Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Cairo: Celebrating Armenian Christmas

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Cairo: Celebrating Armenian Christmas

    Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt
    January 9, 2013

    Celebrating Armenian Christmas

    Nora Koloyan-Keuhnelian joined Egypt's Armenian community in
    celebrating Christmas on 6 January


    Armenian Orthodox churches all over the world celebrated Christmas on
    6 January, as did the small Armenian community in Egypt that has long
    played an active role in a country that opened its arms to Armenians
    fleeing the genocide carried out by the Ottoman Turks towards the
    beginning of the last century. An Armenian community is believed to
    have been present in Egypt since the sixth or seventh centuries CE.

    The Armenian Orthodox Church on Ramses Street in Cairo had been
    secured by the police on the morning of 6 January and the outer gate
    was decorated with Egyptian and Armenian flags, as it is on every
    religious celebration that takes place within the church.

    Inside, the church was filled with around 300 Egyptian-Armenians of
    all ages. A Christmas tree and crib had been placed in the gardens of
    the church, and families were having their photographs taken in front
    of them.

    The Christmas mass, conducted by Father Gabriel Sarkissian and Father
    Hagop Hagopian, accompanied by a number of other clergymen, started at
    10am and lasted for three hours. A message from Bishop Ashod
    Mnatsaganian, primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Egypt, was
    conveyed to the public in Arabic.

    In his message, read by community member George Simonian, Bishop
    Mnatsaganian stated that "we have come today to offer praise to God.
    Through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the earth has once again been
    filled with the love of our Lord the Saviour. Although we have faced
    troubles during the past year, we are optimistic that this year we
    will continue on our path with the aid of the divine blessings and the
    efforts of members of our community."

    Bishop Mnatsaganian's message urged the public to pray for the Lord's
    blessing of Egypt and its people and to strengthen them in realising
    successful achievements in the love of Jesus Christ.

    Representatives of President Mohamed Morsi, the ministers of interior,
    education and national security, and Pope Tawadros II, leader of the
    Coptic Church, attended the mass. Also present were Cairo Governor
    Osama Kamal, the Ambassador of Armenia in Egypt Armen Melkonian, the
    head of the Al-Waili district, and representatives of several Egyptian
    churches and Coptic organisations. The mass was broadcast live on
    Egyptian FM radio.

    The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church,
    and it observes Eastern Orthodoxy, the faith of the Eastern Christian
    churches. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its
    official religion in 301 CE.

    The Church is the main religious authority for the Armenian orthodox
    population in the Republic of Armenia, as well as for Armenian
    orthodox communities worldwide. It is headed by a catholicos, though
    at present two catholicoi head the Church, Karekin II, supreme
    patriarch and catholicos of all Armenians, who represents the
    authority of the Armenian Church and is head of its legislative body,
    and Aram I, catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The Church also
    has an extensive ecclesiastical hierarchy.

    The precise year of Jesus's birth, placed by some historians between
    seven and two CE, is unknown. By the early-to-mid fourth century, the
    western Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date later
    adopted in the east.

    The original date of the celebration in eastern Christianity was 6
    January, however, when epiphany is celebrated, and this date is
    celebrated by the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia itself.

    In 2013, there is a difference of 13 days between the modern Gregorian
    Calendar and the older Julian Calendar. Those who continue to use the
    Julian Calendar or equivalents thus celebrate Christmas on 25 December
    and 6 January, translating into 7 and 19 January in the Gregorian
    Calendar.

    Ethiopia, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, Macedonia and Moldova
    celebrate Christmas on 7 January. Eastern Orthodox churches in
    Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Albania, Finland and the Orthodox Church in
    America celebrate Christmas on 25 December of the revised Julian
    Calendar.

    The day following the birth of Jesus is a memorial day in the Armenian
    Apostolic Church calendar, when people visit the graves of deceased
    parents and relatives and pray for their salvation.

    While the Armenian community in Egypt has been struggling to cope with
    the uncertainties of the political situation in the country, the
    majority of its members refuses to leave the country and is greatly
    attached to the motherland.

    Despite the large number of Armenian churches, schools, benevolent
    organisations, sporting and cultural clubs and newspapers in Cairo and
    Alexandria, the number of Armenians in Egypt _ which once stood at
    120,000 _ has been decreasing since Nasser's nationalisation in the
    late 1950s, due to migration to countries like Canada, the US and
    Australia.

    More Armenians may leave Egypt over the years to come, and today there
    are an estimated 3,000 Armenians living in Egypt.

    Bishop Mnatsaganian was appointed primate of the Armenian Orthodox
    Church in Egypt in 2006. The Armenian Apostolic Church in Cairo on
    Ramses Street was started in 1924 and the first mass was held there on
    12 February 1928.

    The church was renovated in 2007 by the Armenian-Egyptian architect
    Nairy Hampikian.

    http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/959/17/Celebrating-Armenian-Christmas.aspx




    From: A. Papazian
Working...
X