. “It is a great pleasure for me to greet you, on this deeply meaningful occasion,” he said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to come together, in the warm embrace of our shared Christian heritage-to give physical expression to our sense of friendship and common mission in the world today.”

He went on to speak about Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem’s spiritual leadership in America, and the friendship that has grown between them. “Throughout these years, I have been privileged to witness his virtues of energy, spirituality, wisdom, and humility,” Archbishop Barsamian said. “He exemplifies the best qualities of the Christian heritage of the East; and he has given these virtues exemplary life and vitality here in the West.”

Turning to the civil war in Syria, Archbishop Barsamian said, “through prayer and fellowship, through mutual support and love-we stand in solidarity with you.”

All of the church leaders expressed gratitude for the presence of Catholicos Karekin II and paid their respects to the leader of the worldwide Armenian Church.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, thanked Archbishop Barsamian for his hospitality and reflected on the blessing of religious freedom people of all faiths experience in the United States. “This gathering seems particularly appropriate in the radiance of the Easter season,” Cardinal Dolan said. “And one can sense the spirit of the Risen Christ in this room-in our fraternity, in our warmth and brotherly love.”

Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, expressed his appreciation to Archbishop Barsamian for the warm welcome and congratulated Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem on his election. He presented the latter with an engolpion bearing an icon of St. Mary.

Archbishop Demetrios spoke about St. Ignatius of Antioch-the first century martyr, theologian, and hymnist-whose spirit, he said, is embodied by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem.

“We are going to miss you,” he said to the Patriarch. “You have a very difficult mission, but be assured that you have our prayers, our love, and our support.”

In introducing His Holiness Karekin II, Archbishop Barsamian spoke about the Catholicos’ work in continuing to revive Christianity in Armenia after years of Soviet hostility toward the church. He mentioned Holy Etchmiadzin’s emphasis on Christian education and youth programs, which are making it possible for generations of Armenians to reassert their Christian heritage.

His Holiness Karekin II spoke about Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem’s commitment to serving God and his people. “We have known him as a good shepherd, well loved by his flock,” he said. “Despite all the challenges facing Syria, he has no doubt in accepting his new responsibility. This shows his endless love for the church of Christ and for his people.”

He said that the Armenian Church, too, has been closely following the war in Syria, where there is a sizeable Armenian population, and mentioned his recent meetings with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Moscow and Roman Catholic Pope Francis in Rome. In both meetings, the church leaders expressed concerns about the situation in the Middle East, and specifically in Syria, and discussed ways to bring peace to the region.

“I want to assure you that you are not alone,” His Holiness Karekin II said. “You will have our full support and our prayers.”

He presented Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem with medallions inscribed with Armenian crosses and etchings of churches. The Patriarch, in turn, presented the Catholicos with The Chronicles of Michael the Great, a new volume published by the Syriac Archdiocese.

In a moving valedictory address, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem said he is “encouraged and strengthened to know that your prayers are with me. I hope and pray that my ministry will be of service to all people.”

He reflected on the close ties between the Armenian and Syriac churches, and recalled His Holiness Karekin II’s visit to the Syriac Orthodox Church in America. He added that he looks forward to visiting Holy Etchmiadzin next year on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

“The courage of those martyrs will always inspire us and give us wisdom and energy,” he said. “Their sacrifice gives us courage to continue on the same path of martyrdom.”

The Patriarch will be formally installed in Damascus on May 29. He said he will continue to seek ways to promote the work of the ecumenical movement, and asked that the church leaders in America continue to support the cause of Christians in the Middle East.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C., delivered a benediction, in which he underlined the need for common love and understanding among the various churches.

Other high-ranking clergy in attendance were Archbishop Mor Silvanos Ayup of the Malankara Syriac Archdiocese; Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Apostalic Nuncio of the Roman Catholic Church at the United Nations; Bishop Andrew Dietsche, the Episcopal Bishop of New York; Bishop Makarios of the Eritrean Orthodox Church; and Bishop William Murphy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Long Island.

Also in attendance were Very Rev. Dr. James Kowalski, dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine; Rev. Kurt Dunkle, dean of General Theological Seminary; Rev. Ronald Roberson of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches; and Warren Clark, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace. Accompanying His Holiness Karekin II was the Rev. Fr. Vahram Melikyan, director of Information Services at Holy Etchmiadzin.

Representing the Eastern Diocese at Tuesday’s event were Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, the Diocese’s Ecumenical Director; Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian; Very Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian, Diocesan Vicar; Very Rev. Fr. Mamigon Kiledjian, dean of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral; Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, director of the Diocese’s Zohrab Information Center; Very Rev. Fr. Aren Jebejian; Very Rev. Father Papken Anoushian; Very Rev. Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian; Very Rev. Fr. Vazken Karayan; and Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary.

Celebration in New York

Clergy of the Eastern Diocese were among the guests welcoming His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II Karim, the newly elected patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, to St. Mark’s Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Teaneck, N.J., on April 5.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Diocesan Primate; Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, the Diocese’s Ecumenical Director; and the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, director of the Diocese’s Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, were among those gathered to welcome Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II to the cathedral where he has served for nearly two decades.

On March 31, the former Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar at the Archdiocese of the SyriacOrthodox Church for the Eastern United States, became the 123rd Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. He will serve in Damascus, Syria, where the Holy See of the Syrian Orthodox Church is based.

At St. Mark’s Cathedral, a prayer of thanksgiving was said by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem. He went on to speak about the plight of Christians in Syria, and called on people to “pray for our beloved Syria to have peace again.”

The Syriac patriarch also stressed the importance of Christian unity, and said he looks forward to working with other church leaders in the region. “This divine calling does not come without divine help,” he added.

Archbishop Barsamian delivered remarks congratulating Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem on behalf of the Armenian Church of America. He also conveyed the well wishes of His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

“You exemplify the best qualities of the Christian heritage of the East; and you have given these virtues exemplary life and vitality here in the West,” Archbishop Barsamian said. “I know that your experience here in America, and your leadership on the ecumenical stage, have given you the knowledge and ability to govern wisely in a church that now straddles the East and the West, the ancient and the modern.”

A native of Syria, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem studied in Lebanon, Egypt, and Ireland. During his tenure in the United States, he helped establish new parishes, launched a youth organization, and was an active member in the ecumenical arena.

Throughout his ministry in the U.S., he has been a close friend of the Eastern Diocese, frequently joining Diocesan clergy in ecumenical meetings, in efforts to advocate on behalf of Christians in the Middle East, and in other initiatives.

He has served on the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of Churches in the USA. He was also among the founding members of the ecumenical organization Christian Churches Together, and has co-chaired the Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation.

Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem succeeds His Holiness Ignatius Zakka I, who entered his eternal rest on March 21.

Among other clergy present at Saturday’s welcoming service were Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Mor Titus Yeldho of the Malankara Orthodox Church, Bishop David of the Coptic Orthodox Church, as well as representatives of the Antiochian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches.