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CLERGY CONFERENCE CONVENES IN NEW JERSEY;
EASTERN, WESTERN, AND CANADIAN PRELACIES GATHER
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|  | Clergy from the three North American Prelacies who participated in the Clergy Conference this week at Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey. | |
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Clergy from the Eastern, Western, and Canadian Prelacies gathered in New Jersey on Monday for a clergy conference on the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Translators. The gathering is a source of renewal for the clergy who have come together for prayer, fellowship, lectures, consultation, and meditation.
The conference is under the auspices of the three Prelates, Archbishop Oshagan (Eastern); Archbishop Moughegh (Western); and Bishop Meghrig (Canadian), and is hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey. In past years the clergy have gathered during the Ghevontianz Feast in February. This year it was decided to meet during the Feast of the Holy Translators. While the prelacies individually have annual clergy conferences, the joint gathering of the three prelacies takes place every few years.
The general theme of the week-long gathering was “Renewal of our Commitment to the Legacy of the Martyrs.” Lecture topics included: “The Martyred Clergy of 1915,” by V. Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian; “The History of the Movement of the Catholicosal Seat,” by Archpriest Fr. Nerses Manoogian; “The Transfer of the Pontifical Seat from Sis to Antelias,” by Archpriest Fr. Karnig Koyounian; “The 85th Anniversary of the Seminary of the Great House of Cilicia,” by V. Rev. Fr. Zareh Sarkissian.
Yesterday evening, the faithful of the metropolitan area attended an impressive Episcopal Divine Liturgy at Sts. Vartanantz Church, celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy, with the participation of the clergy who undertook the various liturgical roles and tasks. Following the Liturgy a dinner took place in the parish’s large hall.
Today, the clergy visited various sites, including The Hovnanian School, the Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey; the 9/11 Memorial, the United Nations, and St. Illuminator’s Cathedral. The conference comes to an end tomorrow after breakfast as the clergymen return to their communities.
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IN DEFENSE OF CHRISTIANS (IDC) CONVENES IN WASHINGTON
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|  | Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Gregory Mansour lead prayers at the Ecumenical Service held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill. | |
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Members of the international organization, In Defense of Christians (IDC), convened in Washington, DC, last month for IDC’s Inaugural National Leadership Convention (NLC) titled “Mobilizing America for Christians in the Middle East." More than 300 IDC members from twenty states and four countries participated in the three day convention. The Convention began with an open press event at the National Press Club to discuss “ISIS, Genocide, and the International Response.” Panelists included Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; Dr. Gregory Stanton of Genocide Watch; Dr. Bob Destro of Catholic University School of Law; Dr. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Council of America; [Retired] Congressman Frank Wolff; and Kirsten Evans, Executive Director of IDC. Following the vigorous discussion on the international response to the treatment of minority communities in the Middle East, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) joined the panel to make a public announcement of the introduction of new Congressional Resolution 75, decrying the genocide against Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria under ISIS.
An ecumenical prayer service, led by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, Bishop Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of Brooklyn, and Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States, followed the press event. A broad spectrum of religious and community leaders, including members of clergy from the Coptic and Eastern Orthodox churches, together with representatives of Evangelical, Protestant, and Catholic denominations and rites participated in the prayer service.
Resolution 75 calls upon the United States government to officially recognize the persecution of Christians and other minorities under ISIS as genocide. You can help send the message to Congress that the United States must stand in solidarity with Christians in the Middle East. For details click here.
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| VICAR WILL CELEBRATE LITURGY IN ALL SAINTS CHURCH
AND INTRODUCE NEW PASTOR
Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the Prelacy, will travel to the Chicago area where on Sunday, October 11 he will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at All Saints Church in Glenview, Illinois. During the Liturgy His Grace will introduce Very Rev. Fr. Ghevont Pentezian, who has been assigned as the new pastor.
Very Rev. Ghevont was born in 1986 in Kessab, Syria, where he received his primary education. In 1998 he was accepted into the Theological Seminary of the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia where he successfully completed the nine-year course of study. He was ordained a celibate priest on June 10, 2007. In December 2010 he received the rank of vartabed after successfully presenting his thesis, “The Saints in the Armenian Liturgical Calendar.”
Hayr Ghevont has served in a number of positions at the Catholicosate in Antelias including: Teacher at the Seminary; Sexton of the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator; Director of Christian Education; Director of the Sunday Schools; and pastoral advisor to the Armenian University Students Union.
