Tweet
ARMENIAN REPORTER
PO Box 129
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
Tel: 1-201-226-1995
Fax: 1-201-226-1660
Web: http://www.reporter.am
Email: [email protected]
March 24, 2007 -- From the community section
All of the articles that appear below are special to the ARMENIAN REPORTER
For photographs, maps, and other images, visit www.reporter.am
1. Harut Sassounian feted at Western Diocese
Activist awarded Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal (by Paul Chaderjian)
2. In Washington, Shushan Petrosyan presents a Yerevan-style concert
(by Andrew Kevorkian)
3. A Catholicos in India - for the first time in 40 years
Karekin II visits the dwindling but vital community which preserves a
centuries-long legacy
****************************************** *********************************
1. Harut Sassounian feted at Western Diocese
* Activist awarded Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal
by Paul Chaderjian
BURBANK, Calif. - The highest honor bestowed by the Armenian Church
was awarded to Harut Sassounian Sunday night at the Kalayjian Hall of
the Western Diocese in Burbank. Mr. Sassounian, who is the publisher
of the California Courier weekly, the president of the United Armenian
Fund (UAF), and vice-chair of the Lincy Foundation, received the Saint
Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal with an encyclical from Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians, recognizing him for his decades of
leadership, dedication to Genocide recognition, career as a
journalist, and selfless work to provide humanitarian assistance to
the homeland.
The evening began with opening comments from Master of Ceremonies
Torkom Postajian, president of the Armenian Writers' Association of
America. Mr. Postajian said it was his idea to honor Mr. Sassounian,
who had for years declined. The culmination of the two-and-a-half hour
program was the awarding of the Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal by
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church of North America.
The master of ceremonies said Mr. Sassounian had been instrumental
in facilitating the distribution of more than $470 million in
assistance to the homeland through the UAF. The pan-Armenian
organization was formed after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, said Mr.
Postajian, bringing together the Armenian Assembly of America, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary Association
of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
America, and the Lincy Foundation.
Since its creation, the UAF has sent much-needed humanitarian
assistance to Armenia on board 142 airlifts and 1,425 sea containers,
collecting material donations from member organizations and others and
sending them to the homeland with shipping costs underwritten by Kirk
Kerkorian's Lincy Foundation. The most recent flight landed in Yerevan
on March 17, delivering more than $11 million in humanitarian
assistance (see story on page A00). During the most critical days of
the fledgling young republic in the early 1990s, said Mr. Postajian,
the UAF was there to help with bare essentials and fuel.
Joining the writers' association and the Armenian Church in honoring
the man at the helm of the UAF were representatives and members of the
AGBU, the Hamazkayin Cultural Association, the Tekeyan Cultural
Association, the Nor Serount Cultural Association, and the
Organization of Istanbul Armenians Cultural Committee.
Mr. Postajian read a letter from President Robert Kocharian of the
Republic of Armenia, who praised Mr. Sassounian for his commitment to
the homeland and his successful implementation of Lincy Foundation
projects in the homeland. The president also noted that Mr.
Sassounian's dedication has earned him an Ananya Shiragatsi Medal.
California Courier editor Serj Samoniantz was the first speaker of
the evening and said it was not easy to talk about Harut, who was not
just his boss but also his friend. Mr. Samoniantz described Mr.
Sassounian as a good man, a hard worker, and a family man. "Some of
your may not know," Mr. Samoniantz said, "that he is a Type A
personality, and he wants to have everything done just right. Those of
you who have worked with him know exactly what I'm talking about.
That's a rare quality among Armenians. We are so used to taking short
cuts, using gossip as the truth, and it's hard when someone tells the
truth we face and stands by it."
Mr. Samoniantz talked about his friend, the journalist and activist,
and working with Mr. Sassounian when he served as a nongovernmental
delegate on human rights at the United Nations in Geneva. Mr.
Sassounian was employed at Procter & Gamble in Switzerland at the time
as an international marketing executive and, Mr. Samoniantz said, was
instrumental in the U.N. recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1985.
"Our objective then was that the mention of the Armenian Genocide,"
said Mr. Samoniantz, "was written in official reports of the United
Nations, and Harut had the knowledge and the background of how to deal
with diplomatic people and the appointed ambassadors and how to also
deal with the Turkish propaganda machine that was being activated
against the Armenian cause." Mr. Samoniantz concluded by attributing
the successes that Armenians have had with their collective effort in
Genocide recognition around the world to the foundations Mr.
Sassounian laid at the United Nations, something that seemed obscure
and unattainable to Armenians at the time.
Next on the program was a surprise visitor from New York, Charlie
Flynn, a major gifts officer from the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
"Harut came into our offices ten years ago," said Mr. Flynn, "and he
asked if we would be kind enough to help. Some of the staff, after he
left, said that Harut is very hard to say no to."
Mr. Flynn said ten years later, his 79-year-old organization in
partnership with the UAF has donated nearly 58 million dollars of
pharmaceuticals, hospital supplies, primary health care medicines, and
flu and hepatitis vaccines to the poorest of the poor throughout
Armenia. Flynn noted that another shipment of nearly nine million
dollars worth of medicines had arrived in Yerevan with the latest UAF
airlift, just one day earlier.
Kevork Keshishian from the AGBU took the podium next and said, "In
the diaspora and Armenia, Harut is one of the most respected
journalists." Mr. Sassounian's work should be appreciated by each
member of the Armenian community, said Mr. Keshishian, calling on
everyone in the community to approach their work with a pan-Armenian
perspective.
"A dynamic journalist and shaper of public opinion" is how Lilit
Keheyan described Mr. Sassounian with her speech. Ms. Keheyan spoke on
behalf of the Tekeyan Cultural Association, saying that Mr. Sassounian
is the one who introduced the idea of investigative journalism to
Armenian media. Ms. Keheyan said Mr. Sassounian is relentless, always
using his column to lash out at anti-Armenian propaganda from Turkey.
The keynote speaker of the evening was University of Southern
California political science professor Dr. Hrair Dekmejian, who is
also the director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies. Dr.
Dekmejian talked about dedication of Mr. Sassounian, his next-door
neighbor, to not only Genocide recognition but also the sustenance of
a free, independent, and safe homeland.
