IT'S TONIGHT: ANNIVERSARY CONCERT OF ARMENIA’S UN MEMBERSHIP

The Armenian Mission to the United Nations is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s membership in the United Nations with a concert at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City tonight, March 16. The musical event, described as “A Cultural Adventure,” will feature celebrated Armenian musicians in a performance that bridges the past and the present. The one-hour and twenty-minute program, presented without intermission, will revisit traditional Armenian folk and sacred music immersed in contemporary interpretations.  Attending the performance will be high-ranking officials from the United Nations, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and distinguished members of the public. Tickets are priced at $90, $75, and $50, and can be purchased at the Lincoln Center Box Office. 

MEMORIAL SERVICE ON APRIL 2

Archbishop Oshagan has asked Prelacy parishes to offer a requiem service on Sunday, April 2nd, in memory of the brave soldiers who lost their lives defending Artsakh’s freedom during and after the four-day war on April 2 to 6, 2016. Special plate offering will be collected to benefit the families of the fallen heroes.

PRELATE IN NEW JERSEY

Archbishop Oshagan presided over the Lenten vespers service last Friday at Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey. His Eminence presented his Lenten homily and later blessed the Lenten dinner table that followed.

Archbishop Oshagan, Der Hovnan, and altar servers during the Lenten prayer service.

The Prelate with parishioners at the Lenten dinner.

COUNCILS TO MEET

The Religious and Executive Councils of the Eastern Prelacy will meet tomorrow and Saturday at the Prelacy offices in New York City.

ARTSAKH LECTURE AT CATHEDRAL

Last Sunday (March 12) John Pashalian hall at St. Illuminator's Cathedral was filled with people who gathered to hear Dr. Ruben Melikyan, Ombudsman (Human Right Defender) of the Republic of Artsakh, who is visiting the United States upon the invitation of the Eastern Region of the Armenian National Committee of America. Dr. Melikyan who has a PhD from YSU and was a Tavitian Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, previously served as Director of the Armenian Academy of Justice and Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. He was elected to his current position by the National Assembly of Artsakh in May 2016, shortly after the bloody April War. In his presentation titled "Human Rights in Artsakh amid Azerbaijani Aggression," Dr. Melikyan described the gross human rights violations during the Azerbaijani aggression in April 2016 and its aftermath continuing until today claiming lives almost every single day. The audience was shocked by the Artsakh Ombudsman's report on the widespread practice of torture, execution, and mutilation of the Armenian military and civilians during the Azerbaijani offensive in the first days of April. Dr. Melikyan described atrocities committed during this war to be a result of "Armenophobia" in Azerbaijan and compared it with the situation in Ottoman Turkey on the eve of the Armenian Genocide. Through the Q&A session Mr. Melikyan answered several questions on the human rights violations due to the ongoing Azerbaijani aggression as well as in general. This event was jointly organized by St. Illuminator's Cathedral and the Armenian National Committee of America and presided by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan, Vicar of the Eastern Prelacy. On behalf of the organizers, Dr. Artur Martirosyan welcomed the audience and introduced the guest lecturer. 

From left, Dr. Ara Chalian, Dr. Ruben Melikyan, Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Der Mesrob Lakissian, and Dr. Artur Martirosyan.

BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for Sunday, March 19, Fourth Sunday of Great Lent,
Sunday of the Steward, are: Isaiah 56:1-57:21; Ephesians 4:17-5:14; Luke 16:1-31.  

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousnesss, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant and sacrifice to God. But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be associated with them. For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 4:17-5:14)

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.

“The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.

"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”  (Luke 16:1-31)

For a listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here.

SUNDAY OF THE STEWARD

Throughout His ministry, Jesus used parables as a teaching tool. His parables were common stories, usually short and always interesting. Generally, the stories were used to convey important moral and ethical lessons. Some of the parables are simple and easy to comprehend. Others are more complex and challenging.

SAINTS HONORED THIS SATURDAY

On many occasions we have expressed our personal appreciation of the Armenian Church’s Sunrise (Arevakal) service that is offered during Lent. Traditionally the service takes place on Wednesday and Friday mornings during Lent; however, we now celebrate it on Sundays immediately after the closed-altar Divine Liturgy.

Two years ago the Prelacy issued a CD of the hymns of the Sunrise Service. These hymns are spiritually uplifting and rich in musical expression. Included on the CD are the hymns Harevelits, Juknavork, Looys Ararich Looso, and Janabarh, with their variations. The CD comes with a 12-page booklet that includes the words of the hymns in Armenian, transliteration, and translation. Well-known choral director, Haroutioun Odabashian, who has served as choirmaster of Yerevan’s Sourp Sarkis Church, and principle choirmaster of Armenia’s Araratian Diocese, directs the featured choir.

The Arevakal CD is available at the Prelacy Bookstore for the special price of $10.00 plus shipping and handling. To place an order, contact the Bookstore by email (books@armenianprelacy.org) or by phone (212-689-7810).

LENTEN LECTURE SERIES

This week’s Lenten lecture that was to be delivered by Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis Church (Douglaston), was cancelled because of the snow and cold weather in the metro area. The next lecture will take place on Wednesday, March 22, featuring Dr. Vartan Matiossian, director of the Armenian National Education Committee, who will speak (in Armenian) about “Cultural Renewal—Yesterday and Today.” 

The evening begins with church service from 7 pm to 7:25 pm, followed by the lecture and discussion, and table fellowship at 8 pm. The Lenten program is sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), the Prelacy Ladies Guild, and the Ladies Guild of St. Illuminator Cathedral. For information: Prelacy office 212-689-7810 or arec@armenianprelacy.org; Cathedral office 212-689-5880 or office@stilluminators.org.

The schedule for the remaining Lenten lectures is as follows:

March 22, Cultural Renewal—Yesterday and Today (in Armenian) by Dr. Vartan Matiossian, Director of ANEC.

March 29, The Legacy of the 1915 Martyrs as Source of Renewal, Very Rev. Fr. Zareh Sarkissian, pastor of Holy Cross Church, Troy, New York and Outreach Clergy.

April 5, Armenian Church Traditions and Renewal, by Rev. Fr. Stephan Baljian, pastor of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts.

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ SEMINAR

This Saturday, March 18, a regional Sunday School teachers’ seminar will take place at Sts.Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey, from 10am to 3pm, sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), with the participation of the teachers from St. Sarkis Church (New York), St. Illuminator’s Cathedral (New York City) and Sts. Vartanantz Church.

The seminar will be conducted by Dn. Shant Kazanjian, AREC Director, and Ms. Sossi Essajanian, Early Childhood Educator and co-director of St. Illuminator’s Sunday School. Dn. Shant will first give a brief overview of Baptism-Chrismation. Sossi will talk about “The Art of Teaching” and the after workshop will focus on enhancing our curriculum on baptism and chrismation, conducted by Dn. Shant and Sossi.

On April 1, 2017, the same seminar will be conducted for the New England Sunday School teachers and it will be hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church of Providence, Rhode Island. 

MUSICAL ARMENIA 2017

Since 1982 the Eastern Prelacy has presented the annual Musical Armenia concert bringing to the forefront many talented artists of Armenian descent. This year’s concert is expected to be one of the best in Musical Armenia history that is recognized for its outstanding quality of artists. The Prelacy is able to present this annual concert series as a contribution to the artistic achievements of the community thanks in large part to a group of dedicated patrons who offer their financial support each year in order to keep the price of tickets affordable. 

The concert will take place on Friday, March 31, 8 pm, at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City. The cost of admission is only 25 dollars.Click here to Register for the event on Facebook! and Click here to Buy Tickets now

Featured in the 2017 Musical Armenia concert are two outstanding artists: cellist Hasmik Vardanyan and violinist Haik Kazazyan. Accompanying them are two accomplished musicians: Hayk Arsenyan and Karen Hakobyan.

Haik Kazazyan has performed as a soloist with many European and Russian orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Marlinsky Theatre, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Russian National Orchestra, and the Moscow Philharmonic. He has won prizes at many international events, including the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 2015. Since 2002, he has been a soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

For tickets and information contact: Carnegie Hall 212-247-7800 or Prelacy office 212-689-7810.
 