PRELATE ORDAINS ALTAR SERVERS IN PROVIDENCE;
HONORS FOUR DECADE SERVICE OF SUNDAY SCHOOL DIRECTOR
Archbishop Oshagan celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered the Sermon last Sunday at Sts. Vartanantz Church in Providence, Rhode Island.
During the Liturgy His Eminence presided over the ordinations of Harout Tashian, Hagop Taraskian, and Shant Eghian to the rank of stolebearers (ouraragir); and Aram Baghsarian, Jivan Baghsarian, and Michael Simonian as acolytes (tbir).
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|  | Archbishop Oshagan with Archpriest Fr. Gomidas Baghsarian and altar servers and choir members following the Divine Liturgy and ordination. | |
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 | Ordination of acolytes Aram Baghsarian, Jivan Baghsarian, and Michael Simonian.
| |  | Ordination of stolebearers Harout Tashian, Hagop Taraskian, and Shant Eghian.
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A dinner followed the Liturgy during which Mary Fermanian, the Director of the Sts. Vartanantz Sunday School for the past 40 years was honored. Gifts and accolades were presented to Mary who has played a major role in forming the character of the parish’s children by instilling in them the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and His church. In addition to her extraordinary service to the Sunday school, Mary has served on the Board of Trustees, as a delegate to the National Representative Assembly, a member of the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), and has been a Pillar of the Prelacy for many years. She has also served as a devoted member of the Armenian Relief Society and the Armenian Youth Federation.
Archbishop Oshagan praised Mary’s service and presented her with a special plaque as a token of appreciation and love on behalf of the Prelacy.
Mary has also excelled in her profession as a teacher in the Foster-Gloucester School system, where she taught in the accelerated program for gifted students. Many of her students have credited her for their success in life because of her steadfast encouragement and guidance.
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|  | Archbishop Oshagan and Der Gomidas look on with pleasure as Mary receives a number of gifts from her Sunday school students. She has been the Director for 40 years.
| |  | Mary Fermanian with Archbishop Oshagan and Der Gomidas
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| BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for Sunday, October 11, Fifth Sunday of the Exaltation are, Isaiah 19:1-11; Galatians 2:1-10; Mark 12:35-44.
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
(Mark 12:35-44)
For a listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here.
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| FEAST OF THE
HOLY TRANSLATORS
This Saturday, October 10, the Armenian Church commemorates the Feast of the Holy Translators, one of the most beloved feasts. There are, in fact, two such commemorations in our liturgical calendar. One is on the Thursday following the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, which can occur in June or July; the other is on the second Saturday of October.
The October commemoration focuses on the creation of the Armenian alphabet (406) and on the accomplishments of the Holy Translators. Mesrob Mashdots, the founder of the alphabet, and Catholicos Sahag, together with some of their students, translated the Bible. Schools were opened and the works of world-renowned scholars were translated. Their work gave the Armenian Church a distinct national identity.
In modern times the entire month of October has been designated as a “Month of Culture.” Armenians throughout the Diaspora and Armenia mark this with cultural events not only in remembrance of the past, but in celebration of modern-day scholars, theologians, writers, and translators.
Specifically remembered this Saturday along with Mesrob and Sahag, are: Yeghishe, a renowned student of Sahag and Mesrob, who served as secretary to Vartan Mamigonian and who wrote the great history of the Vartanantz wars; Movses of Khoren, another student of Sahag and Mesrob, who is revered as the father of Armenian history; David the Invincible, a student of Movses, received most of his education in Athens, where he was given the title “Invincible” because of his brilliance in philosophy; Gregory of Narek, who is considered the greatest poet of the Armenian nation and its first and greatest mystic; and Nerses Shnorhali, a great writer, musician, theologian, and ecumenist.
With the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the translations that followed, this group of scholars transformed the course of Armenian history forever. It is an affirmation of the popular aphorism, “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.”
The holy translators, like stewards, were interpreters of the divine Scriptures by inventing letters by means of which are preserved on earth as living words for the shepherd flock of the New Israel, praise God with a sweet sounding hymn. They looked on the greatness of earthly glory as on darkness and having put their hope in the immortal bridegroom they were made worthy of the kingdom of heaven; praise God with a sweet-sounding song. By the power of the Father’s wisdom the uncreated existing One by means of their translation they made firm the throne of Saint Gregory, praise God with a sweet-sounding song. Saint Sahag having dressed in the new word, the holy scriptures, adorned the Armenian churches, praise God with a sweet-sounding song.
(Canon to the Holy Translators, from the Liturgical Canons of the Armenian Church)
“After translating the book of Proverbs, Mesrop and his students began the translation of the New Testament. Translating the bible into any language is an enormous amount of work. It is especially daunting given the absence of any Armenian literature prior to the Bible. Contrast this with the translation of the Bible into English. The most famous English translation is the King James Version, completed in 1611. The earliest English Bible was produced by John Wycliffe in 1382. But even before Wycliffe, there was a tradition of writing in English from which Wycliffe and subsequent translators could draw familiar expressions and phrases. The Armenian Bible, however, is the first work of Armenian literature. In translating the Bible, Sahak and Mesrop and their disciples did more than just a translation. They in essence created a new written language that would be a source and inspiration for all of the Armenian literature that would follow.”
(Light from Light: An Introduction to the History and Theology of the Armenian Church, by Michael B. Papazian)
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| SUNDAY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NEW JERSEY BEGIN NEW TERM
Sunday school students and staff members of Sts. Vartanantz Church of Ridgefield, New Jersey, took Holy Communion on September 27 as they began the 2015-2016 school year. Asking for forgiveness on behalf of the Sunday school staff, students, and the Congregation were Roubina Bozoian, Davit Isakhanian, Lianna Isakhanian, Anoosh Kouyoumdjian, Meline Momjian, and Lori Samuelian. The Sunday school’s PTA served the students and staff breakfast after Communion.
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|  | Students and staff of the Sunday school with Rev. Fr. Hovnan Bozoian in front of the altar. | |
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| MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
DEDICATED TO ARMENIA
Manhattanville College will host a conference, organized by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Philosophy Department, dedicated to Armenia, on October 30 and 31. The public is invited to attend.
The conference will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and celebrate Armenian culture. The students and faculty of Manhattanville College will be joined by prominent guests including Antonia Arslan, Henry Theriault, representatives of Artsakh, His Grace Bishop Anoushavan Tanlielian, and the Antranig Dance Ensemble.
The Conference will begin on Friday, October 30 at 5:00 p.m. in the West Room of Reid Castle at Manhattanville College’s Purchase Campus. After introductions by Lisa Dolling, the Provost of the College, Lisa Boehm, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and lectures by Artak Grigoryan from Nagorno-Karabakh and Paul Kucharski from Manhattanville College’s Philosophy Department, students have organized a candlelight vigil in honor of the Armenian Martyrs of 1915. There will be a reception following the vigil.
On Saturday October 31, the conference will recommence at 11:00 a.m. and will include lectures by Antonia Arslan, the award winning author of the international best-selling novel The Skylark Farm (La Masseria delle Allodole); Shant Mardirossian, chairman of the Near East Foundation; Siobhan Nash-Marshall, the Mary T. Clark Chair of Christian Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department; and the conference’s keynote speaker, Henry Theriault, professor in and chair of the Philosophy Department at Worcester State College; and Manhattanville College students.
The conference will include a silent auction whose proceeds will fund Manhattanville College’s internship program in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The internship program will be illustrated by Molly O’Lena, the philosophy major who inaugurated it in the summer of 2015 teaching English to hundreds of Armenian children of Diramayr Hayastani Ketron in Tashir.
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| NEWS FROM THE CATHOLICOSATE
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| CATHOLICOS OFFERS CONDOLENCES
During his visit to Switzerland, His Holiness Aram received the news of the death of Armenian soldiers killed by Azeri fire on the Azerbaijan and Karabagh border. His Holiness expressed his fatherly love and condolences to the families of the victims stating, “I heard with great sadness the death of our soldiers. They are our heroes. They shed their blood to defend the rights of our people. We affirm our solidarity with our army, for its continual protection of our homeland and our people. We are convinced that they will serve our country and people with renewed commitment."
HIS HOLINESS SENDS MESSAGE TO CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
In a message addressed to the Presidents of the Republics of Armenia and Karabagh, His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, and the Catholic and Protestant leaders, His Holiness expressed his pontifical blessings and brotherly love, and apologized for his absence. He reminded the Centennial Committee that his visit to Switzerland had been planned and included in the official centennial program more than a year ago. His Holiness urged the members of the Committee to assess their work comprehensively and realistically. He shared his views for the future and urged the Committee to build on the achievements of 2015, and recommended that united and collective actions be planned. After presenting a detailed list of suggestions, His Holiness urged the Committee to make a statement about Syria that would not only give hope to Syrian Armenians, but also carry with it a strong message that the Syrian Armenians are not alone. They have the solidarity of their brothers and sisters in Armenia and the Diaspora. He concluded his message with the expression of love and support of the Catholicosate of Cilicia to the Republics of Armenia and Karabagh.
HIS HOLINESS IN SWITZERLAND
Following ecumenical prayers at the Bern Cathedral last week, the President of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (FEPS), Dr. Gottfried Locher, hosted a dinner in honor of His Holiness Aram I, who was in Switzerland to thank the people for their solidarity and assistance to the Armenians during the early massacres, the genocide in Western Armenia and Cilicia, and the deportation. The guests included the Ambassador of France to Switzerland, the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Bishops, the Charge d’affaires of Armenia and Lebanon, members of the Council of States and the National Council, representatives of FEPS and the delegation accompanying the Catholicos.
Dr. Locher welcomed the guests, reminded them of the 100 years of Swiss-Armenian friendship since the Genocide and invited Catholicos Aram to address the guests. Thanking the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and President Locher for the invitation, the Catholicos said that the program of the week and the Armenofas Foundation further strengthens the ties between the two Churches. Speaking about the Middle East, His Holiness stressed the importance of Christian presence in the Middle East. Hagop Pakradouni, a member of the Lebanese Parliament, spoke about the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the difficulties of the Lebanese government coping with the pressures of housing, schooling, and health services.
HIS HOLINESS VISITS PAPA KUNZLER EXHIBITION
His Holiness went to the town of Hundwil, the hometown of Papa Kunzler where an exhibition of Kunzler’s life and work was on display. The exhibition described Papa Kunzler’s commitment and service to the Armenians from the time of his arrival in Urfa to his death in 1945; his journey to Syria and Lebanon with the orphans and widows, the orphanage in Ghazir, the school for the blind in Beirut, and the Sanatorium in Azounieh. He was buried in Lebanon; the inscription on his tombstone reads, “Papa Kunzler Father of Armenian Orphans.”
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| THIS WEEK IN ARMENIAN HISTORY
Prepared by the Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC)
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| Birth of Rouben Mamoulian
(October 8, 1897)
Film and theater director Rouben Mamoulian has been perhaps the most influential Armenian artist on the world stage. His pioneering impact on direction, particularly in the 1920s-1940s, has been widely acknowledged.
Mamoulian was born in Tiflis (Georgia) to an Armenian family with roots in Lori and Nakhichevan. His father Zakaria was a former member of the Russian military and a banker. His mother Vergine Kalantarian-Mamoulian had been president of the Armenian Dramatic Society of Tiflis and an amateur actress on the Armenian scene. The Mamoulians spoke Russian at home, but Rouben learned to speak and to write Armenian at an early age. His primary education was at the Lycée Montaigne of Paris, where future French director René Clair was one of his classmates. Later, he continued his studies at the Russian high school of Tiflis and the School Law of Moscow University, while he also took classes at the theatrical courses opened by Armenian director Evgeni Vakhtangov at the Art Theater. He returned to Tiflis in 1918, where he opened a theatrical studio with Levon Kalantar and Suren Khachaturian, and published theatrical reviews in Russian and Armenian newspapers. He also wrote poetry in Russian.
Mamoulian moved to England in 1920, where his sister Svetlana was married to a Scottish soldier. He first directed Austin Page’s play The Beating on the Door in November 1922. Favorable reviews in the London press made him known in France and the United States. Russian opera singer Vladimir Rosing brought him to America the next year to teach at the newly founded Eastman School of Music (created by George Eastman, the founder and owner of Kodak Company) in Rochester (New York) and was involved in directing opera and theatre in 1924-1925.
In 1925, Mamoulian and American modern dancer Martha Graham together produced a short two-color film called The Flute of Krishna, featuring Eastman students. They both left the school shortly thereafter. He began his Broadway director career in October 1927 with a production of DuBose Heyward’s Porgy, which made his international fame at once for its characteristics. He directed the revival of Porgy in 1929 along with George Gershwin’s operatic treatment, Porgy and Bess (1935). He was also the first to stage such notable Broadway works as Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), and Lost in the Stars (1949).
His first feature film, Applause (1929), was one of the earliest talkies. It was a landmark film owing to Mamoulian's innovative use of camera movement and sound. These qualities were carried through to his other films released in the 1930s. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) considered the best version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale, benefited from having been made before the Production Code came into full force, the same as Queen Christina (1933), the last film that Greta Garbo made with John Gilbert.
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|  | Click on the image above to link to a video of an interview in 1984 where Mamoulian talks about directing Greta Garbo in "Queen Christina". The first 30 seconds are in French, but Mamoulian's speaks in English thereafter. | |
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He directed the first three-strip Technicolor film, Becky Sharp (1935), based on William Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair, as well as the 1937 musical High, Wide, and Handsome. His next two films, The Mark of Zorro (1940) and Blood and Sand (1941), starred Tyrone Power. These were remakes of silent movies that earned him wide admiration. Blood and Sand used color schemes based on the work of Spanish artists such as Diego Velázquez and El Greco. His foray into screwball comedy genre was a success: Rings on Her Fingers (1942) starred Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney.
In the early 1930s the Armenian film studio Armenfilm negotiated with him to film a movie in Soviet Armenia, which never happened. Mamoulian was going to direct the 1935 Metro Goldwyn Mayer version of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, which was stopped due to Turkish pressure on the U.S. State Department.
Mamoulian was recruited in 1936 by King Vidor, co-founder of Directors Guild of America (DGA), to help unionize fellow movie directors. His lifelong allegiance to the DGA, as well as his general unwillingness to compromise, contributed to his being targeted in Hollywood’s blacklisting of the 1950s. His last completed musical film was the 1957 version of the Cole Porter musical Silk Stockings, with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. His film directing career came to an end when he was consecutively fired from two movies, Porgy and Bess (1959) and Cleopatra (1963).
He lived and created outside the Armenian milieu, but he was frequently in contact one way or another. In an event in his honor held in 1932 at the Nubarian Library of Paris, he noted: “The fact that I have not forgotten my being Armenian, despite living in a foreign environment, is very natural; the contrary would be unnatural.” He rejected all proposals to have his name changed or shortened, at a time when ethnic surnames were not so favored in America.
In the summer of 1971 Mamoulian visited Soviet Armenia, but except for a quick visit to the main tourist attractions, he did not enjoy any official reception and journalists were banned from meeting him. The reason was that he had been denounced as an enemy of the Soviet Union for having filmed an anti-Soviet movie (Silk Stockings, where the KGB spy Ninotchka did not return to the Soviet Union).
Mamoulian was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America in 1982. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He was not only a director, but also a theoretician of films and theater. He wrote many articles on these issues. He also wrote screenplays, shorts stories, and a version of Hamlet in contemporary English. He died on December 4, 1987 of natural causes in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 90. The funeral services were held at the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church of Glendale and the Armenian director was buried at the Forest Lawn cemetery of Glendale. His wife, painter Azadia Newman, died in 1999 at the age of 97.
Previous entries in “This Week in Armenian History” are on the Prelacy’s web site (www.armenianprelacy.org)
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| SYRIAN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY NEEDS OUR HELP MORE THAN EVER
The crisis in Syria requires our financial assistance.
Please keep this community in your prayers, your hearts, and your pocketbooks.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET OUR ONGOING RELIEF EFFORTS FOR THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA WHERE CONDITIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE DIFFICULT.
THE NEED IS REAL.
THE NEED IS GREAT.
DONATIONS TO THE FUND FOR SYRIAN ARMENIAN RELIEF CAN BE MADE ON LINE. TO DONATE NOW CLICK HERE AND SELECT SYRIAN ARMENIAN RELIEF IN THE MENU. OR IF YOU PREFER YOU MAY MAIL YOUR DONATION TO:
Armenian Prelacy
138 E. 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Checks payable to: Armenian Apostolic Church of America
(Memo: Syrian Armenian Relief)
Thank you for your help
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| MUSEUM’S TRAVELING EXHIBITS
The Anthropology/Armenian Museum at Queens College, New York, has installed its traveling exhibit, “William Saroyan Remembered” at the Armenian Home for the Aged in Flushing, New York, where it will remain until October 21. For visiting hours: 718-461-1504.
The Museum’s traveling exhibit, “1915 Armenian Genocide” will be installed at St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston, New York, on October 21. For visiting hours: 718-224-2275.
MONDAY IS COLUMBUS DAY
This Monday, October 12, is Columbus Day, a holiday celebrated in many countries in the Americas, commemorating the date of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. President Franklin Roosevelt first proclaimed October 12 a national holiday in 1937. Since 1971—during that era when dates of holidays were moved (in the US) to create long weekends—Columbus Day has been commemorated on the second Monday of October, which coincidentally is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.
CONGRATULATIONS
We end this week with the good news of the birth of Avedis Serop Terterian, son of Rev. Fr. Nareg and Yn. Annie Terterian. He joins big brother Hovsep and big sister Lori. Congratulations.
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| SIAMANTO ACADEMY—Meets every second Saturday of the month at the Hovnanian School, 817 River Road, New Milford, New Jersey. For information: anec@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7810.
October 5-9—Clergy Retreat, gathering of clergy from Eastern, Western, and Canadian Prelacies, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey.
October 10—Discover Armenia Series, West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, 20 South Main Street, Main Library Meeting Room A, 2 to 4 pm; Music lecture and recital.
October 14—Discover Armenia Series, West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, 20 South Main Street, Main Library Meeting Room A, 7 to 8:30 pm; Author/Photographer Matthew Karanian.
October 15—Discover Armenia Series, West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, 20 South Main Street, Main Library Meeting Room A, 6 to 8:30 pm; Film screening of Ararat.
October 17—St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley Annual Fall Fair, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Jaffarian Hall, 158 Main Street, North Andover, Massachusetts. Shish, losh & chicken kebab dinners, lentil kheyma, regular keyma, vegetarian plates; pastries, games, raffles. For information: 978-685-5038 or Ann Apovian 978-521-2245 or Sossy Jeknavorian 978-256-2538.
October 17—Dinner/Reception at 6 pm, honoring the New York-New Jersey area Pillars of the Prelacy, Vahakn and Hasmig Hovnanian Hall, 138 East 39th Street, New York City.
October 18—Presentation of the Album “Retrospective” by well-known Canadian photographer Kaloust Babian, at Pashalian Hall, St. Illuminator Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York City, at 1 pm. Organized by St. Illuminator’s Cathedral and Hamazkayin of New York.
October 22—Discover Armenia Series, West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, 20 South Main Street, Main Library Meeting Room A, 7 to 8:30 pm; Gold and Glory: Manuscript Illuminations in Medieval Armenia.
October 24—Concert dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide featuring singers Nune Yesayan and Sibil, with participation of the Hamazkayin NJ Nayiri Dance Ensemble and Arekag Chorus, 7:30 pm at BergenPac, 30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, New Jersey. Tickets: $85, $65. $45. For information: Ani Mouradian 973-224-2741.
October 24—Armenian Friends of America presents “Hye Kef 5,” a 5-hour dinner-dance (7 pm to midnight), DiBurro’s Function Hall, 887 Boston Road, Ward Hill (Haverhill), Massachusetts. Dinner served promptly at 7:30 pm. Music by Mal Barsamian/Johnny Berberian Ensemble. Tickets $50, by reservation only. Contact: Proceeds to benefit area Armenian churches. Contact: John Arzigian (603) 560-3826; Lucy Sirmaian (978) 683-9121; Sandy Boroyan (978) 251-8687, or Peter Guzelian (978) 375-1616. Proceeds to benefit area Armenian churches.
October 25—Breakfast in the church hall ($10) after the Liturgy, St. Stephen’s Church, New Britain, Connecticut, sponsored by the Ladies Guild.
October 25—Discover Armenia Series, West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, 20 South Main Street, Main Library Meeting Room A, 2 to 4 pm; Traditional Cooking for the Modern Kitchen.
October 28—Near East Foundation’s Centennial Gala Celebration, 6:30 pm, Cipriani, 25 Broadway, New York. Save the date.
October 31—100th anniversary of Hudson County (NJ) Shakeh Chapter of Armenian Relief Society, under auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan, Chart House Restaurant, 1700 Harbor Boulevard, Weehawken, New Jersey at 7:30 pm. Sponsored by Dr. Kourkin and Talene Tchorbajian. Featuring Elie Berberian from Canada. Donation $100. For reservations: Knar Kiledjian (201)943-4056; Silva Takvorian (201)779-6744; Marina Yacoubian (201)978-8926.