Dr. Dekmejian gave the audience a brief biography of the honoree,
mentioning his immigration to the U.S. in 1969, his multiple graduate
degrees, his work for Proctor & Gamble, and the 24 years Mr.
Sassounian has spent as editor and then publisher of the Courier. "He
has written more than 12 hundred columns," said Dr. Dekmejian,
"discussing the Armenian case in a global context, researching
hundreds of sources, and analyzing current affairs for the public."
Citing Mr. Sassounian's published volumes on the Armenian Genocide,
Dr. Dekmejian stated the honoree goes beyond seeking recognition but
also seeks justice. At the same time, said Dr. Dekmejian, Mr.
Sassounian has focused on successfully implementing projects funded
through the generosity of Kirk Kerkorian.
"Mr. Kerkorian's $170 million," said Dr. Dekmejian, "helped
revitalize the heart of Yerevan. Thirty-four museums were
reconstructed. Bridges and roads were renovated. Thirty-seven hundred
apartments in the earthquake zones were rebuilt, and small business
loans were also made available."
Shortly after the $170 million Lincy Foundation project was
completed, said Dr. Dekmejian, Mr. Sassounian was asked to distribute
another $60 million for infrastructure development programs in Armenia
and deliver $4.5 million to Armenian educational institutions in
war-torn Lebanon.
"I remember a time," said Dr. Dekmejian, "when Armenia needed $23
million in fuel. Harut gathered seven million and secured a donation
of an additional $14 million from Mr. Kerkorian. I remember a time
when the Government of Armenia was not cooperative and UAF flights
were unable to land. Harut said, no good deeds go unpunished, and we
are going to help Armenia whether they want it or not."
In addition to several musical performance during the program,
paying homage to Mr. Sassounian were Armen Liloyan, consul general of
the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, and California Assemblyman
Paul Krikorian, who called Mr. Sassounian a "man of action" and
someone whose work in the Courier gave Mr. Krikorian a lifeline to the
Armenian community. "You made me a better Armenian," said the
assemblyman.
Bringing the evening of praise to a close were Kevork Bedigian from
the Hamakayin Cultural Association and Harut Der Tavitan from the Nor
Serount Cultural Association. Mr. Bedigian expressed his gratitude for
Mr. Sassounian's drive for justice and cultural preservation, and Mr.
Der Tavitian talked the about importance of making it possible for the
95 percent of young Armenians not enrolled in Armenian educational
institutions to receive an Armenian education.
After Abp. Derderian awarded Mr. Sassounian the Saint Sahag-Saint
Mesrob Medal, Mr. Sassounian expressed his gratitude. Using Ambassador
John Evan's speech on March 4 as an example, Mr. Sassounian said,
"When we honored the ambassador, he said, 'I don't understand why you
honor me for speaking the truth.' In my situation, I ask, why are you
honoring me for performing my civic duty? What I do is not much
different from what you do daily, day-in and day-out. It's each of our
responsibility to serve our church, our organizations and each other.
Because by serving others, we are serving our community and
ourselves."
**************************** ***********************************************
2 . In Washington, Shushan Petrosyan presents a Yerevan-style concert
by Andrew Kevorkian
WASHINGTON - "People's Artist of Armenia" Shushan Petrosyan introduced
an Armenian-American audience to a Yerevan-style concert on March 17 -
and young and old loved it.
Apparently, in Yerevan the concerts start an hour late, the
performers use loud "canned" music as back-up (which, at this concert,
worked only part of the time), and the soloist spends half the evening
talking to the audience.
Singing sometimes from the stage and sometimes from the floor of the
World Bank building's auditorium - and sometimes visiting backstage to
see what was going wrong with the music - Miss Petrosyan managed to
sing 12 songs in 75 minutes. She offered one encore.
Obviously an Armenia-style "pop" singer, Miss Petrosyan possesses a
beautiful contralto range and, when she had to sing a cappella because
of backstage music failure, proved that she really didn't need an
accompaniment - especially because when it was working it was
atrociously loud, and she had to compete accordingly.
With no set program and no introduction, Miss Petrosyan sang a
selection of popular and folk songs that included Es inchpes verkenam
gnam, Miayn ser, Hayreniq, Bari aragil, Kyanqs hayrenikin, Erkir
Hayreni, Tzaynere anoush, Hayots hovik, and Ser.
In between, the audience learned about her life and experiences.
Among the more moving of these, we learned that she has sung for the
Armenian Army "in some dangerous places" (for which she received loud
applause).
Miss Petrosyan was born in Yerevan into the family of the opera
singer Arax Mansourian, now performing at the Sydney Opera House in
Australia, and the artist Samvel Petrosyan, who has headed the Panos
Terlemezian Art School, from which Miss Petrosyan graduated with a
degree in painting. She also holds a degree in graphics from the
Academy of Arts.
She made her professional singing debut in 1989 in Paris.
Miss Petrosyan holds numerous awards for both her singing and albums
as well as her designs for concerts and festivals. In addition, she
teaches at the State Theater of Song, hosts a program on Radio Van,
appears regularly on television, and has appeared in the film, "Mer
Bak."
She has sung in more than a dozen countries, and has produced more
than a half-dozen albums.
Last year she was named a "People's Artist of Armenia."
As someone commented, it was a "zhoghovertagan" evening - so much so
that there was audience-dancing in the aisles during some of the
spirited songs, especially by a handful of little girls, one of whom
went on stage when Miss Petrosyan vacated it for the auditorium floor.
The evening was organized by the Armenian Embassy's Consul, Armelia
Shekoyan, with ample support from Julietta Stepanian.
************************************** *************************************
3. A Catholicos in India - for the first time in 40 years
* Karekin II visits the dwindling but vital community which preserves
a centuries-long legacy
PARAMUS, N.J. - His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, made a pontifical visit to the Armenian
communities of India, from February 26 through March 4. His sojourn
marked the first time a catholicos had traveled to India in more than
40 years, since Catholicos Vasken I made the trip in 1963.
In the course of his visit, Catholicos Karekin traveled to Calcutta,
Tangra, West Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. He saw the country's
important and long-lived Armenian institutions, including Calcutta's
Armenian College and home for the aged; the tomb of the Armenian
world's first journalist, Fr. Haroutiun Shmavonian, in Madras; and a
number of historic edifices, including the oldest Armenian sanctuary
in the Far East, Madras' Sourp Astvatsatsin Church.
Before departing, Catholicos Karekin also met with the President of
the Republic of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi.
India's relatively small and dwindling, but still vital, Armenian
community is the remnant of an Armenian presence that dates back to
classical antiquity. The earliest documentary evidence of an
established Armenian interaction with India comes from the Greek
philosopher Xenophon's Education of Cyrus (4th century B.C.); but the
relationship itself may date back much further.
In the Christian Era, Armenians continued to utilize the existing
trade routes through India, and sometimes blazed new trails through
the subcontinent. Formal Armenian settlements began appearing in the
16th century, often at the invitation of India's rulers, who provided
economic and political incentives to encourage Armenian traders to
establish distinct communities, replete with churches and social
institutions. The flourishing communities contributed not only to the
surrounding society, but also to Armenian life. Holy Etchmiadzin still
has curtains and precious artifacts donated by the Armenians of India;
and the country was the birthplace of the first Armenian journal,
published in 1794.
The Armenian Church maintains a strong connection to India's
historic Christian community, the Malabar Orthodox Church, which is
considered to have originated in the first century A.D. with the
apostolic mission of St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ. The
Armenian and Indian churches share not only an apostolic origin, but
also the distinctive theology of the so-called "Oriental
Orthodox" communions, which reject the theological pronouncements of
the 5th-century Council of Chalcedon, and comprise a distinct
sub-group of the ancient Christian churches.
* Arrival in Calcutta
Catholicos Karekin II began his official sojourn in India on the
evening of February 26, when he arrived via the capital of Delhi in
Calcutta (Kolkata), accompanied by Ambassador Ashot Kocharian,
Armenia's Ambassador to India, and Haik Sookias, Jr., chairman of the
local Armenian Church committee. The delegation was greeted at the
airport by Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese
of Australia and New Zealand and Pontifical Legate to the Far East;
Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian, manager of the Armenian College and
Philanthropic Academy of Calcutta and pastor of the Armenian community
of India; Fr. Vardan Navasardian, a member of the Brotherhood of Holy
Etchmiadzin currently serving in Australia; and members of the
Armenian Church committee of Calcutta and Chinsurah.
The following morning, the Catholicos visited Calcutta's Armenian
College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA), where he was greeted by Fr.
Gulgulian; ACPA administrator Deacon Tigran Baghumian; principal James
Dias; and teachers, staff, and students. The students presented a
program of Armenian poetry, spiritual and folk songs, an English play,
and Indian dances.
Currently 80 young boys and girls from Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and
India are studying and living within the halls of the historic
college, established more than 185 years ago. (A girl's dormitory
facility, Davidian Girls School (DGS), is located close by the
academy.) Addressing the students, Catholicos Karekin expressed his
happiness at spending a few days with them, to witness their daily
lives in the school.
He extended his appreciation to the Armenian community of Calcutta
for its continued support of this national institution, stressing its
importance not only for the Armenians of India, but for the entire
Armenian nation. He expressed admiration for the Indian-Armenian
community of the past centuries, which had the vision to establish
churches and cultural centers as well as the academy.
During a hrashapar service on February 27, more than 100 Armenians
from throughout West Bengal came to the Holy Church of Nazareth,
located on "Armenian Street" in Calcutta, to greet Karekin II. The
Catholicos offered prayers of thanks for his safe arrival in India,
and commended India's tradition-rich Armenian community for being the
"golden bridge" between India and Armenia for more than five
centuries. The loyalty of the Armenians of India to Holy Etchmiadzin,
the Armenian Church, and their homeland has been an example to all
diasporan Armenian communities for hundreds of years, said Karekin II.
At the end of the service, the faithful approached the pontiff and
kissed his right hand, receiving a cross from Holy Etchmiadzin and a
blessing from the Catholicos of All Armenians. Later, touring the
grounds of the Holy Church of Nazareth, Karekin II had the opportunity
to see the many gravestones in the courtyard of the church, some
dating from 1630. The original Holy Nazareth Church was built by
Armenians at the beginning of the 17th century; the current church
building dates from 1724.
Traveling from Calcutta to Tangra the following day (February 28),
the Catholicos presided over the re-consecration of the city's
historic Holy Trinity Armenian church. Built in 1823, the church had
fallen into disuse in recent years, but the Armenian Church committee
of Calcutta and Chinsurah renovated the sanctuary in anticipation of
the catholicos' visit.
Catholicos Karekin consecrated the altar and the 16 columns of the
church with chrism (myron) brought from Armenia, assisted by
Archbishop Baliozian and Fr. Gulgulian. According to tradition, the
columns are named for the 12 apostles, the evangelists Mark and Luke,
and two Armenian saints. Acting as godfathers during the service were
Ambassador Kocharian and seven members of the church committee:
chairman Haik Sookias, Jr.; wardens Sunil Sobti and Susan Reuben; and
members Vachakan Tadevosian, Narine Sahakian, Michael Dutt, and Arsham
Sookias. The pontiff presented a khatchkar from Holy Etchmiadzin to
the church, for placement in the bema or altar platform.
Later that day, having returned to Calcutta, the Catholicos visited
the 100-year-old St. Gregory the Illuminator Church - the last
Armenian Church to have been built in India (in 1906). On its grounds
is the "Sir Catchik Paul Chater Home," India's sole operational
Armenian home for the aged, which currently houses 19 residents. The
Catholicos offered a requiem service in the church in memory of all
past members of the Armenian-Indian community, and then visited each
resident of the home, offering them his pontifical blessings.
* A meeting in West Bengal
The chief minister of the state of West Bengal, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya, welcomed the Catholicos to the area during an official
meeting, during which the chief minister reflected on the profound
influence Armenians have had on the social, cultural, and economic
development of Calcutta, and on the esteem and admiration Armenians
have earned in India. He expressed a hope that its once large Armenian
population, which has diminished, would once again grow and flourish.
The Catholicos warmly noted the friendship between the two peoples
and expressed pleasure at the number of Indian students currently
studying in Yerevan. He thanked Mr. Bhattacharya and India's state
authorities for the attention accorded to religious and ethnic
minorities, allowing them to prosper and contribute to the country's
societal, national, and cultural life.