Aram Haigaz was a familiar name in the Armenian literary scene of New York and a popular writer in the Diaspora for more than six decades. 

Born Aram Chekenian in Shabin Karahisar on March 22, 1900, he studied at the elementary school of his hometown. He would eventually become a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. In the summer of 1915, the Armenian population of Shabin Karahisar, some 5,000 people, rejected the order of deportation, set fire to their homes and fields, and climbed up the mountain that shadowed the town, where the remains of an old Roman fort served as their protection. They had taken food and animals with them. However, after a desperate resistance of almost a month, they were forced to surrender by famine. Only a handful survived, including Aram Haigaz, whose brothers, father and other relatives perished. He survived by converting to Islam and living as a Muslim, as many other young boys in those days, until he escaped to freedom. His memoir Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan (1972; translated into English by his daughter Iris Chekenian in 2015) described his life and servant, and how he grew from boyhood to youth among Kurdish tribesmen and chieftains.

After the end of World War I, the young survivor escaped to Constantinople in 1919. He was reunited with an aunt and spent some time in an orphanage run by American missionaries. He later attended the Getronagan High School for a year and a half. His literary essays attracted the attention of his teacher, the famed writer and critic Hagop Oshagan. He sailed for the United States in 1921 and settled in New York. He worked as an apprentice photo-engraver at The Daily Mirror newspaper and studied English at night, voraciously reading world literature. He started contributing to Armenian publications in 1922 and took the pen name Aram Haigaz, after the name of one of his elder brothers who had died in 1915. He married and had two children.

He would publish ten books in his lifetime, as well as scores of essays and reviews for Armenian newspapers and magazines throughout the Diaspora. His first book, however, would be H. Baghdoyan’s English translation of his memoir on the resistance of Shabin Karahisar, The Fall of the Aerie (1935, reprinted in 2010). He would continue working on the history of the self-defense and collecting testimonies, which he condensed in a book, Shabin Karahisar and Its Heroic Struggle (1957).

Other than stories from the old country and his years of tribulations, from the very beginning he started writing humorous short stories and vignettes of contemporary life during his time in Constantinople and then in the United States. His natural, conversational style made him a sought-after author. He collected his stories in several volumes: The Call of the Race (vol. I, 1949; vol. II, 1954), Four Worlds (1962), Hotel (1967), Yearning (1971), Live, Children! (1973), and Happiness (1978).

Aram Haigaz received various literary awards, and his literary jubilee was marked in 1972 in the United States, Canada, and Lebanon. He lived in Rego Park (New York), and passed away in Manhattan on March 10, 1986, a few days before his eighty-sixth birthday, from complications of pneumonia. The Soviet regime did not allow the publication of his work in Armenia during his lifetime for political reasons. In the past decade, several books of stories and articles scattered in the press have been posthumously published in Yerevan, as well as an anthology of his short stories and a collection of letters.

Note: See the Bookstore offering below for a recently published translation of his memoir.

NEAR EAST FOUNDATION FILM PREMIERE

“They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief,” will have its official premiere on Saturday, April 8 at The Times Center, 242 41st Street, New York City. Produced by NEF Board Member Shant Mardirossian and award-winning producer, writer, and director George Billard, the film details the historic events that led to the Armenian Genocide and the consequent rescue that provided assistance to hundreds of thousands of displaced men, women, and children. The documentary makes extensive use of never before seen footage of orphans who were in Near East Relief’s care. There will be an afternoon and evening showing, both followed by a panel discussion with notable documentary contributors. For more information and see the trailer, visit www.theyshallnotperish.com. 

WEEKLY REFLECTIONS

This week’s Reflection is offered by Archpriest Fr. Gomidas Baghsarian, Pastor-Emeritus of Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island. Click here to Watch

Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan:

An Armenian Boy’s Memoir of Survival

By Aram Haigaz

Translated by Iris Haigaz Chekenian

This is an extraordinary memoir by one of the most beloved Armenian American writers. Aram Haigaz’s simple and elegant prose captured the hearts and minds of his contemporary Armenians who eagerly awaited his next literary offering. This inspiring story is one of his best.

363 pages, hard cover, $26.95 plus shipping and handling.

