Category: News & Events

On Wednesday, March 20, the six-part Prelacy Lenten Program concluded. The lecturer was Maggie Kouyoumdjian, Sts. Vartanantz Sunday School Director of Ridgefield, New Jersey, who spoke on “Lessons from Famous Mothers from the Bible.”

Mrs. Kouyoumdjian focused on eight famous mothers in the Bible, starting with Eve, the mother of all living, to Mary, Mother-of-God (Asdvadzadzin). She briefly highlighted the characteristics of each of the eight mothers and their role in God’s plan of salvation. Then, reflecting on the mothers’ role today, she said, beyond nurturing their children physically, emotionally and intellectually, Armenian mothers need to pass on the glorious riches of our Christian faith and heritage to their children and grandchildren. Concluding, she spoke about how her grandmother and especially her mother were influential Christian witnesses in her life.

On behalf of H. E. Archbishop Oshagan, Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, who facilitated the six-part Lenten program, thanked everyone for their participation – including the Prelacy Ladies Guild (PLG) and the Ladies Guild of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, and the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) – and wished them a very blessed Holy Week journey to Easter, reminding them to participate in the coming Holy Week services.

The Lenten program is sponsored by the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), the Prelacy Ladies Guild (PLG), and the Ladies’ Guild of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral.

On Saturday, March 9, Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) director Dn. Shant Kazanjian conducted a 4-hour seminar for Sunday School teachers from New York and New Jersey. The event was hosted by St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City and began with a Sunrise Service (Arevakal) at the church led by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian (pastor of the Cathedral) and Rev. Fr. Hovnan Bozoian (pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey), assisted by deacons Shant Kazanjian and Vahan Kouyoumdjian, M.D. The seminar explored the Eucharist (Soorp Badarak), beginning with a historical and scriptural overview of the liturgy (in general and Armenian) followed by an exploration into each part. Dn. Shant used a video of a typical service to analyze and explain what is done during each part and its meaning.

On Sunday, March 3, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral Ladies Guild hosted a Mid-Lenten (Michink) luncheon in Pashalian Hall following the Divine Liturgy. Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the Prelacy, presided and blessed the table.

Welcoming remarks were offered by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor. Meline Najarian, chair of the Ladies Guild, introduced the keynote speaker Hourig Papazian-Sahagian who spoke about the history of the Cathedral and its century-old spiritual, cultural, educational, and humanitarian service to the community.

The third of a six-part Prelacy Lenten program took place on Wednesday, February 27, at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City, presided over by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan, Vicar General. The lecturer was Meline Karakashian, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, who spoke on “The Challenges of being a Mother Today.”
Dr. Karakashian spoke about the ideal mother just before and after the 1915 Armenian Genocide, showing how the mother-child relationships had changed. After the genocide it seems difficult for our mothers to let go because of the fear of losing their children, she said. We have not really studied this and other effects that the genocide has had on our mothers. We need to create opportunities for our mothers to discuss these sort of issues openly and freely, she suggested, and the church community is the ideal place for that type of thing to happen. Afterwards, the participants engaged in interesting discussions on different styles of rearing children and on ways to overcome challenges mothers face today.

Next Wednesday, the speaker will be Maggie Kouyoumdjian, Sts. Vartananatz Sunday School Director (NJ), who will speak about “Lessons from Famous Mothers from the Bible – A Brief Reflection.”

On February 21, 2013, over 50 people attended a lecture on the state of women’s rights hosted by the ARS Mayr and Bergen County Chapters at St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in New York City. Anahid Ugurlayan, Vice-Chairlady of the ARS Mayr Chapter of NY and moderator of the program, welcomed the attendees and provided a brief overview of the ARS and its work. Ugurlayan introduced ARS UN Coordinator, Houri Geudelekian, who provided an overview of the ARS and its history as an NGO at the UN since 1975.

Geudelekian introduced Madeline Brecher, a representative of the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW), a prominent NGO at the UN, who provided an overview of her organization. Brecher explained that ICJW was established in 1912 and is an umbrella organization representing women’s organizations in 43 countries. ICJW also has consultative status at the United Nations an NGO with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and has permanent delegations in New York, Geneva, Vienna and Paris. Brecher explained her extensive work on the various committees at the UN, including the NGO CSW Executive Committee where she works with Geudelekian, partnering with the ARS on many parallel events during this year’s CSW.

On Sunday, February 24, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan presided over the Divine Liturgy and the Requiem Service at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral. Requiem Service was held in memory of deceased members and benefactors of the Armenian Relief Society. During the fellowship hour that followed the services, Archbishop Oshagan praised the ARS’s service and dedication to the Armenian community

On Sunday, February the second at the Pashalian Hall of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in Manhattan,the audience learned much from the lecture/multimedia presentation given by Dr. Artak Movsisyan, professor at the Yerevan State University and organized by the New York and New Jersey
chapters of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. This event was a part of the Hamazkayin Eastern USA Distinguished Lecture
series, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing. Prior to New York, Dr. A. Movsisyan had given a lecture in Boston, and will continue his lecture tour in major cultural centers of the West Coast.

Despite his young age, Dr. Movsisyan has made a serious contribution to the study of pre-Christian Armenian history and writing. His career started in 1991 at the State Historical Museum of Armenia, where he worked as a
scientific worker till 1997 and since then at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, as a senior scientific worker. Parallel to his scientific work, since 1998, Dr. Movsisyan has been teaching history at Yerevan State University as an Associate professor.

On Sunday afternoon in attendance were Mrs. Hasmig Aprahamian and Mr. Hagop Melkonian, representatives of the Eastern United States Regional Executive Committee of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society.
Mrs. Hasmig Aprahamian made the opening remarks and invited Dr. Ara Caprielian, chairman of the New York chapter, who was the master of ceremonies of this event. Dr. Caprielian presented a brief introduction to
Dr. Artak Movsisyan’s vast body of research publications in Armenian, Russian and English languages.

Dr. Movsisyan’s lecture was brimming with facts from primary sources of Armenian and non-Armenian origin, proving that in the pre-Mashdots or pre-Christian era Armenians had a well-developed writing, spanning several
millennia.

After a lively question and answer period, Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, expressed his thoughts upon the lecture and once again congratulated Hamazkayin on organizing diverse and
interesting programs.

Following his closing remarks, Dr. Caprielian commented that to guarantee Armenia’s security and viability a disciplined and motivated army is necessary, but scholars of our national history as Dr. Artak Movsiayn are
also vitally important for teaching and presenting our true history to counteract the revisionists and pseudo-historians attempting to distort factual history. He also thanked Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian and the Board of
Trustees for welcoming and hosting several of Hamazkayin’s programs at the Pashalian Hall. Fr. Lakissian consistently encourages Hamazkayin’s cultural activities and proves by his deeds his strong belief that the Cathedral ought to be a lively center for the community at large.

It was extraordinarily rewarding to see how Dr. Movsisyan’s books were flying off the table. The titles offered: “*The Sacred Highlands: Armenia in the Spiritual Geography of the Ancient Near East,” “The Writing Culture
of Pre-Christian Armenia”* and *”10 Outstanding Armenian Kings”* were no “light fare,” yet most of the books were purchased within minutes. The attendees surrounded the lecturer, asking additional questions, and patiently waiting to get their books inscribed. It was encouraging to hear that most of them were looking forward to future programs offered by Hamazkayin of New York.

Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, and a member of the Prelacy’s Religious Council, represented Archbishop Oshagan at the Recognition, Investiture, and Installation of The Right Reverend Andrew M. L. Dietsche as the 16th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York last Saturday, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. V. Rev. Fr. Mamigon Kiledjian, Dean of St. Vartan Cathedral, represented Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese.

Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian was in California for the annual clergy gathering and conference on the occasion of the Feast of St. Ghevont and the Priests that began Monday, January 28 and concluded on Wednesday, January 30.
This year the three North American Prelacies joined to commemorate this holiday, hosted by the Western Prelacy. The conference took place at St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco, under the presidency of the three prelates, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian (Western), Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan (Eastern), and Archbishop Khajag Hagopian (Canadian). Elected to serve as the executives of the conference were V. Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian and V. Rev. Fr. Meghrig Parikian, co-chairmen; and Archpriest Fr. Viken Vasilian and Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, secretaries.

Clergy visited Krouzian-Zakarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School where the students presented Vartanantz program. They also visited the Cross on the Mount Davidson. The Cross has been purchased by the council of Armenian American organizations of Northern California and the bronze plaque has been installed at the base memorializing the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Conference concluded by the Divine Liturgy.

On Sunday, January 27, 2013, at 1:00 p.m., at the Pashalian Hall of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral the New York chapter of Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society organized the screening of the documentary film “Enemy of the People: Armenians Look Back at the Stalin Terror” directed and produced by Zareh Tjeknavorian.

Dr. Ara Caprielian, chairman of Hamazkayin of New York, began the program with his welcoming remarks, during which he expressed his gratitude to Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian for making the Pashalian Hall available gratis for such cultural events. Then, he introduced Zareh Tjeknavorian to the audience. Tjeknavorian was born in Fargo, ND, but grew up in a cosmopolitan international environment due to his father, composer and conductor Loris Tjeknavorian’s tours in various countries. Zareh lived in San Francisco, Iran, London, Germany, Paris, New York City, and Armenia. He graduated from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University in 1992, with a bachelor’s degree in film and television production.

“Enemy of the People,” narrated by Eric Bogosian, is Tjeknavorian’s most widely-known documentary film, which depicts Stalinist oppression in Armenia. In fact, National Geographic Magazine recommended it as one of three must-see films about Armenia, along with “The Color of Pomegranates” by Sergei Parajanov and “Ararat” by Atom Egoyan.

At the conclusion of the program, Dr. Ara Caprielian invited Fr. Mesrob Lakissian to the podium to make the closing remarks. Fr. Mesrob expressed his pleasure at seeing such a poignant film, congratulated Zareh Tjeknavorian on his accomplishment, and presented him with a beautifully crafted miniature replica of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Monument erected in Antelias. He also praised Dr. Caprielian and the rest of the Hamazkayin board members for organizing this significant function. And, in response to Dr. Caprielian’s expression of gratitude for making the Pashalian Hall available gratis for such events, Fr. Mesrob said, *“We renovated the Pashalian Hall for that very same purpose. Anytime you organize a cultural event, the hall is yours. This is also your cultural
home.”