That same evening, the local church committee hosted a reception in
honor of the Catholicos, where members of the community, as well as
representatives of Indian society associated with the Armenian College
gathered. Church committee chairman Haik Sookias thanked the
Catholicos for blessing the Armenians of India with the first visit in
more than 40 years. Ambassador Kocharian spoke of the developing
relationship between the republics of Armenia and India, noting their
collaboration in economic and educational spheres. Fr. Ktrij Devejian,
the press secretary of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadizn, who
accompanied Catholicos Karekin throughout the trip, spoke of the
current activities of the Mother See, stressing the importance placed
on the spheres of Christian education and ministry, social services,
the preparation of a new generation of clergy, and cultural and youth
programs.
* Vestiges of departed communities
The resident Armenian community has long since disappeared from the
agrarian city of Chinsurah, but the beautiful church they built in
1697 still stands as a testimony to its faith. The city's St. John the
Baptist Church, well-preserved and maintained by Calcutta's Armenian
Church committee, is the second oldest Christian house of worship in
all of West Bengal, and the oldest Armenian church in India still in
use by Armenians.
It was to that church that Catholicos Karekin traveled on March 1,
in the company of his entourage, to pray at this vestige of one of
West Bengal's earliest Armenian settlements.
The Catholicos visited India's oldest Armenian Church - indeed, the
oldest in the Far East - the following day, when he traveled to
Madras. The city's Sourb Astvatsatsin Church was built in 1712, and is
currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation which has greatly
improved its condition of several years past. A cemetery lies on the
grounds of this church, where Archpriest Haroutiun Shmavonian is
interred. In 1794, while serving as pastor of the Armenian community
in Madras, Shmavonian began publishing the world's first Armenian
periodical, "Azdarar," for which he has been dubbed the father of
Armenian journalism.
Madras' historic Armenian church remains open, despite the fact that
there are no longer any Armenian residents to care for its maintenance
and safekeeping. Indians from the surrounding neighborhoods, adherents
of the local Christian tradition, came to the church located on
"Armenian Street" in the center of the city to greet the Catholicos
and to ask for his blessing.
Inside the sanctuary, Karekin II offered a requiem service for the
departed clergymen who have served the Armenian community of India and
the Far East over the past five centuries. He also laid a floral
wreath at the tomb of Fr. Shmavonian, after which he was guided on a
tour of the church grounds and its historic bell-tower, with its six
cast iron bells, renowned throughout Madras.
While at the church, the Catholicos met with the local historical
and architectural preservation committee to discuss efforts undertaken
by the Armenians of Calcutta to preserve the church and compound.
That afternoon, the Karekin II made a pilgrimage to the historic St.
Thomas Shrine, which rests atop a hill in Madras. According to
tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle was martyred on this hill in the
first century A.D., and the location was marked with a chapel and
later a church. In 1547, the very first Armenian Church in the Far
East was built on this location, and the original church building
remains to this day - as a functioning sanctuary and shrine of the
Roman Catholic denomination. Its Armenian origin is clearly evident in
the countless Armenian gravestones, paintings, and inscriptions (most
notably on the altar) which ornament the interior.
* Meeting with India's president
On the penultimate day of his visit (March 3), Catholicos Karekin
traveled to Bombay (Mumbai) where he saw the St. Peter Armenian
Church, built in 1796 and currently operating as a house of worship
for the city's few remaining Armenians as well as the faithful of the
Indian Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, who use the sanctuary as
guests of the Armenian Church.
The Malankara Metropolitan of Bombay, Geevargehse Mar Coorilos, and
a delegation of his priests welcomed Karekin II in a procession, after
which the last three remaining Armenians in Bombay greeted the entry
of their pontiff by singing hymns.
The Armenian priests in the Catholicos' company - Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, Fr. Vardan Navasardian, Fr. Ktrij Devejian, and the
pontiff's staff-bearer Fr. Hovnan Hakobian - conducted a hrashapar
service, after which Karekin II gave thanks to God for allowing him to
visit India over the previous 10 days and to personally witness the
centuries-old legacy of the Armenians of the Far East. He also
exhorted the Indian faithful to maintain their faith in the church
founded by St. Thomas the Apostle.
Metropolitan Mar Coorilos extended fraternal greetings from His
Holiness Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I, Catholicos of the East and
Malankara Metropolitan.
To conclude his pontifical visit, Karekin II met with Dr. A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam, President of the Republic of India, in the presidential
palace in New Delhi. March 4, the day of the meeting, was a holiday in
India called "Holi," the festival of colors, on which occasion the
Catholicos congratulated the President and extended his best wishes to
the Indian people.
In welcoming the Catholicos, President Kalam mentioned the Armenian
merchants who contributed to the economic and societal development of
vital trade cities like Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay from the 17th
through the 19th centuries. He expressed pleasure at the developing
ties between Armenia and India, especially during the 15 years of the
independent Republic of Armenia.
Karekin II said he was greatly impressed by his visits to the major
Indian cities of New Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, and expressed
pride at seeing the well-maintained Armenian College and Philanthropic
Academy in Calcutta, the Armenian churches and complexes, as well as
the Armenian cemeteries located throughout India. The pontiff stressed
the importance of the exchange of students between Armenia and India.
More than 800 Indian students currently study in Yerevan, most at
Yerevan State Medical University, and a number of Armenian students
are pursuing higher education in major universities throughout India.
He also thanked the Indian people for their assistance in the years
immediately following the earthquake of 1988, and continuing to the
present day, in the form of economic development assistance in
agriculture and information technologies.
Accompanying Catholicos Karekin at the meeting were Ambassador Ashot
Kocharian, Fr. Ktrij Devejian, and Fr. Hovnan Hakobian. Also present
during the meeting was India's Ambassador to Armenia, Reena Pandey. At
the conclusion of the meeting, President Kalam gave a tour of his
private garden in the presidential palace compound.
Having concluded his first pontifical visit to India, the Catholicos
of All Armenians and his delegation returned to Armenia and the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin on March 5. (Sources: Holy Etchmiadzin
information service, research and news resources.)