197 pages, hardcover, $49.95, plus shipping and handling

To order this or any other book, contact the Prelacy Bookstore by email (books@armenianprelacy.org) or telephone (212-689-7810).

SPRING

Although the recent snow storm and cold weather in the northeast say “winter,” the calendar says otherwise. Monday is the first day of spring. Welcome sweet springtime!

Prelacy Lenten Program at St. Illuminator Cathedral, New York City at 7 pm.
March 22, Cultural Renewal—Yesterday and Today (in Armenian) by Dr. Vartan Matiossian, Director of ANEC.
March 29, The Legacy of the 1915 Martyrs as Source of Renewal, Very Rev. Fr. Zareh Sarkissian, pastor of Holy Cross Church, Troy, New York and Outreach Clergy.
April 5, Armenian Church Traditions and Renewal, by Rev. Fr. Stephan Baljian, pastor of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts.

March 16—Concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s membership in the United Nations, at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, featuring celebrated Armenian musicians in a performance that bridges the past and the present. Sponsored by the Armenian Mission to the United Nations. Tickets can be purchased by person at the box office or by phone (212-721-6500).

March 17—“The Four-Day War and its Aftermath,” perspectives on Artsakh’s security, diplomacy, and peace negotiations. Panelists: Robert Avetisyan, John M. Evans, Antranig Kasbarian, Ruben Melikyan. Moderated by Vartan Abdo. Sts. Vartanantz Church Hall, 461 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, New Jersey, 8 pm. Admission free. Sponsored by The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, New Jersey Dro Gomideh and the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, Armenagan-Hovsepian Chapter of NY-NJ.

March 25—Hrant Dink Contemporary Oratorio, St. Vartan Cathedral, 630 Second Avenue, New York City, at 6:30 pm. Dinner will follow in the Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium. Organized by the Constantinople Armenian Relief Society on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, and with participation of ten community organizations. Chorus and orchestra under the direction of Kris D. Kalfayan, Musical Director. Tickets: $40 for concert; $60 for dinner. For reservations /  information: 718-459-2757. 

March 26—Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, Annual Membership meeting.

March 31—Eastern Prelacy’s annual Musical Armenia concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, New York City at 8 pm. Featuring: Hasmik Vardanyan, cello; Karen Hakobyan, piano; Haik Kazazyan, violin; Hayk Arsenyan, piano. For tickets ($25) and information call Carnegie Hall Box Office (212-247-7800) or Prelacy Office (212-689-7810).

March 31-April 2—Armenian Relief Society Eastern USA is hosting an Art Exhibit at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New York City, of works of Arthur Pinajian to benefit the ARS Education Fund. Opening ceremony and reception on Saturday, April 1, 7 to 10 pm. Additional viewing Friday March 31, 4 to 10 pm; Saturday April 1, Noon to 4 pm; Sunday April 2, 1 to 4 pm. Selling Exhibition. Free admission. For information: Sonia 917-679-6992.

April 8—Premiere of  documentary, “They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief,” at The Times Center, New York City. Watch for more details.

April 9—Annual Palm Sunday Dinner, ARS Merrimack Valley "Arax" Chapter, St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church Jaffarian Hall, 158 Main St., North Andover, Massachusetts 01845; dinner & program; Guest speaker: Mr. Robert Megerdichian, presenting the Metal Artworks of Abraham Megerdichian; Adults $15, Children 12 & under $8; to reserve tickets contact Sharke' Der Apkarian (978) 808-0598.

April 23—Remembering the Armenian Genocide, Gathering at Times Square, 2 pm (43rd and Broadway, New York City). Sponsored by Knights and Daughters of Vartan; co-sponsored and with the participation of all major Armenian organizations. Free bus transportation to and from Times Square. For information: www.KOFV.ORG/MAIN/APRIL232017.

May 18-20—National Representative Assembly of the Eastern Prelacy hosted by All Saints Church, Glenview, Illinois.

May 21—St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts, 47th anniversary celebration and year-end hantes of church schools. Archbishop Oshagan will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and preside over the dedication of the Tom M. Vartabedian Library and anniversary/hantes.

December 5-8—World General Assembly of the Great House of Cilicia, at the Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon.