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PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.armenianchurch.net
March 1, 2007
___________________
NYC CATHEDRAL TO HOST JOINT MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR HRANT DINK ON SUNDAY,
MARCH 4
The Armenian-American community will join together at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday,
March 4, 2007, in New York City's St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral for a joint
memorial and requiem service honoring the life and work of Hrant Dink, the
courageous Armenian-Turkish journalist assassinated outside the office of
his newspaper, Agos, in Istanbul on Friday, January 19, 2007.
The guest preacher at the service will be the Reverend Canon Francis V. Tiso
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The service will also include remarks by three special guest speakers: Peter
Steinfels of the New York Times, Jeremy Main of the Overseas Press Club, and
Anna Kushner of the PEN American Center who will speak to the courage of
their fellow journalist and the need to protect journalist as they exercise
free speech rights.
The memorial service will take place at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral,
630 Second Avenue at 34th Street in Manhattan followed by remarks at the
reception in the Haik and Alice Kvookjian Auditorium.
COURAGEOUS JOURNALIST
Dink was editor-in-chief of Istanbul's bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper
Agos. He was a respected member of the Armenian community because of his
open and forthright approach to discussing the Armenian genocide.
He began Agos on April 5, 1996, as a way to build a bridge of understanding
between the Turkish and the Turkish-Armenian communities. He also sought to
pull the Armenian community out of isolation in Turkey.
For statements in support of Genocide recognition, Dink was prosecuted three
times for "denigrating Turkishness."
Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, allegedly by Ogün
Samast, an ultra-nationalist Turk. He left behind a wife, two daughters, and
a son.
JOINT COMMUNITY MEMORIAL
The March 4 service is being organized by the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of America, the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of America and the Armenian
Missionary Association.
"Hrant Dink never believed that it was disloyal to speak the truth. Indeed,
he believed that it was his, and every Turkish citizen's duty to seek out
and speak the truth. He believed that Turkey, being bound by a past too
unbearable to even speak, held his country in bondage. So, with a clear
conscience, a good heart and a talent for writing, Hrant and his colleagues
founded Agos, a bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper dedicated to
responsible journalism and advocacy for peaceful change and dialogue," said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate (or head bishop) of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), who traveled to Istanbul to attend
Dink's funeral last month.
"I have been encouraged by the vast majority of people's reactions to this
tragic event. I have personally witnessed the solidarity with Hrant's ideas
and dreams demonstrated by well over 100,000 people who lined the streets of
Istanbul as the funeral cortege passed by, as well as those who flocked to
his graveside to pay their respects. These were not the passing whims of
sympathy for a victim of a crime as some would report, but the earnest,
sincere and heartfelt expressions of love and commitment to Hrant's life's
work by people who have silently shared his struggle and who now proclaim
their solidarity loudly, vocally and explicitly for the world to see,"
Archbishop Barsamian continued.
The joint memorial and requiem service will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday,
March 4, 2007, at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, 630 Second Avenue at
34th Street in Manhattan.
For more on Dink's life and works, visit: www.armenianchurch.net/dink.
-- 3/1/07
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.armenianchurch.net
March 1, 2007
___________________
NYC CATHEDRAL TO HOST JOINT MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR HRANT DINK ON SUNDAY,
MARCH 4
The Armenian-American community will join together at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday,
March 4, 2007, in New York City's St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral for a joint
memorial and requiem service honoring the life and work of Hrant Dink, the
courageous Armenian-Turkish journalist assassinated outside the office of
his newspaper, Agos, in Istanbul on Friday, January 19, 2007.
The guest preacher at the service will be the Reverend Canon Francis V. Tiso
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The service will also include remarks by three special guest speakers: Peter
Steinfels of the New York Times, Jeremy Main of the Overseas Press Club, and
Anna Kushner of the PEN American Center who will speak to the courage of
their fellow journalist and the need to protect journalist as they exercise
free speech rights.
The memorial service will take place at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral,
630 Second Avenue at 34th Street in Manhattan followed by remarks at the
reception in the Haik and Alice Kvookjian Auditorium.
COURAGEOUS JOURNALIST
Dink was editor-in-chief of Istanbul's bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper
Agos. He was a respected member of the Armenian community because of his
open and forthright approach to discussing the Armenian genocide.
He began Agos on April 5, 1996, as a way to build a bridge of understanding
between the Turkish and the Turkish-Armenian communities. He also sought to
pull the Armenian community out of isolation in Turkey.
For statements in support of Genocide recognition, Dink was prosecuted three
times for "denigrating Turkishness."
Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, allegedly by Ogün
Samast, an ultra-nationalist Turk. He left behind a wife, two daughters, and
a son.
JOINT COMMUNITY MEMORIAL
The March 4 service is being organized by the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of America, the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of America and the Armenian
Missionary Association.
"Hrant Dink never believed that it was disloyal to speak the truth. Indeed,
he believed that it was his, and every Turkish citizen's duty to seek out
and speak the truth. He believed that Turkey, being bound by a past too
unbearable to even speak, held his country in bondage. So, with a clear
conscience, a good heart and a talent for writing, Hrant and his colleagues
founded Agos, a bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper dedicated to
responsible journalism and advocacy for peaceful change and dialogue," said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate (or head bishop) of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), who traveled to Istanbul to attend
Dink's funeral last month.
"I have been encouraged by the vast majority of people's reactions to this
tragic event. I have personally witnessed the solidarity with Hrant's ideas
and dreams demonstrated by well over 100,000 people who lined the streets of
Istanbul as the funeral cortege passed by, as well as those who flocked to
his graveside to pay their respects. These were not the passing whims of
sympathy for a victim of a crime as some would report, but the earnest,
sincere and heartfelt expressions of love and commitment to Hrant's life's
work by people who have silently shared his struggle and who now proclaim
their solidarity loudly, vocally and explicitly for the world to see,"
Archbishop Barsamian continued.
The joint memorial and requiem service will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday,
March 4, 2007, at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, 630 Second Avenue at
34th Street in Manhattan.
For more on Dink's life and works, visit: www.armenianchurch.net/dink.
-- 3/1/07