************************************* **************************************
Please send your news to [email protected] and your letters to
[email protected]
(c) 2007 CS Media Enterprises LLC. All Rights Reserved
PO Box 129
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
Tel: 1-201-226-1995
Fax: 1-201-226-1660
Web: http://www.reporter.am
Email: [email protected]
March 24, 2007 -- From the community section
All of the articles that appear below are special to the ARMENIAN REPORTER
For photographs, maps, and other images, visit www.reporter.am
1. Harut Sassounian feted at Western Diocese
Activist awarded Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal (by Paul Chaderjian)
2. In Washington, Shushan Petrosyan presents a Yerevan-style concert
(by Andrew Kevorkian)
3. A Catholicos in India - for the first time in 40 years
Karekin II visits the dwindling but vital community which preserves a
centuries-long legacy
****************************************** *********************************
1. Harut Sassounian feted at Western Diocese
* Activist awarded Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal
by Paul Chaderjian
BURBANK, Calif. - The highest honor bestowed by the Armenian Church
was awarded to Harut Sassounian Sunday night at the Kalayjian Hall of
the Western Diocese in Burbank. Mr. Sassounian, who is the publisher
of the California Courier weekly, the president of the United Armenian
Fund (UAF), and vice-chair of the Lincy Foundation, received the Saint
Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal with an encyclical from Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians, recognizing him for his decades of
leadership, dedication to Genocide recognition, career as a
journalist, and selfless work to provide humanitarian assistance to
the homeland.
The evening began with opening comments from Master of Ceremonies
Torkom Postajian, president of the Armenian Writers' Association of
America. Mr. Postajian said it was his idea to honor Mr. Sassounian,
who had for years declined. The culmination of the two-and-a-half hour
program was the awarding of the Saint Sahag-Saint Mesrob Medal by
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church of North America.
The master of ceremonies said Mr. Sassounian had been instrumental
in facilitating the distribution of more than $470 million in
assistance to the homeland through the UAF. The pan-Armenian
organization was formed after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, said Mr.
Postajian, bringing together the Armenian Assembly of America, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary Association
of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
America, and the Lincy Foundation.
Since its creation, the UAF has sent much-needed humanitarian
assistance to Armenia on board 142 airlifts and 1,425 sea containers,
collecting material donations from member organizations and others and
sending them to the homeland with shipping costs underwritten by Kirk
Kerkorian's Lincy Foundation. The most recent flight landed in Yerevan
on March 17, delivering more than $11 million in humanitarian
assistance (see story on page A00). During the most critical days of
the fledgling young republic in the early 1990s, said Mr. Postajian,
the UAF was there to help with bare essentials and fuel.
Joining the writers' association and the Armenian Church in honoring
the man at the helm of the UAF were representatives and members of the
AGBU, the Hamazkayin Cultural Association, the Tekeyan Cultural
Association, the Nor Serount Cultural Association, and the
Organization of Istanbul Armenians Cultural Committee.
Mr. Postajian read a letter from President Robert Kocharian of the
Republic of Armenia, who praised Mr. Sassounian for his commitment to
the homeland and his successful implementation of Lincy Foundation
projects in the homeland. The president also noted that Mr.
Sassounian's dedication has earned him an Ananya Shiragatsi Medal.
California Courier editor Serj Samoniantz was the first speaker of
the evening and said it was not easy to talk about Harut, who was not
just his boss but also his friend. Mr. Samoniantz described Mr.
Sassounian as a good man, a hard worker, and a family man. "Some of
your may not know," Mr. Samoniantz said, "that he is a Type A
personality, and he wants to have everything done just right. Those of
you who have worked with him know exactly what I'm talking about.
That's a rare quality among Armenians. We are so used to taking short
cuts, using gossip as the truth, and it's hard when someone tells the
truth we face and stands by it."
Mr. Samoniantz talked about his friend, the journalist and activist,
and working with Mr. Sassounian when he served as a nongovernmental
delegate on human rights at the United Nations in Geneva. Mr.
Sassounian was employed at Procter & Gamble in Switzerland at the time
as an international marketing executive and, Mr. Samoniantz said, was
instrumental in the U.N. recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1985.
"Our objective then was that the mention of the Armenian Genocide,"
said Mr. Samoniantz, "was written in official reports of the United
Nations, and Harut had the knowledge and the background of how to deal
with diplomatic people and the appointed ambassadors and how to also
deal with the Turkish propaganda machine that was being activated
against the Armenian cause." Mr. Samoniantz concluded by attributing
the successes that Armenians have had with their collective effort in
Genocide recognition around the world to the foundations Mr.
Sassounian laid at the United Nations, something that seemed obscure
and unattainable to Armenians at the time.
Next on the program was a surprise visitor from New York, Charlie
Flynn, a major gifts officer from the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
"Harut came into our offices ten years ago," said Mr. Flynn, "and he
asked if we would be kind enough to help. Some of the staff, after he
left, said that Harut is very hard to say no to."
Mr. Flynn said ten years later, his 79-year-old organization in
partnership with the UAF has donated nearly 58 million dollars of
pharmaceuticals, hospital supplies, primary health care medicines, and
flu and hepatitis vaccines to the poorest of the poor throughout
Armenia. Flynn noted that another shipment of nearly nine million
dollars worth of medicines had arrived in Yerevan with the latest UAF
airlift, just one day earlier.
Kevork Keshishian from the AGBU took the podium next and said, "In
the diaspora and Armenia, Harut is one of the most respected
journalists." Mr. Sassounian's work should be appreciated by each
member of the Armenian community, said Mr. Keshishian, calling on
everyone in the community to approach their work with a pan-Armenian
perspective.
"A dynamic journalist and shaper of public opinion" is how Lilit
Keheyan described Mr. Sassounian with her speech. Ms. Keheyan spoke on
behalf of the Tekeyan Cultural Association, saying that Mr. Sassounian
is the one who introduced the idea of investigative journalism to
Armenian media. Ms. Keheyan said Mr. Sassounian is relentless, always
using his column to lash out at anti-Armenian propaganda from Turkey.
The keynote speaker of the evening was University of Southern
California political science professor Dr. Hrair Dekmejian, who is
also the director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies. Dr.
Dekmejian talked about dedication of Mr. Sassounian, his next-door
neighbor, to not only Genocide recognition but also the sustenance of
a free, independent, and safe homeland.
Dr. Dekmejian gave the audience a brief biography of the honoree,
mentioning his immigration to the U.S. in 1969, his multiple graduate
degrees, his work for Proctor & Gamble, and the 24 years Mr.
Sassounian has spent as editor and then publisher of the Courier. "He
has written more than 12 hundred columns," said Dr. Dekmejian,
"discussing the Armenian case in a global context, researching
hundreds of sources, and analyzing current affairs for the public."
Citing Mr. Sassounian's published volumes on the Armenian Genocide,
Dr. Dekmejian stated the honoree goes beyond seeking recognition but
also seeks justice. At the same time, said Dr. Dekmejian, Mr.
Sassounian has focused on successfully implementing projects funded
through the generosity of Kirk Kerkorian.
"Mr. Kerkorian's $170 million," said Dr. Dekmejian, "helped
revitalize the heart of Yerevan. Thirty-four museums were
reconstructed. Bridges and roads were renovated. Thirty-seven hundred
apartments in the earthquake zones were rebuilt, and small business
loans were also made available."
Shortly after the $170 million Lincy Foundation project was
completed, said Dr. Dekmejian, Mr. Sassounian was asked to distribute
another $60 million for infrastructure development programs in Armenia
and deliver $4.5 million to Armenian educational institutions in
war-torn Lebanon.
"I remember a time," said Dr. Dekmejian, "when Armenia needed $23
million in fuel. Harut gathered seven million and secured a donation
of an additional $14 million from Mr. Kerkorian. I remember a time
when the Government of Armenia was not cooperative and UAF flights
were unable to land. Harut said, no good deeds go unpunished, and we
are going to help Armenia whether they want it or not."
In addition to several musical performance during the program,
paying homage to Mr. Sassounian were Armen Liloyan, consul general of
the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, and California Assemblyman
Paul Krikorian, who called Mr. Sassounian a "man of action" and
someone whose work in the Courier gave Mr. Krikorian a lifeline to the
Armenian community. "You made me a better Armenian," said the
assemblyman.
Bringing the evening of praise to a close were Kevork Bedigian from
the Hamakayin Cultural Association and Harut Der Tavitan from the Nor
Serount Cultural Association. Mr. Bedigian expressed his gratitude for
Mr. Sassounian's drive for justice and cultural preservation, and Mr.
Der Tavitian talked the about importance of making it possible for the
95 percent of young Armenians not enrolled in Armenian educational
institutions to receive an Armenian education.
After Abp. Derderian awarded Mr. Sassounian the Saint Sahag-Saint
Mesrob Medal, Mr. Sassounian expressed his gratitude. Using Ambassador
John Evan's speech on March 4 as an example, Mr. Sassounian said,
"When we honored the ambassador, he said, 'I don't understand why you
honor me for speaking the truth.' In my situation, I ask, why are you
honoring me for performing my civic duty? What I do is not much
different from what you do daily, day-in and day-out. It's each of our
responsibility to serve our church, our organizations and each other.
Because by serving others, we are serving our community and
ourselves."
**************************** ***********************************************
2 . In Washington, Shushan Petrosyan presents a Yerevan-style concert
by Andrew Kevorkian
WASHINGTON - "People's Artist of Armenia" Shushan Petrosyan introduced
an Armenian-American audience to a Yerevan-style concert on March 17 -
and young and old loved it.
Apparently, in Yerevan the concerts start an hour late, the
performers use loud "canned" music as back-up (which, at this concert,
worked only part of the time), and the soloist spends half the evening
talking to the audience.
Singing sometimes from the stage and sometimes from the floor of the
World Bank building's auditorium - and sometimes visiting backstage to
see what was going wrong with the music - Miss Petrosyan managed to
sing 12 songs in 75 minutes. She offered one encore.
Obviously an Armenia-style "pop" singer, Miss Petrosyan possesses a
beautiful contralto range and, when she had to sing a cappella because
of backstage music failure, proved that she really didn't need an
accompaniment - especially because when it was working it was
atrociously loud, and she had to compete accordingly.
With no set program and no introduction, Miss Petrosyan sang a
selection of popular and folk songs that included Es inchpes verkenam
gnam, Miayn ser, Hayreniq, Bari aragil, Kyanqs hayrenikin, Erkir
Hayreni, Tzaynere anoush, Hayots hovik, and Ser.
In between, the audience learned about her life and experiences.
Among the more moving of these, we learned that she has sung for the
Armenian Army "in some dangerous places" (for which she received loud
applause).
Miss Petrosyan was born in Yerevan into the family of the opera
singer Arax Mansourian, now performing at the Sydney Opera House in
Australia, and the artist Samvel Petrosyan, who has headed the Panos
Terlemezian Art School, from which Miss Petrosyan graduated with a
degree in painting. She also holds a degree in graphics from the
Academy of Arts.
She made her professional singing debut in 1989 in Paris.
Miss Petrosyan holds numerous awards for both her singing and albums
as well as her designs for concerts and festivals. In addition, she
teaches at the State Theater of Song, hosts a program on Radio Van,
appears regularly on television, and has appeared in the film, "Mer
Bak."
She has sung in more than a dozen countries, and has produced more
than a half-dozen albums.
Last year she was named a "People's Artist of Armenia."
As someone commented, it was a "zhoghovertagan" evening - so much so
that there was audience-dancing in the aisles during some of the
spirited songs, especially by a handful of little girls, one of whom
went on stage when Miss Petrosyan vacated it for the auditorium floor.
The evening was organized by the Armenian Embassy's Consul, Armelia
Shekoyan, with ample support from Julietta Stepanian.
************************************** *************************************
3. A Catholicos in India - for the first time in 40 years
* Karekin II visits the dwindling but vital community which preserves
a centuries-long legacy
PARAMUS, N.J. - His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, made a pontifical visit to the Armenian
communities of India, from February 26 through March 4. His sojourn
marked the first time a catholicos had traveled to India in more than
40 years, since Catholicos Vasken I made the trip in 1963.
In the course of his visit, Catholicos Karekin traveled to Calcutta,
Tangra, West Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. He saw the country's
important and long-lived Armenian institutions, including Calcutta's
Armenian College and home for the aged; the tomb of the Armenian
world's first journalist, Fr. Haroutiun Shmavonian, in Madras; and a
number of historic edifices, including the oldest Armenian sanctuary
in the Far East, Madras' Sourp Astvatsatsin Church.
Before departing, Catholicos Karekin also met with the President of
the Republic of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi.
India's relatively small and dwindling, but still vital, Armenian
community is the remnant of an Armenian presence that dates back to
classical antiquity. The earliest documentary evidence of an
established Armenian interaction with India comes from the Greek
philosopher Xenophon's Education of Cyrus (4th century B.C.); but the
relationship itself may date back much further.
In the Christian Era, Armenians continued to utilize the existing
trade routes through India, and sometimes blazed new trails through
the subcontinent. Formal Armenian settlements began appearing in the
16th century, often at the invitation of India's rulers, who provided
economic and political incentives to encourage Armenian traders to
establish distinct communities, replete with churches and social
institutions. The flourishing communities contributed not only to the
surrounding society, but also to Armenian life. Holy Etchmiadzin still
has curtains and precious artifacts donated by the Armenians of India;
and the country was the birthplace of the first Armenian journal,
published in 1794.
The Armenian Church maintains a strong connection to India's
historic Christian community, the Malabar Orthodox Church, which is
considered to have originated in the first century A.D. with the
apostolic mission of St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ. The
Armenian and Indian churches share not only an apostolic origin, but
also the distinctive theology of the so-called "Oriental
Orthodox" communions, which reject the theological pronouncements of
the 5th-century Council of Chalcedon, and comprise a distinct
sub-group of the ancient Christian churches.
* Arrival in Calcutta
Catholicos Karekin II began his official sojourn in India on the
evening of February 26, when he arrived via the capital of Delhi in
Calcutta (Kolkata), accompanied by Ambassador Ashot Kocharian,
Armenia's Ambassador to India, and Haik Sookias, Jr., chairman of the
local Armenian Church committee. The delegation was greeted at the
airport by Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese
of Australia and New Zealand and Pontifical Legate to the Far East;
Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian, manager of the Armenian College and
Philanthropic Academy of Calcutta and pastor of the Armenian community
of India; Fr. Vardan Navasardian, a member of the Brotherhood of Holy
Etchmiadzin currently serving in Australia; and members of the
Armenian Church committee of Calcutta and Chinsurah.
The following morning, the Catholicos visited Calcutta's Armenian
College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA), where he was greeted by Fr.
Gulgulian; ACPA administrator Deacon Tigran Baghumian; principal James
Dias; and teachers, staff, and students. The students presented a
program of Armenian poetry, spiritual and folk songs, an English play,
and Indian dances.
Currently 80 young boys and girls from Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and
India are studying and living within the halls of the historic
college, established more than 185 years ago. (A girl's dormitory
facility, Davidian Girls School (DGS), is located close by the
academy.) Addressing the students, Catholicos Karekin expressed his
happiness at spending a few days with them, to witness their daily
lives in the school.
He extended his appreciation to the Armenian community of Calcutta
for its continued support of this national institution, stressing its
importance not only for the Armenians of India, but for the entire
Armenian nation. He expressed admiration for the Indian-Armenian
community of the past centuries, which had the vision to establish
churches and cultural centers as well as the academy.
During a hrashapar service on February 27, more than 100 Armenians
from throughout West Bengal came to the Holy Church of Nazareth,
located on "Armenian Street" in Calcutta, to greet Karekin II. The
Catholicos offered prayers of thanks for his safe arrival in India,
and commended India's tradition-rich Armenian community for being the
"golden bridge" between India and Armenia for more than five
centuries. The loyalty of the Armenians of India to Holy Etchmiadzin,
the Armenian Church, and their homeland has been an example to all
diasporan Armenian communities for hundreds of years, said Karekin II.
At the end of the service, the faithful approached the pontiff and
kissed his right hand, receiving a cross from Holy Etchmiadzin and a
blessing from the Catholicos of All Armenians. Later, touring the
grounds of the Holy Church of Nazareth, Karekin II had the opportunity
to see the many gravestones in the courtyard of the church, some
dating from 1630. The original Holy Nazareth Church was built by
Armenians at the beginning of the 17th century; the current church
building dates from 1724.
Traveling from Calcutta to Tangra the following day (February 28),
the Catholicos presided over the re-consecration of the city's
historic Holy Trinity Armenian church. Built in 1823, the church had
fallen into disuse in recent years, but the Armenian Church committee
of Calcutta and Chinsurah renovated the sanctuary in anticipation of
the catholicos' visit.
Catholicos Karekin consecrated the altar and the 16 columns of the
church with chrism (myron) brought from Armenia, assisted by
Archbishop Baliozian and Fr. Gulgulian. According to tradition, the
columns are named for the 12 apostles, the evangelists Mark and Luke,
and two Armenian saints. Acting as godfathers during the service were
Ambassador Kocharian and seven members of the church committee:
chairman Haik Sookias, Jr.; wardens Sunil Sobti and Susan Reuben; and
members Vachakan Tadevosian, Narine Sahakian, Michael Dutt, and Arsham
Sookias. The pontiff presented a khatchkar from Holy Etchmiadzin to
the church, for placement in the bema or altar platform.
Later that day, having returned to Calcutta, the Catholicos visited
the 100-year-old St. Gregory the Illuminator Church - the last
Armenian Church to have been built in India (in 1906). On its grounds
is the "Sir Catchik Paul Chater Home," India's sole operational
Armenian home for the aged, which currently houses 19 residents. The
Catholicos offered a requiem service in the church in memory of all
past members of the Armenian-Indian community, and then visited each
resident of the home, offering them his pontifical blessings.
* A meeting in West Bengal
The chief minister of the state of West Bengal, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya, welcomed the Catholicos to the area during an official
meeting, during which the chief minister reflected on the profound
influence Armenians have had on the social, cultural, and economic
development of Calcutta, and on the esteem and admiration Armenians
have earned in India. He expressed a hope that its once large Armenian
population, which has diminished, would once again grow and flourish.
The Catholicos warmly noted the friendship between the two peoples
and expressed pleasure at the number of Indian students currently
studying in Yerevan. He thanked Mr. Bhattacharya and India's state
authorities for the attention accorded to religious and ethnic
minorities, allowing them to prosper and contribute to the country's
societal, national, and cultural life.
That same evening, the local church committee hosted a reception in
honor of the Catholicos, where members of the community, as well as
representatives of Indian society associated with the Armenian College
gathered. Church committee chairman Haik Sookias thanked the
Catholicos for blessing the Armenians of India with the first visit in
more than 40 years. Ambassador Kocharian spoke of the developing
relationship between the republics of Armenia and India, noting their
collaboration in economic and educational spheres. Fr. Ktrij Devejian,
the press secretary of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadizn, who
accompanied Catholicos Karekin throughout the trip, spoke of the
current activities of the Mother See, stressing the importance placed
on the spheres of Christian education and ministry, social services,
the preparation of a new generation of clergy, and cultural and youth
programs.
* Vestiges of departed communities
The resident Armenian community has long since disappeared from the
agrarian city of Chinsurah, but the beautiful church they built in
1697 still stands as a testimony to its faith. The city's St. John the
Baptist Church, well-preserved and maintained by Calcutta's Armenian
Church committee, is the second oldest Christian house of worship in
all of West Bengal, and the oldest Armenian church in India still in
use by Armenians.
It was to that church that Catholicos Karekin traveled on March 1,
in the company of his entourage, to pray at this vestige of one of
West Bengal's earliest Armenian settlements.
The Catholicos visited India's oldest Armenian Church - indeed, the
oldest in the Far East - the following day, when he traveled to
Madras. The city's Sourb Astvatsatsin Church was built in 1712, and is
currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation which has greatly
improved its condition of several years past. A cemetery lies on the
grounds of this church, where Archpriest Haroutiun Shmavonian is
interred. In 1794, while serving as pastor of the Armenian community
in Madras, Shmavonian began publishing the world's first Armenian
periodical, "Azdarar," for which he has been dubbed the father of
Armenian journalism.
Madras' historic Armenian church remains open, despite the fact that
there are no longer any Armenian residents to care for its maintenance
and safekeeping. Indians from the surrounding neighborhoods, adherents
of the local Christian tradition, came to the church located on
"Armenian Street" in the center of the city to greet the Catholicos
and to ask for his blessing.
Inside the sanctuary, Karekin II offered a requiem service for the
departed clergymen who have served the Armenian community of India and
the Far East over the past five centuries. He also laid a floral
wreath at the tomb of Fr. Shmavonian, after which he was guided on a
tour of the church grounds and its historic bell-tower, with its six
cast iron bells, renowned throughout Madras.
While at the church, the Catholicos met with the local historical
and architectural preservation committee to discuss efforts undertaken
by the Armenians of Calcutta to preserve the church and compound.
That afternoon, the Karekin II made a pilgrimage to the historic St.
Thomas Shrine, which rests atop a hill in Madras. According to
tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle was martyred on this hill in the
first century A.D., and the location was marked with a chapel and
later a church. In 1547, the very first Armenian Church in the Far
East was built on this location, and the original church building
remains to this day - as a functioning sanctuary and shrine of the
Roman Catholic denomination. Its Armenian origin is clearly evident in
the countless Armenian gravestones, paintings, and inscriptions (most
notably on the altar) which ornament the interior.
* Meeting with India's president
On the penultimate day of his visit (March 3), Catholicos Karekin
traveled to Bombay (Mumbai) where he saw the St. Peter Armenian
Church, built in 1796 and currently operating as a house of worship
for the city's few remaining Armenians as well as the faithful of the
Indian Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, who use the sanctuary as
guests of the Armenian Church.
The Malankara Metropolitan of Bombay, Geevargehse Mar Coorilos, and
a delegation of his priests welcomed Karekin II in a procession, after
which the last three remaining Armenians in Bombay greeted the entry
of their pontiff by singing hymns.
The Armenian priests in the Catholicos' company - Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, Fr. Vardan Navasardian, Fr. Ktrij Devejian, and the
pontiff's staff-bearer Fr. Hovnan Hakobian - conducted a hrashapar
service, after which Karekin II gave thanks to God for allowing him to
visit India over the previous 10 days and to personally witness the
centuries-old legacy of the Armenians of the Far East. He also
exhorted the Indian faithful to maintain their faith in the church
founded by St. Thomas the Apostle.
Metropolitan Mar Coorilos extended fraternal greetings from His
Holiness Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I, Catholicos of the East and
Malankara Metropolitan.
To conclude his pontifical visit, Karekin II met with Dr. A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam, President of the Republic of India, in the presidential
palace in New Delhi. March 4, the day of the meeting, was a holiday in
India called "Holi," the festival of colors, on which occasion the
Catholicos congratulated the President and extended his best wishes to
the Indian people.
In welcoming the Catholicos, President Kalam mentioned the Armenian
merchants who contributed to the economic and societal development of
vital trade cities like Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay from the 17th
through the 19th centuries. He expressed pleasure at the developing
ties between Armenia and India, especially during the 15 years of the
independent Republic of Armenia.
Karekin II said he was greatly impressed by his visits to the major
Indian cities of New Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, and expressed
pride at seeing the well-maintained Armenian College and Philanthropic
Academy in Calcutta, the Armenian churches and complexes, as well as
the Armenian cemeteries located throughout India. The pontiff stressed
the importance of the exchange of students between Armenia and India.
More than 800 Indian students currently study in Yerevan, most at
Yerevan State Medical University, and a number of Armenian students
are pursuing higher education in major universities throughout India.
He also thanked the Indian people for their assistance in the years
immediately following the earthquake of 1988, and continuing to the
present day, in the form of economic development assistance in
agriculture and information technologies.
Accompanying Catholicos Karekin at the meeting were Ambassador Ashot
Kocharian, Fr. Ktrij Devejian, and Fr. Hovnan Hakobian. Also present
during the meeting was India's Ambassador to Armenia, Reena Pandey. At
the conclusion of the meeting, President Kalam gave a tour of his
private garden in the presidential palace compound.
Having concluded his first pontifical visit to India, the Catholicos
of All Armenians and his delegation returned to Armenia and the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin on March 5. (Sources: Holy Etchmiadzin
information service, research and news resources.)
************************************* **************************************
Please send your news to [email protected] and your letters to
[email protected]
(c) 2007 CS Media Enterprises LLC. All Rights Reserved