November 1—Arminstring Ensemble, St. Illuminator Cathedral’s John Pashalian Hall.
November 5—Lecture (“Homeland and Genocide”) by Prof. Siobhan Nash-Marshall, Professor of Philosophy and the Mary T. Clark chair of Christian Philosophy at Manhattanville College, at the Armenian Prelacy, 138 East 39th Street, New York City, at 7:30 pm.
November 5—Avak luncheon at noon, St. Gregory Church, 158 Main Street, North Andover, Massachusetts. Speaker: Ruth Thomasian, executive director, Project SAVE Photographic Archives, “Forty Years of Preserving Armenian History through Photographs.”
November 6 & 7—59th Annual Bazaar, St. Stephen Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 11 am to 9 pm at Armenian Cultural & Educational Center, 47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, Massachusetts. Meals served from 11:30 am to 8:30 pm (take-out available). Delicious meals including chicken, beef, and losh kebobs, kufteh, and kheyma dinners, Armenian pastries, Gourmet, Gift Shoppe, handmade arts and crafts, Raffles, Attic Treasures. Live auction Friday and Saturday at 7 pm. For information: 617-924-7562.
November 6, 7 & 8—Annual Bazaar and Food Festival of Sts. Vartanantz Church, 461 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, New Jersey. Live entertainment Friday and Saturday; Children’s activities; vendors; homemade Manti, Kufte, Sou Buereg, Choreg, and more. Traditional Khavourma dinner on Sunday. Extensive Mezze and desert menu for your Thanksgiving table available for take-out.
November 8—ARS Mayr Chapter of New York, Benefit Luncheon for the rebuilding of the ARS "Soseh" Kindergarten in Stepanakert, 1p.m. at Almayass Restaurant, 24 E. 21st Street, New York, NY. Donation (includes full lunch, wine, and soft drinks): $75 (adults); $20 children under 12. For reservations: Anais at 718-392-6982 or Anahid at 917-751-4916.
November 12—An evening with Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, Inc., Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (previously National Heritage Museum), 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, Massachusetts, celebrating 40 years and beyond. Reservations and information: www.ProjectSAVE.org or (617) 923-4542.
November 14—Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair, 10 am to 4 pm, at Jaffarian Hall, St. Gregory Church, 158 Main Street, North Andover, Massachusetts. Handcrafted items by local crafters & artisans. Light lunch served. For information: Dorothy 978-686-7769 or Rose 978-256-0594.
November 15—“Remembering the Past, Embracing the Future, 1925-2015,” St. Stephen’s Church, New Britain, Connecticut, 90th Anniversary celebration. His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan, Prelate, will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and preside over the banquet at Farmington Club, 162 Town Farm Road, Farmington, Connecticut. Details to follow.
November 14 & 15—Armenian Fest, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island, at Rhodes-On-The-Pawtuxet (1 Rhodes Place, off Broad Street) in Cranston. The largest indoor festival, serving delicious shish and losh kebob, chicken and kufta dinners and Armenian pastries. Live dance music. Armenian dance group performance on Saturday and Sunday at 5 pm. 50/50 main raffle prizes, hourly raffles, silent auction, country store, gift baskets, flea-market, arts and crafts. For more information: www.armenianfestri.com/food.html.
November 22—Presentation of Goodbye, Antoura: A Memoir of the Armenian Genocide by Karnig Panian, organized by Prelacy will take place at St Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York. The book will be presented by Dr. Herand Markarian; Mrs. Houry Boyamian, daughter of the author, will provide insight about her father’s memoir that was just recently translated into English. For information: 212-689-7810.
November 29—ARS Havadk Chapter’s annual Holiday Dinner, at St. Stephen’s Church Hall, 167 Tremont Street, New Britain, Connecticut, following church services. Ham with all the trimmings. $13 adult; $8 children under 16.
December 5—Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church Annual Bazaar in Whitinsville will be held at the Pleasant Street Christian Reform Church Hall, 25 Cross Street, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, 10:00-4:30, dinners served at 11:30.
December 20—“Soup, Sandwiches, and Bingo,” St. Stephen’s Church Hall, New Britain, Connecticut, following church services, sponsored by Ladies Guild.
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| Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacy’s web site.
To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox, add email@armenianprelacy.org to your address book.
Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please credit Crossroads as the source.
Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about their major events to be included in the calendar. Send to: info@armenianprelacy.org
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