evangelical theological seminary of armenia - class of 2000 · january 26, 2001, measured at 7.9 on...

Publication of the Armenian Missionary Association of AmericaJAN/FEB 2001 - Vol. XXXV No. 1 (ISSN 1097-0924)

Evangelical Theological Seminary of Armenia - Class of 2000

AMAA NEWS, JAN/FEB 20012

There are events and peoples in the his-tory of nations which set most impor-

tant and definitive milestones in their con-sciousness as well as in their national expe-rience. The Christianization of Armenia be-came a turning point in the history of Ar-menia and the Armenians. After acceptingChristianity as its national or State religion,Armenia was never the same religiously,culturally, and politically. It is futile to raisequestions such as, what would have hap-pened if our King, Tiridates the 3rd had notmet the young missionary from Cesarea, hadnot employed him as his secretary, had notbeen informed that Gregory was none otherthan a son of Anak Bartev who had killedhis father? What if the King had not fallensick and had not been healed by that youngmissionary? We can also raise questions onthe political situation in Armenia which mayhave affected the King’s decision to endorseChristianity as the religion of his nation andState. We can even defy the conviction ofour clergy and pious people that it was goodfor Armenia and the Armenian people to beconverted to Christianity. But whatever que-ries we may raise, the fact remains that ournation became Christian in 294 A.D., 301A.D., or 314 A.D. as some Armenian histo-rians suggest.

It is unfortunate that we do not have anymodern book on the Christian interpretationof Armenian history. Neither do we have abook on the history of Armenian Christianthought. Our people are being taught moreabout Armenian church history and tradi-tion than about Jesus Christ the Savior andRedeemer. The Apostle says, “For I re-solved to know nothing while I was with youexcept Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1st

Cor. 2:2). This was the aim and purpose ofthe missionary apostles of Armenia. Thiswas also the objective of Gregory the Illu-minator. This means that our interpretation

On the 1700th Anniversary of Armenian ChristianitySome Reflections on the Great Event

of the Christianization of Armenia shouldbe Christocentric rather than centered onArmenian culture, politics, or even on thechurch itself. This has to be our norm andcriterion while we try to evaluate that greatevent. As Anselm, the great archbishop ofCanterbury (1033-1109) says, “I believe, inorder that I may understand.” Personal faithin Jesus Christ is of paramount importanceif we want to understand the conversion ofArmenia to Christianity.

The conversion of Armenia into Christian-ity was a process rather than an overnightaccomplishment. The early seeds of the Chris-tian faith were sowed by Jewish, Assyrian,and Greek indigenous or itinerant preachers.There were also quite a number of hereticalteachers beside already existing pagan priestswho continued their divergent activities dur-ing and after the Christianization of the land.While the palace and the Church were jointlyworking to banish pagan worship, new her-esies were invading the land, such asEbionitism (Jewish Christians who did notbelieve in the Divinity of Christ), Arianism,Nestorianism, Adoptionism, etc. (All fourheresies emphasize the humanity of JesusChrist). The sword of the King and the crossof Gregory the Illuminator worked hard toeliminate these heresies, with little success.It was St. Nerces the Great Catholicos (329-373), the great-great-grandson of Gregorythe Illuminator, and the father of St. SahagCatholicos, who instead of fighting the pa-gans and heretics, established a chain ofChristian schools and educational centers.St. Nerces’ methods proved to be more suc-cessful than the use of force applied by hispredecessors. The lesson is obvious. Theright education and preaching are more ef-fective than the use of force to eliminate theunwanted cults from our homeland.

True evangelism, that is, preaching theGospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, isboth a calling, and a means to spread theChristian faith. Gregory the Illuminator wasa great evangelist, because he was a greatbeliever. He was a man of prayer and ac-tion. His own person, like the Apostle Paul,

came secondto his missionof evangelism.He evange-lized becausehe believed that he was sent to Armenia toevangelize; that was his calling. Even thoughhe was a Parthian by race, he loved Arme-nia, having been brought up as an Arme-nian. Probably he had some forebodingabout his fate in Armenia because of the ex-isting ancestral feud (his father had killedthe father of the then King Tiridates the 3rdof Armenia). It was sheer madness to enterinto the service of the King who might oneday be informed who he was; yet this factdid not prevent him from doing what he wascalled to do. And he actually paid the priceby being tortured by the King, and beingthrown in a dungeon where he remained thir-teen long and dreadful years. He took it ashis cross as well as his glory. He left behindhim a model of a true evangelist to be imi-tated by his grandson, Gregorius, who wasordained by his father, Vertanes theCatholicos, as Catholicos of the Albanians.Young, energetic, and a puritan, Gregoriuswas so articulate in denouncing their sins,and preaching Christian love, charity, andmercy, that the local rulers became suspi-cious of his designs, which they thought,were devised by the Armenian King for ul-terior motives. So the “Albanians causedGregorius to be dragged to his death at awild horse’s tail…”

The Christian faith without social and hu-manitarian services will prove to be defec-tive and fruitless. This is shown most clearlyin the earthly life of our Lord. The ApostlePeter testifies to this in one of his speeches,saying “You know about Jesus of Nazarethand how God poured out on him the HolySpirit and power. He went everywhere, do-ing good and healing all who were underthe power of the Devil, for God was withhim” , Acts. 10:38. Jesus gave a similar tes-timony about himself when he said to hisdisciples during their last supper together,“Who is greater, the one who sits down to

by Barkev N. Darakjian *

E D I T O R I A L M E S S A G E

* Rev. Barkev N. Darakjian is the pastor ofthe First Armenian Evangelical Church ofGlendale, CA. He was the former editor of theFORUM, the quarterly of the AEUNA.

AMAA NEWS - A publication of the Armenian Missionary Association of America, Inc., 31 West Century Road, Paramus, NJ 07652.Tel. (201) 265-2607; Fax (201) 265-6015; E-Mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.amaainc.org

AMAA NEWS, JAN/FEB 2001 3

eat or the one who serves him? The one whosits down, of course. But I am among you asone who serves”, Luke 22:27. Nerces theGreat became a Catholicos of great virtuesand good deeds. His high academic educa-tion and military training made him indis-pensable in the palace of the King. However,he will be remembered not only as a personof unusual skill and noble character, butmostly for being a caring and loving Shep-herd of his flock. He was a reformer of thesocial structure and traditions of the country.The measures that he took to ameliorate thecondition of his people would cover manypages. He planned and built hospitals for thesick, refuges for lepers, homes for the blindand lame, and asylums for orphans and wid-ows. He put special emphasis and gave di-rectives to enhance the role of the church inthe civic and moral aspects of public life.Today, more than ever, we need centers forsocial and humanitarian service and action,be it in our Homeland or in the Diaspora, andthe Church, all Armenian churches must as-sume their responsibilities following the ex-ample of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lastly, we must never lose sight of the 5thcentury pioneers who became instrumentalin establishing a truly Armenian Christian-ity in our Homeland. Their Christian faith,vision, devotion, and efforts made possiblethe invention of the Armenian alphabetwhich subsequently brought about thegolden century of Armenian culture. Wedare to affirm that without the timely andenergetic initiatives that were taken by Sts.Mesrob Mashtotz, Catholicos Sahag Bartev,King Vramshabuh, and a host of their faith-ful disciples and collaborators, we mighthave had a Christian church and a Christianpeople, but not the Armenian Church andArmenian Christianity. Even though wewere for some time dependent on Greek,Assyrian, and Latin religious and culturalresources for our church liturgy, theology,and Christian apologetic literature, the Ar-menian scholars, endowed with a strongmotivation, were not only capable to adaptthose foreign materials, but were also quickto create indigenous worship materials andArmenian Christian literary works, of whichthe translation of the Bible into Armenianwas their masterpiece. The Armenian alpha-bet and the Armenian language united thepopulation of Armenia who were used tocommunicate with each other in differentlanguages, such as Aramaic, Assyrian, Per-sian, Greek, and in vernacular Armenian.

From then on God was worshipped in Ar-menian, and the Armenian language becamedominant in communication and education.

In all this, we thank God the Father in HisSon, Jesus Christ, for His great love andmercy which moved the hearts of theApostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, Gre-gory the Illuminator and the rest of His faith-ful messengers who made this great and his-toric event possible. Writing to the Churchin Ephesus, the Apostle Paul says, “At thattime you were apart from Christ. You wereforeigners and did not belong to God’s cho-sen people….But now, in union with Christ

Jesus you, who used to be far away, havebeen brought near by the death of Christ.”Eph. 2:12,13. We believe that this is thegreatest event of which we have to be mind-ful while celebrating the 1700th anniversaryof Armenian Christianity. We should alsothank God for all those who are presentlyengaged in the preparations for the oncom-ing celebrations. May all other consider-ations, be they ecclesiastical, cultural, po-litical, or financial, occupy the back seatsso that all glory be given to God, and HisSon, Jesus Christ in whom, and for whomwe shall hold all celebrations.G

T he ArmenianMissionary As-

sociation of America(AMAA) donatedan initial sum of$10,000 to help thevictims of the disas-trous earthquakes thatstruck India and ElSalvador in CentralAmerica recently.

Rescue Teams in India counted for 20,000deaths, which were confirmed nationwide.Thousands more were left homeless.

The earthquake that hit India on Friday,January 26, 2001, measured at 7.9 on theRichter scale by the U.S. Geological Sur-vey, and is expected to cost the countrybillions of dollars in reconstruction costs.According to reliable sources, the earth-quake in India is a major earthquake com-parable to the 1988 earthquake in Arme-nia and the 1999 earthquake in Turkey.Officials in Anjar, a town to the south eastof India, have estimated more than 5,000people killed only in Anjar and its sur-roundings, including about 350 childrenwho were trapped in a small alley duringtheir parade to celebrate Republic Day.

The earthquake in El Salvador (January13, 2001) comparatively was of a lessermagnitude, 7.6 on the scale, yet the devas-tation it caused was massive. More than 700people were killed, about 3000 were injuredand 38,000 homes were partially or totallydestroyed. Ironically, a town called Arme-nia, 24 miles west of the capital, San Salva-dor, was heavily damaged.

The AMAA andthe ArmenianEvan- gelicalChurches world-wide share thegrief of those whoare affected bythese earthquakes.The AMAA hasrequested thatArmenian Evan-

gelical churches remember the victimsof these catastrophes through prayers andspecial relief offerings. The offering willbe added to AMAA’s initial aid and willbe channeled through the Wider ChurchMinistries of United Church of Christ, alongtime international colleague agencyof the AMAA.

The AMAA appeals to Armenian com-munities all over the world and to its mem-bers and friends to respond promptly andgenerously to the needs of the sufferingpeople in India and El Salvador.

Those who wish to help may send theirtax-deductible donations to the AMAAat 31 West Century Road, Paramus, NewJersey 07652, earmarked “India/El Sal-vador Earthquake Relief”.G

AMAA CONTRIBUTES TO EARTHQUAKERELIEF EFFORTS IN INDIA AND EL SALVADOR

Yes, I want to help the suffering peopleof India and/or El-Salvador. Enclosedis my donation of $ ___________.

Name: ______________________

Address: _____________________

_____________________________

D


Two historical events marked the lastweek of November 2000 for the Arme-

nian Evangelical community in Armenia:pastoral ordinations in the EvangelicalChurch of Armenia, and the first graduationexercises of the Evangelical TheologicalSeminary of Armenia.

On Sunday, November 26, 2000, in thepresence of more than four hundred digni-taries and well-wishers gathered in theHouse of the Architects Union in Yerevan,Hamlet Gureghian and Guevork Geuvorkianwere ordained to ministry in the indepen-dent republic of Armenia. Rev. ReneLeonian, senior pastor of the Union of Evan-gelical Churches in Armenia, remarked thatthe moment had not only ecclesiastical butnational dimension. Churches around theworld sent letters of congratulations. Twoletters received special mention: one fromRev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian, President of theArmenian Evangelical World Council, andanother from Mr. Andrew Torigian, Presi-dent of the Armenian Missionary Associa-tion of America (AMAA).

In his remarks, Mr. Hamlet Gureghiangave thanks to God and his loved ones forthe strength and support they provided tomake his ordination possible. Mr. GuevorkGuevorkian pledged his ministry to the ser-vice of broken-hearted, hopeless and lostpeople, by offering the Good News of JesusChrist.

Rev. Rene Leonian challenged the candi-dates to be faithful to the Word of God, andto accept ordination as a higher calling toministry. Rev. Leonian, joined by the as-sembled clergy, then offered the prayer ofordination. The service concluded withprayers of benediction offered by the newly-ordained ministers.

On Wednesday, November 29, at theHakob Paronian State Theater, six hundredgovernment dignitaries, church represen-tatives, and guests attended the first gradu-ation exercises of the Evangelical Theo-logical Seminary of Armenia. Founded in1997 by the Armenian Missionary Asso-

ciation ofAmerica and theUnion of Evan-gelical Churchesin Armenia, theSeminary hasenrolled sixtystudents fromArmenia andGeorgia, ofwhom fifteencomprised thefirst-ever gradu-ating class.

A c a d e m i cDean Rev.G u e v o r kGuevorkian wel-comed the guestsand congratulated the families of the gradu-ates. He thanked the AMAA and all otherorganizations that had lent support to theSeminary, and read a letter from Mr. An-drew Torigian on behalf of the AMAA,which has fully funded the Seminarythroughout its existence. Rev. Guevorkianadded, “this letter fills our hearts with joyand with sorrow. We were expecting to haveRev. Dr. Movses Janbazian, the ExecutiveDirector of AMAA with us, but the Lordhas called his beloved servant into the eter-nal peace.” Rev. Rene Leonian recalledRev. Janbazian’s contribution to the life ofthe Seminary. “Congratulating our gradu-ates, we want to praise the Lord for Rev.Janbazian’s life and ministry,” he said. Rev.Janbazian’s vision and enthusiasm playeda vital role in the creation and operation ofthe Seminary; he headed the Seminary’s In-ternational Advisory Board; and he hadhoped to attend the historic commence-ment. Rev. John Zarifian, AMAA mission-ary in Armenia, represented the AMAA.

During the ceremonies, Mr. SergeyVardanian, Deputy Chairman of the StateCouncil of Religion, challenged the gradu-ates to “light at least one candle in the spiri-tual darkness of Armenia, and become good

sowers, planting the seeds of the Bible.”Rev. Yuri Avanesyan, President of theUnion of the Armenian EvangelicalChurches in Armenia, encouraged thegraduates to continue their self-educationthroughout their lives, using the Bible astheir inspiration, and concluded with thischallenge to the new graduates: “Remem-ber that the beginning of wisdom, and theend of wisdom, is the fear of the Lord. Bewise!”

Dean Guevorkian charged the graduatesto become evangelists, and added, “there aretoo many beautiful countries in the world,but the Motherland is given to us once andforever. Be people that have this sense ofbelonging and feel the responsibility for theirhomeland. Remember that the greatest com-mandment calls us to love the Lord with allour heart, mind, and strength, and to loveour neighbors as ourselves. Let us show thelove of God through our service to our fel-low Armenians.”

The Dean presented the candidates to thePresident, who conferred upon each the de-gree of Bachelor of Theology. The Com-mencement ended with the graduates’ wordof promise, and a prayer of benediction of-fered by Rev. Yuri Avanesyan.G

Ordination and Graduation Services in Armenia

The ordination of Hamlet Gureghian and Guevork Guevorkian.

T H E O L O G I C A L E D U C A T I O N


Christmas in Armenia this year onceagain, was joyously celebrated by

children in Armenia and Karabagh thanksto the efforts of the AMAA's Orphan/ChildCare Committee. Through a series of spe-cial programs organized by the AMAA, thereal message of Christmas was made avail-able to thousands of children and their par-ents.

This year, over 25,000 children and par-ents participated in Christmas programs ofdrama, music and Santa Clause visits, heldin forty-one different locations. Sixty-sevensuch programs were held delighting theiraudience, and conveying the Christmas mes-sage of God’s love and His care.

These programs were prepared and stagedby AMAA’s Christian EducationDepartment’s staff and volunteers and werepresented by children and youth participat-ing in AMAA Christian Education ministries.

Fourteen-thousand children receivedChristmas gift packages, which includedschool supplies, candy, toys, Christmas storyactivity booklets, puzzles, coloring pictures,etc. These packages were collected or pur-chased through the generous contributionsof AMAA members and friends in theUnited States, through the efforts of theAMAA Summer Camp and ChristmasCommittee’s Christmas Joy Project.

Each of the 67 programs were held at therequest or cooperation of local authorities.In many locations, the media gave very fa-vorable coverage of the programs.

AMAA Armenia Christmas programs arecoordinated by AMAA Armenia office staffand supervised by AMAA representativesin Armenia - Rev. Rene Leonian, Mr. HaroutNercessian and Ms. Tamar Vassoyan.

The high quality programs often attractthe attention of people. Professional dramaproducers and other art workers frequentlycompliment AMAA on these productions.In many towns, the AMAA programs arethe highlights of the local Christmas activi-ties. All these bring glory to God and pro-mote Christianity in the minds of people ina country that used to ridicule faith in God.

In Armavir, the director of the main the-

AMAA-Sponsored Christmas Programsin Armenia and Karabagh

ater, the CultureHouse, praisedAMAA’s program,confirming that itwas unlike anythinghe had seen in histheater. He was im-pressed with thequality that reflectedthe dedication andcommitment of thevolunteers.

In Kapan whereAMAA held a pre-sentation for the firsttime, the Director ofthe Culture Houseand his assistantstold of the need forspiritual “preach-ing” in the city.

In most towns andcities these pro-grams are the onlypublic celebrationsof Christmas. Formany children, theseprograms are theirfirst exposure to theChristmas story and for many more,it is their only celebratory activityduring Christmas.

The AMAA is a non-profit chari-table organization serving the spiri-tual and physical needs of Armeniancommunities in 22 countries aroundthe world. During its 82 years of ser-vice, the Association has reached outto thousands of needy people. Spe-cial care is provided to children whorepresent the future generation. Theservices of the AMAA is dependentupon the support received from car-ing individuals. Those who wouldlike to support these and over 100other activities of the Association can do soby sending their contributions to AMAAheadquarters at 31 West Century Road,Paramus, NJ 07652. All gifts are taxdeductible.G

Nativity scene presented by the children ofPureghavan, Armenia (above). SantaClause visits the children in Yerevan, Ar-menia (middle). Children enjoying theirChristmas gifts in Askeran, Karabagh.

C H R I S T M A S I N A R M E N I A


Prompted by an expressed interest inAMAA’s Armenia ministry,

Samaritan’s Purse board members and ex-ecutives joined Joe and Joyce Stein, andembarked on their first fact-finding missionto Armenia from August 8-14, 2001.

Dr. and Mrs. Melvin Cheatham, Mr. KenIsaacs and General Hank Drewsf met withAMAA Executive Director, Rev. MovsesJanbazian, AMAA Representative in Arme-nia rev. René Léonian, and Mr. HaroutNercessian, Deputy Representative at theYerevan headquarters. They were briefed onAMAA projects, which address the sober-ing conditions and needs in Armenia. Onthe brighter side, the Center is a hub formedical and dental care at the sleek Ayniliancomplex, where medications and baby’sIsomil is dispensed. Spiritual life bustleswith Christian fellowship for young and old.

Days packed with intensive site visits in-cluded stops to AMAA-supported churches(there are 65 or more Evangelical Churchesand fellowships), schools and orphanages.Everywhere, Samaritan’s Purse was greetedwith unbridled enthusiasm, and our groupwas deeply moved by the manifold needs.

Armavir’s Boarding School is for the verypoor and learning-disadvantaged. Livingstandards are appalling, while food andclothing barely exist. Water supply in boththe school and church are at a critical point.On the upside, Armavir’s church service,replete with children’s choir was delightful,and afterward Pastor Garush Andonian gaveus beautiful wooden Khatchkars intricatelycarved by a member of his congregation.

Sixty-five spirit-filled students are en-rolled at Yerevan’s Evangelical Theologi-cal Seminary. They will fill pulpits and pro-vide Christian education for the Church’s ex-ponential growth.

In the outskirts of Yerevan, NoubarashenOrphanage and School of Special Educationis home and school for extremely poor“street” boys, juvenile delinquents, andmany who have been abandoned. We wereimpressed by the efficient administration ofthe institution, although it lacks acceptableAmerican standards. We observed the de-

votion of its Princi-pal and Vice Princi-pal and noted thatnone of the staff hadbeen paid nor fundsprovided for foodsince May.

Our travels tookus to AMAA’s mod-est Spitak Centerand School whereFrance’s “Hope forArmenia” groupconducted VacationBible School forhundreds of chil-dren. AMAA sponsors over 60 daily Vaca-tion Bible Schools and Day camps each sum-mer in Armenia and Karabagh.

On to Vanatzor, where Pastor SamuelKirakosian welcomed us and where an en-chanting choir regaled us with sensitivesharagans. AMAA’s dental clinic inVanatzor is a vital and much appreciated partof AMAA’s humanitarian projects inArmenia.The striking, recently-constructedStepanavan Church was packed with 500 ormore parishioners, who presented us with adramatic Christian musical featuring PastorOchinian’s five-year-old daughter and heryoung friends. This Evangelical Church isthe first one built in Armenia, and is a high-light of Stepanavan. The town’s Mayor, ina moment of candor, lamented that it wasnot located in the Village Center.

In the heart of Yerevan’s teeming“Bangladesh” neighborhood resides theAvedisian Evangelical Primary School.Bright, clean and inviting, this AMAAproject represents the best and finest of itskind.

Aghveran Summer camp in the highlandsof Armenia was inspiring. Each summerthousands of youngsters enjoy a week offresh air, good food, loving counselors andChristian emphasis. It is similar to AMAA’scamps in Stepanakert (the only Summercamp in Nagorno Karabagh) and Dilijan.These camping experiences are anxiouslyanticipated each year and a waiting list al-

ways exists.Celebrating a service at the church in

Hrazdan was a festive event. Again the sanc-tuary was filled with reverent worshippersand Pastor Edik welcomed us as specialguests. Pastor Edik and his wife have elevenwonderful children. After the service weenjoyed the family fellowship at their home.

Touring the Haghtanak Village Old AgeHome was the final and most disturbing visi-tation. The old and infirm residents are sub-jected to Armenia’s unacceptable managedcare. The lack of staff and funds to prop-erly run the institution is painfully evidenteven at a cursory glance. These citizensseem to receive little attention in Armenia.The AMAA is resolved to alleviate some ofthe elderly’s most pressing needs.

Samaritan Purse members, in observingArmenia’s schools, camps and churches, arekeenly aware that Armenia’s children live apainfully spartan existence, one that cries forclothing, shoes and the bare necessities ofwater and bread. We trust they will partnerwith the AMAA’s humanitarian endeavors.

Dr. Melvin Cheatham serves on the Boardof the Billy Graham Evangelical Associa-tion and Samaritan’s Purse. Ken Isaacs isdirector of Samaritan’s Purse InternationalProjects. General Drewsf is Vice Presidentof Ministries. Each of these compassionatefriends was impressed with the AMAA’sministry in Armenia and looks forward toassisting in any way they can.G

Samaritan's Purse Visits Armenia

by Joe and Joyce Stein

A R M E N I A

(l to r) Rev. Rene Leonian, Mr. Ken Isaacs, Mr. & Mrs. Joe Stein,Dr. & Mrs. Melvin Cheatham, Mr. Harout Nercessian, GeneralHank Drewsf and Rev. Movses Janbazian.


It was with great anticipation that I traveledto Armenia for the second year to partici-pate in the third AMAA/AEAF/AEYF-sponsored work project to Karabagh. Lastyear had been an overwhelming experienceof meshing my spiritual walk with my physi-cal being while consuming the culture andhistory of our homeland. I left knowing thatI would be back.

Previous teams had repaired and recon-structed cabins and roofs at Camp Gargar, achildren’s camp in Stepanakert leased to theAMAA by the government of Karabagh.This camp, set in the beautiful mountains ofa country landlocked by Azerbaijan but con-nected to Armenia in spirit (and by theLachin Corridor), serves over 600 childrenevery summer. Singing songs, practicingarts and crafts, and attending Bible studies,these children learn of God’s love and sac-rifice for them.

Our team this year consisted of four war-riors for Christ: Project leader VahakHanessian, Paramus, NJ; Vicken Keshishian,Haverton, PA; Jayson Milnes, Fresno, CA;and Silva Maserejian, Watertown, MA. Wemet in Yerevan in mid-July for a couple ofdays of reminiscing on past trips and pre-paring, both physically and emotionally, forthe work to come. Joined by three youngmen from the youth group of the Evangeli-cal Church of Yerevan, we set off forStepanakert to begin our service for theLord.

Pulling into Camp Gargar, we were re-lieved to see the walls of the new cabin be-gun last year still standing. This cabin, oncecomplete, would allow 44 more children toexperience God’s unconditional love in a funand cheerful environment. Our team’s goalthis summer was to complete this structurein a mere couple of weeks. We were readyfor the challenge.

The next two weeks saw dramatic changesat our work site and in our hearts. Blockswere added to complete the walls, handedup carefully and laid with mortar mixed byhand in a spirit of teamwork. The roof wasbuilt, the plywood laid, and the shinglesnailed, while our hearts were warmed by the

thought that thechildren whowere turnedaway this yeardue to lack ofspace would notbe turned away inyears to come.

Once the roofwas complete,we moved to theinside of the building. Vahak had decidedon a tray ceiling, and as the dry wall wasnailed up we really began to see it come to-gether as a livable space. Vicken rigged theelectricity for the cabin, while the rest of usspackled the ceiling and helped a local ex-pert stucco the outside walls. Vahak addedsome aesthetic touches to the exterior, andour building was almost complete. We didnot have time to complete the indoors, butwere satisfied that our goals were met.

An additional project we took on wasopening windows in the kitchen facility.This may sound easy, but the walls wereclose to three feet thick! (Remember, thiscamp site used to be a military barracks!)Although our arms took a pounding, ourbeloved kitchen ladies were so thankful forthe ventilation that it was definitely worththe effort.

Our trip to Karabagh was not all work,however. During our meals each day weinteracted with the counselors and childrenat Camp Gargar. Always curious to ourways, they would often stare and giggle,with the bolder ones stepping forward to askquestions. One young girl, when learning Iwas from the United States, asked if I knew“Vicken from Los Angeles.” Little did sheknow there are more Armenians living inLos Angeles than in all of Karabagh!

We worshipped at the magnificent churchin Shushi. One memory I will always cher-ish is when the Der Hayr walked throughthe church, and a group of children rushedto him to kiss the cross. We drove throughKarabagh’s lush mountains and paid our re-spects to Babig and Dadig. We walked thestreets of Stepanakert, soaking in the daily

Armenia Revisited

by Silva Maserejian

life of our Armenian brothers and sisters.Stopping at a local café one hot afternoon,we ordered tan from the menu and enjoyedthe cool yogurt drink while a procession ofhonking cars drove by in celebration of awedding. These are the scenes that will for-ever be etched in my mind.

Armenia revisited, ties strengthened, mis-sion accomplished.G

ARMENIA AWAKESby Silva Maserejian

A dog barks, a car’s trunk slams,My Armenia awakesMoist from sweat, I open my eyes,Through the clouds the sun breaks

Miles away from where I call homeI feel instantly nearTo where my hear will always remainMy soul, my roots are here

I see the peak of AraratRising, standing proudI hear the music of Sayat NovaRinging clear and loud

I shed one tear for all we’ve lostYet smile for our new startI laugh and cheer for my homelandArmenia awakes in my heart

With each morning of each new dayArmenia’s strong and freePraise God for staying by our sideTo reach our victory.

The team of the AMAA/AEAF/AEYF sponsored work project toKarabagh.

M I S S I O N W O R K


I n its tradition of planning unique pro-grams, the Haigazian University

Women’s Auxiliary of Los Angeles pre-sented author/performer Nouritza Matossianin a one-woman show on July 22 in thepacked Skirball Cultural Center Theater.

After an introduction by Auxiliary Presi-dent Joyce Stein, Matossian, using only ascarf and chair for props, dramatically por-trayed the lives of the important women inthe life of genocide survivor and famousartist Arshile Gorky. Her narrative was em-bellished by selected Armenian music andslides of Gorky’s birthplace, family andpaintings. The artistic production not onlydescribed Gorky’s difficult life, it more im-portantly told the poignant survival story ofthe Armenian people.

A banquet followed in the softly lighted SkirballCourtyard with the Armenian String Quartet pro-viding light background music. Banquet MCGrace Kurkjian introduced the evening’s co-chairsSilva Hussenjian and Ida Levy who, along withJoyce Stein, had led the board in orchestrating thedetails of the event. She also presented Dr. JohnMarkarian, founding President of Haigazian Uni-

versity and his wifeInge, past president ofthe Women’s Auxil-iary. Also in atten-dance was ArshileGorky’s niece, LibertyAmirian Miller, withher daughter, CherylBucknam.

Dr. John Khanjian,President of the University, arrived from Beirutin time for the event and delivered a briefprogress report. “Due to Lebanon’s depressedeconomy,” he noted, “quite a few students arestill in need of scholarships” to help them af-ford a higher education. Anyone interested insponsoring a Haigazian student is welcome tocontact the Armenian Missionary Associationof America (AMAA) at 31 W. Century Road,Paramus, NJ 07652, (201) 265-2607, E-mail:[email protected].

Guests were given the opportunity to pur-chase Matossian’s book, Black Angel, TheLife of Arshile Gorky by Overlook Press andreproductions of Gorky’s The Artist and HisMother, commissioned by New York’s

Whitney Museum of Art. The reproductionis from a painting inspired by the only re-maining photo Gorky had of his motherShushan, who died of starvation in Yerevanin 1919. The book @ $40 and the 20"x28"reproduction @ $30, are available fromHaigazian University Women’s Auxiliary,c/o Mrs. Julie Aharonian, 10606 MelvinAve., Northridge, CA 91326.

During her stay in Los Angeles, Mrs.Matossian was interviewed by the Armenianpress and television, and by KCET’S “Life andTimes” TV program with Val Zavala and WarranOlney which aired twice. She was also inter-viewed by Joan Agajanian Quinn for her syndi-cated TV talk show “The Joan Quinn Profile.”

T he Annual Meeting of the ArmenianEvangelical World Council (AEWC)

was held on August 4 and 5, 2000 at the Ar-menian Evangelical Emmanuel Church ofAleppo, Syria. The meeting was attendedby the following members of the Council:Revs. Megerdich Karagoezian and AvedisBoynerian, representing the Union of the Ar-menian Evangelical Churches in the NearEast (UAECNE); Rev. Joel Mikaelian, rep-resenting the Armenian Evangelical Unionof France (AEUF); Rev. Dr. VahanTootikian, representing the Armenian Evan-gelical Union of North America (AEUNA);and Rev. Movses B. Janbazian, the repre-sentative of the Armenian Missionary As-sociation of America (AMAA) and theStephen Philibosian Foundation (SPF).

The participants in the meeting deliber-ated on a number of old and new agendaitems, as well as discussed issues related to

the life, witness and service of theArmenian Evangelical Churchesworldwide. Highlights of the agendaincluded: progress report on thepreparation of a common ArmenianEvangelical Pastors’ Handbook; re-port on the revision of the commonArmenian Evangelical Statement ofFaith adopted in 1997; celebrationof the 1700th anniversary of adop-tion of Christianity as the state reli-gion of Armenia; revision of the by-laws of the Council; clarifying andstrengthening of the Armenian andEvangelical identity of the memberchurches of the Council; enhance-ment of the fellowship and coopera-tion between member churches; andreports from the AMAA and member churchunions represented at the meeting.

The importance of celebrating the 1700th

Armenian Evangelical World Council Meets in Aleppo, Syria

Haigazian Women's AuxiliaryPresents Gorky Program

anniversary of the Christianization of Arme-nia was again stressed at the Council’s meet-

Members of HU Auxiliary surround Nouritza Matossian and nieceof Arshile Gorky holding copy of the book Black Angel.

Revs. Megerdich Karagoezian, Joel Mikaelian, VahanTootikian, Movses Janbazian and Avedis Boynerian.

(Continued on the following page)

E D U C A T I O N


Lucy Boyadjian Janjigian PresentsHer Work at Heidelberg College

Editor’s Note: This article on Mrs. LucyJanjigian of Franklin Lakes, NJ, appeared inthe Heidleberg College Bulletin of Summer2000. Mrs. Janjigian, a Heiderlberg CollegeAlumna (class of 55) is a life-long supporterof the Armenian Missionary Association ofAmerica (AMAA). She is the chairperson ofthe AMAA’s Spiritual Life and Armenia Sum-mer & Christmas Joy Committees and a mem-ber of the Orphan Child Care Committee.Mrs. Janjigian has traveled to Armenia sev-eral times as a short-term volunteer mission-ary and has directed the Arts & Crafts pro-grams of the AMAA sponsored summer campsin Armenia, Karabagh and Georgia.

“We do notknow whereGod leads uswhen He givesus an assign-ment with ourgifts,” saidLucy, echoinga sermon shehad heard thenight beforeduring Heidel-berg College’s Religious Life CelebrationWeek, April 2-9. The Artist had returned toHeidelberg College a third time in more than40 years to share her gifts.

As a scholarship student, Lucy came toHeidelberg in 1952 from Jerusalem. Bornin British mandated Palestine to parents ofArmenian descent, she knows what it means

to be a refugee. That iswhy she was able to speakso movingly on April 3.

In her presentation, “NoRefuge: A Forum on thePlight of the Homeless andUprooted,” Lucy joinedSister Mary of Tiffin’s Sis-ters of St. Francis and a po-litical refugee from CentralAmerica. Lucy remem-bered bullets flying throughher family’s home that sat in ‘no man’s land’between the Arabs and the Jews. She remem-bered bombs falling and exploding nearbywhile she covered her ears and sang the hymn,“O God our help in ages past, our hope foryears to come; our shelter from the stormyblast…” It was truly storming and blasting!

She recounted a one-hour truce called byboth Arab and Jewish Authorities out of re-spect for her father. The pause in hostilitiespermitted their family to move from their houseto the school across the street, as that road hadbecome an international border. Their homein Jerusalem had fallen under Israeli rule. TheAnglican Mission School of St. George’swhere father taught was in Jordan.

In the late 1980’s, Lucy shared her artwork,“The Uprooted and The Homeless” series atHeidelberg. These paintings depicted the plightof Armenian refugees forced to flee Turkish op-pression in the early 1900’s. The artist had beencommissioned to do five paintings of the Ar-menian Genocide. She created 22. “It is the

story of man’s inhumanity to man,” she said,explaining the collection which she broughtback to the campus. “I thank God for this gift(of painting), for through it, I have been ableto sensitize people to the plight of so manysouls, and I hope to paint for God’s glory.”

This glory was evident during a programon April 6 entitled, “Journey to Resurrection:Artistic Perspectives on Holy Week.” The pre-sentation featured Janjigian’s works, “Dramain the Biblical Gardens,” depicting events fromthe Last Supper through the crucifixion andresurrection of Christ.

Current and former speech coaches,speech team members and music students,interpreted poetry by Boris Pasternak, MariaRilke and others, all of which combined topresent a moving performance.

A student commented that, “… the paint-ings of alumna Lucy were a very powerfuland emotional portion of the sesquicenten-nial celebration.” He would now be muchmore aware of the plight of the homeless.G

Homeless "Alms" - Acrylic 26" x 32" by Lucy Janjigian.

ing. It was reemphasized that ArmenianEvangelicals everywhere mark this importantmilestone with special activities aimed atpreaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ourpeople, and helping Armenians rededicatethemselves to the faith of their forebears. Itwas also emphasized that ArmenianEvangelicals should participate in next year’sArmenian Evangelical youth conference tobe held in Armenia; organize pilgrimage toursto our homeland; hold special celebratoryactivities; and take part as much as possiblein the local celebrations organized by theArmenian Apostolic “Mother” Church.

Since the officers of the AEWC areelected rotationally from the constitutingbodies, the participants in the meeting alsoelected the new officers of AEWC for bien-nial 2000-2002 as follows: Rev. Dr. VahanTootikian, President (AEUNA); Rev.Megerdich Karagoezian, Vice President(UAECNE); Rev. Gilbert Léonian, Secre-tary (AEUF); Mr. George Philibosian, Trea-surer. The Executive Committee of theCouncil will be constituted by these offic-ers and Rev. Movses B. Janbazian, repre-senting the AMAA, and Rev. René Léonian,the representative of the Evangelical Church

Unions of Armenia and Eurasia.The Armenian Evangelical World Coun-

cil is the worldwide fellowship of the Ar-menian Evangelical church unions and ma-jor service organizations. It was organizedin 1981 to pursue the purposes of the formerArmenian Evangelical Inter-Union Council,to affirm and strengthen the uniting bondsbetween Armenian Evangelical churches,and to enhance the witness and service ofArmenian Evangelicals worldwide.

The AEWC provides Armenian Evangeli-cal churches an effective forum for dialogue,fellowship and cooperation.G

(Continued from page 8)


NEWS AND NOTES

Andrew Torigian, President,of the Armenian MissionaryAssociation of America(AMAA) announced the ap-pointments of Rev. Jirair M.Sogomian as its new ExecutiveDirector and Mr. DikranYoumshakian as the Adminis-trative Director of the AMAA.

The position of AMAA Ex-ecutive Director had been va-cant since the untimely, prema-ture death of the Rev. Dr. Movses B. Janbazian on Sept. 25, 2000. During his director-ship of thirteen years, the AMAA experienced significant increases in worldwide mis-sions outreach and financial strength.

Rev. Sogomian has been Pastor of the Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Churchsince August, 1990. Previous ministries within the Armenian Evangelical Union in-clude the congregational churches of Troy, NY (where he was ordained); Southfield,MI; and Downey, CA. He was also Pastor of two non-Armenian parishes of the UnitedChurch of Christ in South Windsor, CT, and Simi Valley, CA.

During 1975, and beyond the outbreak of the civil war in Beirut, Lebanon, the Rev.Sogomian was Chaplain and Professor of Religion at Haigazian College. Born in Alex-andria, Egypt, in August, 1937, Rev. Sogomian studied at Haigazian and transferred tothe American University of Beirut and, simultaneously, the Near East School of Theol-ogy. Receiving his B.A. at Milligan College, TN, in 1963, he continued his theologicalstudies at Hartford Seminary, CT, from which he received his M. Div. in 1965.

Multi-lingual and known for his exceptional ability to preach and teach the Gospel ofChrist, the Rev. Jirair Sogomian is equally recognized for goal-oriented administrativeskills and organizational leadership.

At present the Pastor of the Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Church of Havertown,PA, the Rev. Sogomian will assume his new post by April 1, 2001. He and his wifeLorraine (neé Shamlian) have five children and three grandchildren.

The new Administrative Director, Mr. Dikran Youmshakian has been serving theAMAA for the past 16 years as Assistant Administrator and Office Manager. He is agraduate of Haigazian University, with a B.S. degree in Mathematics and Bergen Com-munity College with an A.A. degree in Business Computer Programming.

Prior to his move to the United States in 1984, Mr. Youmshakian had served the Ar-menian Evangelical community in Lebanon in many capacities – teacher of Mathemat-ics in Armenian Evangelical Schools; Editor of Chanasser and Badanegan Artzakang;member and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Union of Armenian EvangelicalChurches in the Near East; member of its Community Council; member of the ChristianEndeavor Executive Committee; youth leader and Chairman of the Board of Trustees ofthe Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church.

Mr. Youmshakian currently is a member of the Armenian Presbyterian Church ofParamus, NJ. He is a deacon of the church and has served on its Board of Trustees.

Mr. Youmshakian is multilingual and is familiar with the AMAA mission field. Hehas traveled extensively in the states, to the Middle East and Armenia. He has beeninvolved in AMAA’s Armenia Relief projects and has been instrumental in the formingof AMAA’s Orphan/Child Care and Armenian Children’s Milk Fund programs. He hasexcellent administrative skills and has a good background in computerization processes.Mr. Youmshakian is married to the former Sossi Yacoubian. They have two children.G

AMAA Appoints New Executiveand Administrative Directors

The Eighth Annual Golf Tournament tobenefit the Armenian Children’s Milk Fund(ACMF) was held on August 7, 2000 at theNew Seabury Country Club on Cape Cod,MA. The Club’s blue course, is highly re-garded by golfers and has earned a four-starrating by Golf Digest.

Ms. Lynn Aznoian, the tournament orga-nizer, arranged an eventful program. Lunchwas served prior to the tournament andprizes were awarded for lowest score, long-est drive and closest to the pin. The tourna-ment was followed by a dinner, a silent auc-tion and a raffle. The event added about$26,000 to the assets of the ACMF.

The ACMF began raising funds to pur-chase infant formula for needy children inArmenia soon after the tragic earthquake of1988. Although Armenia is now indepen-dent, the aftermath of the earthquake, alongwith a war with Azerbaijan over Karabaghand a blockade of Armenia by Azerbaijanand Turkey, has crippled Armenia'seconomy and maintained a high level ofpoverty. Many families are unable to pro-vide their children with proper nutrition. TheACMF represents an active group of volun-teers who are committed to helping needyinfants in Armenia. The purpose of theACMF is to provide life-saving nutrition -in the form of Isomil infant formula -forthose infants who do not tolerate milk andwhose families are too poor to afford alter-natives. The current members of theACMF’s Executive Committee are: Attor-ney, Jeanmarie Papelian (Chairperson), SetaKalajian (Treasurer), Harvey Bazarian,Elaine Kasparian, Khachadoor Kajoian,Marilyn Kajoian, Raffi Manjikian, KarnikOstayan, Linda Ostayan, Judy Shagoury,Aetna Tashjian and Natalie Zakarian. TheACMF works in partnership with the Ar-menian Missionary Association of America(AMAA) to make sure that the neediest andmost vulnerable children in Armenia get ahealthy start in life.

Those who wish to help the ArmenianChildren's Milk Fund may send their taxdeductible donations to the AMAA, ear-marked for Armenian Children's Milk Fundand mail to 31 West Century Road, Paramus,NJ 07652.G

Golf Tournament BenefitsArmenian Children'sMilk Fund

Rev. Jirair Sogomian Dikran Youmshakian


NEWS AND NOTES

As we all are aware, 2001 is a very memorable year for usArmenians throughout Christendom worldwide, as we celebratethe 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity asthe state religion of Armenia in 301 AD.

David’s Tabernacle Christian Arts Ministry, headed by SylviaKutchukian, will sponsor a unique event called: “Glory Festi-val 2001” on Sunday, June 3rd 4:00pm, in Albany’s Hart The-atre at The Egg. Members of both the Armenian Apostolic andProtestant churches in the Capital Region have enthusiasticallyjoined in the production of this event. We invite you to markyour calendars and plan to join us in celebration of our richlegacy of Christian faith..

The program will be extravagant both in content and partici-pation. Local and out of town clergy, distinguished guests, suchas the Rev. Bishop Howard Hubbard of the Catholic Dioceseand other dignitaries, will bring their greetings and exhorta-tions. Rev. Mihran Kupeyan, newly appointed minister of theUnited Armenian Calvary Congregational Church in Troy, NYand Rev. Stepanos Doudoukjian of St. Peter’s Armenian Apos-tolic Church in Watervliet, NY, will be two of the main speak-ers. The highlight of the evening will focus on our youth, bothin music and drama. The children’s choir, joined by the Arme-

AMAA Orphan/Child Care Committee Members Raise over $50,000 in Boston

"Glory Festival 2001"

The Sixth Annual fundraiser to benefitAMAA's Orpha/Child Care programs washeld on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 at theBrae Burn Country Club in Newton, MA.This successful event which was made pos-sible through the dedicated labors of theAMAA Orpha/child Care Boston Commit-tee members, raised more than $50,000.

This year's event was significant withthe beauty of centerpiece items whichwere placed on each table. 200 ladies sit-ting around the tables silently auctionedthese items and gave generously in sup-port of the needy children in Armenia andKarabagh. Along with the centerpieces,there was a live auction of several otheritems which were all donated forfundraising purposes. Mr. Jeff Barnd, Co-Anchor of WB56 TV in Boston, ran the auc-tion.

Rev. Rene Leonian, AMAA represen-tative in Armenia and Mr. DikranYoumshakian from AMAA Headquartersin Paramus, NJ, both participated in theevent presenting brief report on the activi-ties supported by AMAA Orphan/Child

nian School students, will sing several Armenian songs, fol-lowed by the teen group in the original drama, “Children ofthe Morning”, written by the well known Diane R. Bairamian,depicting the conversion of Armenia through St. Gregory. Otheraspects of God’s grace given to this ancient nation of simplefolks, then living at the foot of the Ararat mountain, will bepresented in dance, music, dramatic readings and slides.

The booths in the lobby will display various cultural andspiritual artifacts passed down to us by our forefathers.

Admission is free. All the proceeds from the event will gosolely to the children’s orphanages and their Christian educa-tion in Armenia through the CASP and AMAA offices. Yourdonations will be gratefully received towards making both thishistorical production and our efforts to reach out to the chil-dren in Armenia, one to be cherished for years to come.

For additonal Information write or call to:Sylvia KutchukianDavid’s Tabernacle Inc.POBox 11300Loudonville, NY 12211-0300Tel.: (518) 459-3152E-mail: [email protected]

Care in Armenia.A word of gratitude is appropriate to all

the participants and supporters of the event,

to all those who donated the centerpiecesand the live auction items, and specially tothose who organized this successful event.G

Jeff Barnd, Co-Anchor of WB56 TV in Boston running the live auction.


Fa\;rhn Bavin

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Enk;rakzoujiune a\s gitakzouj;amb h or masnakiz k*ellan\i,atak;lou Fa\astanhn n;rs Qristonhouj;an yanacmantar;dar]e4 ;u Fa\astan;a\z Ma\r :k;[;zuo\ f;t miat;[k*a,.atin w;rak;ndanazn;lou a\s fauatqe Fa\r;niqinmh=! Fa\ Au;tarancakan Enk;rakzouj;an amhn mhkandam gitakiz ellalow a\s irakanouj;an masnakizk*ella\ a\s sourb partakanouj;an!Fa\ vo[owourdi patmouj;an mh= ;[a6 ;n nman

pa\mann;r ;u pat;foujiunn;r! Anz;alin al Fa\ axge;njaka\ ;[a6 h wtangn;rou! Saka\n an Qristonhakanfauatqe pafa6 h amhn banh w;r! I gin amhnxofo[ouj;an4 go\at;ua6 h ;rb m;6 axg;r ou x7rauorp;toujiunn;r korsoua6 ;n patmouj;an h=;rhn! Incphsanz;alin4 a\s7r al Astou6o\ ,norfqow ou Anor wstaf;lowkar;li h n;rka\ wtangn;re dimagrau;l!Qristonhouj;an ÉÏÈÈ-am;a\ ,r=ane ;njadra6 h m;6

xofo[oujiunn;r ;u piti ;njadrh au;li m;6 xofo[oujiun-n;r4 manauand n;rka\ daroun ;rb tarb;r fosanqn;r kewtang;n m;r nor s;roundn;roun fogin;re! Mia\n m;ran]nakan 7rinak;li k;zoua6qow m;nq krnanq fastatpaf;l apaga\ s;roundn;re ;u a5ij tal anonz or \i,a-tak;n nor faxaram;akn;rou tar;dar]n;r! M;r na.niq-n;re krza6 ;n 'o.an;z;l m;xi Qristonhouj;an fauatqe!M;nq orca2' patrast ;nq no\ne ;u au;lin en;l!ÉÏÈÈ-am;ake pat,ay7rhn ;u fpartouj;amb krnanq n,;l

;jh m;nq a\s7r m;r mh= k*oun;nanq .onarf fogi4 xofo[ouj;anpatrastakamoujiun4 ;u x7rauor fauatqow karca6 kemnanq Qristosi ou Qristonhakan skxbounqn;roun!


Fa\;rhn Bavin

^:RON Y:RI F:QIM:AN^;ron F;qim;an6na6 h D;kt1 Î4ÉÑÊÉ-in4 Yox;` ;uNward F;qim;an-n;rou entaniqin4Q;sap4 Souria!Fa\re ir ousoumestaza6 h Am;rika;u apa ir 6nnda-wa\re w;rada5-nalh ;tq gaza6h Pa[tat orphs dprozi tn7rhn!A\nt;[ fiuandanlow mafaza6 h ir;ritasard fasakin mh= ! Fingtar;kan ^;rone ;u 'oqr ;[ba\re3Arame4 orb mnalow4 ir;nz m;6 m7r ;uma\rikin .namqin tak m;6za6 ;n!Q;sapi Fa \ Au;taranakanWarvarane auart;lh ;tq4 ^;ronendounoua6 h Falhpi Am;rik;an T[ozGolhye! Golhye auart;lh ;tq4 andasauanda6 h Q;sapi warvaraninmh=! Mi;uno\n vamanak 6a5a\a6 h na;uorphs :k;[;zii fogabar]ouj;anandam! Fing tari ousouzcoujiun en;lh;tq m;kna6 h Andr|ordanan ;u fona,.ata6 h ouje tarin;r orphsqariu[i enk;rouj;an me pa,t7n;an!Gor6in mh= partayanac4 fauatarim4wstaf;li ;u fam;st ellalow siroua6h bolorin ko[mh!

Am;rika galou 'a'aqow4 ]ga6 hgor6e ;u ;ka6 ou fastatoua6 h LosAny;les4 Qali`ornia! Fon a,.ata6 hArthn Mh\`hr enk;rouj;an! |ounis ÊÏ4ÉÑÏË-in amousnaza6 h &r1 :sj;rMkrtic;ani f;t! ^;rone4 Q;sapiOusoumnasiraz Miouj;an fimnadirandamn;rhn mhke ellalow4 tikno= f;tmiasin 6a5a\a6 ;n a\d Miouj;an qanime tarin;r! Tarin;rou qrtna=an

AU:TIS <ANL:ANAr6ouabo\n Xh\jouni mh=4 ÉÑÊÈ-in4garnana\in 7r me <anl;an xo\ge Tigran;u %af;l k*7rfnouin manc xauakow me4xa\n k*anouan;n Au;tis4 ;u a\d ];uowm;6 f7r anoune ke ,arounakouientaniqhn n;rs! Tari me ;tq4Xh\jouni ;rkrord taragrouj;an4'oqrikn Au;tis ir 6no[qin f;t kefasni Falhp! Minc ansto\g apaga\iirawiyake ke m[h 6a5;rou tak ]g;lmnaz;al xauakn;re!

Ir antip gro ujiunn;rhn k efasknanq jh mankaparthxi ouna.akrjarani 7r;re anzouza6 hFalhpi B;jhl Warvarane ;u apaFalhpi Golhye! Golhye auart;lh ;tqtn7rhnouj;an pa,t7n ke warh JhlAp;ati ;u A\s Arousi dprozn;rhnn;rs4 apa ke w;rada5na\ Falhp ouke 6a5a\h M;srop;an Warvaranhnn;rs orphs Arab;rhni ousouzic!

A\d tarin;roun W;r1 Sanatrouk

<anl;an Am;rika\hn galow4 ke .7siAu;tisin k;anqi am;nakar;uorniujin3 w;rstin 6noundi masin!:ritasard Au;tis k*endouni Thr|isouse orphs 'rkic ou W;r1 <anl;ani];5qow ke mkrtoui :[ba\rouj;an:k;[;ziin mh=! Saka\n ir enk;ra\in,r=anake c;n npast;r ir fog;uork;anqin ou \a=ordo[ tarin;reantarb;r k*ellan!

Vamanak me Angliakan banakin6a5a\;lh ;tq4 qartou[arakan pa,t7nke stan]nh Gasary;an ;u Gaspar;anfastatoujiunn;rhn n;rs!

ÉÑÍÈ-in k*amousnana\ Markan;anentaniqi doustr;rhn Wiqjoria\i f;t!Astoua6 xir;nq k*7rfnh cors xauakn;row4Ani4 Tigran4 Andranik ;u Ara!

ÉÑÍË-in Falhpi Mh\tan ,r=anin mh=.anouj me ke bana\! No\n vamanakDamaskosi mh= qnnoujiun kouta\Mh\tani namakatan tn7rhn ellalou!

ÉÑÏÎ-in ,at me s'iu5qafa\;rou nmanke fasni Am;rika ;u k*a,.ati ~htq7fastato uj;an mh= 4 minc;u irfangst;an kocouile3 ÏÌ tariqin!!

An oro, vamanak me Falhpi B;jhldprozi fogabar]ouj;an mas kaxma6h! Grakan karo[oujiunn;row 7vtoua6el la low storagra6 h ,at me\7doua6n;r tarb;r grakan ;u axga\inniuj;rou ,our=4 ;u w;r=in tarin;rounniuj;re fog;uor hin!

Thre fay;zau xinq w;rafastat;lou \i,;zn;l 9a5a=ouan shre0! Astoua6xarmanali k;rpow gor6;z4 faszouz ouror piti el lar ;u entaniqn alpatrast;z t.our bavanoumin!

Throunakan a5au7toun |oulisi ËÈ-in Au;tis :[ba\r <anl;an ;rknagnaz;[au4 ÐÈ pand.takan tarin;rbolor;lh ;tq!

POULKARIO| FA| AU:TARANAKAN :K:{:ZIN:ROU

MANOUKN:ROU BANAKOUME

Fing;rord tarin h or Poulkario\ Fa\ Au;tara-nakan;k;[;zin;re Wijo,a l;5an storote gtno uo[ xanaxanfangstatoun;rou mh= banakoum ke kaxmak;rp;n Ð-ÉÎ tar;kan;r;.an;rou famar3 xanonq dastiarak;lou axga\in ogiow oufauatqow! A\s tari al m7t ÐÈ manoukn;r |oulis ÉÏ-ÊÏ fauaqou;zan9Ikliqa0 fiu[akin mh=! A\s banakoumn;re k*7vandakouin Am;rika\i Fa\ Au;tarancakanEnk;rakzouj;an ko[mh! Sargis |owfannhs;an3 S7`ia\hn4 MannikGou\oumy;an3 "lowtiwhn ;u Galoust Thmiry;an3 Wa5na\hn kr7nakandas;r dasauand;zin3 Astoua6a,ounci ,our= m;knabanoujiunn;rtouin4 dhpi tarb;r g;[at;sil wa\r;r ar,aun;r kaxmak;rpzin ;uyig ja';zin famat;[;lou fay;lin ;u 7gtakare!

a,.atanqh ;tq4 ^;ronn ou :sj;re|ounouar Î4 ÉÑÐÑ-in 'o.adroua6 ;n~r;xn7! Ma\is Ñ4 ÉÑÑÎ-in4 srti kajoua-6ow korsnzouza6 h ;[ba\e3 Aram!

W;r=in w;z tarin;roun4 &;ronin ala5o[=o ujiune watjarazau! Anfangist bnauorouj;amb bari4 axniu4gitakiz4 Astoua6awa.4 ardar oumaqour k;anq me apr;zau! An lauat;shr! Amhn angam or ir orpisoujiunefarzouhr4 9A5a=ouenh au;li lau ;m0k*eshr! A'sos or anbouv;li davanfi uando uj;nhn bardo ujiunn;r\a5a=azan ;u ir k;an qi j;lektrou;zau Ma\isi ÉÈ4 ÊÈÈÈ-in! Ir anmaf\i,atake anja5am piti mna\ ,at,at;rou srt;roun ;u fogin;roun mh=!

MAFAGROUJIUNQ


O B I T U A R I E S

Elizabeth Egoyan BedrosianElizabeth Egoyan

Bedrosian passedaway December 19,1999. She was bornin 1907 in a villageof Khouloo nearKharpert, Armeniainto the family ofKrikor and MarinehEgoyan (Yeghayan).Her husband of 31 years, Moorad Bedrosianpreceded her in death. Elizabeth lived and sur-vived the terrible time by God’s Grace, asshown by German Missionaries led by the fa-mous Reverend (“Ehman”) Aman, who madethe decision to save the Egoyan (Yeghoyan)families by accepting them in the missionarycompound.

She spent her childhood years in the Dan-ish Birds' Nest Orphanage in Beirut, Lebanon.Elizabeth journeyed to Providence, Rhode Is-land and then to Fresno, California in 1927.Elizabeth and Moorad were married in Fresnoat the First Armenian Presbyterian Church in1931. They worked together in farming inParlier, California, then moved to Fowler, Cali-fornia where she resided for 56 years.

Elizabeth enjoyed life to its fullest and lovedpeople of all walks.

She was a life member of the AMAA andhas made a gift of $10,000 for the AMAS'sOrphan/Chid Care Fund in Armenia.

Elizabeth is survived by her children, Claraand husband, Lee Bousian, Ernest and wife,Carlotta Bedrosian, Krikor Y. and wifeKatherine Bedrosian, and 8 grandchildren and7 great grandchildren.

Armenouhi TorunianMrs. Armenouhi Torunian, wife of Anton

Torunian, died at the age of 81, on Thursday,July 6, 2000 in Montreal, Canada.

Armenouhi Kazezian, a native of Lebanon,and Anton Torunian were married in Haifa,Palestine fifty seven years ago. Anton andArmenouhi moved to Montreal Canada, viaEngland on July 1, 1953. They were foundingmembers of the First Armenian EvangelicalChurch of Montreal, and always involved inleadership positions. The Torunians wereknown for helping newcomers acquire jobsand for giving moral support.

Armenouhi was a gentle and genteel indi-vidual; a very gracious hostess, always hospi-table, and supportive of her husband, family,ministers and missionaries. Her faithfulnessto her Lord Jesus Christ had helped her grow

in grace and knowledge with God and man.Indeed, Anton and Armenouhi represented thebest in Christian statesmanship. The last years,though fragile physically, Armenouhi’s in-domitable spirit gave her the resiliency to con-tinue serving.

Arousiag Goenjian (nee Aivazian)Arousiag Goenjian passed away on Sunday,

September 10, 2000 (the eve of her 90th birth-day), in Redondo Beach, CA. Funeral serviceswere held on Friday, Sept. 15, 2000.

She is survived by her brother Dr. and Mrs.Garabed Aivazian and family. Son in law anddaughter, Dr. and Mrs. Walid and HildaGhurabi and grandchildren; Micheline, Ranya,Tamar and Raffi. Son Dr. Armen and AznivGoenjian and grandchildren; Lara, Haig andShahan. Son in law and daughter George K.and Hasmig Mandossian. Sisters in law Mrs.Armenouhi Salibian and Ani Goenjian.Brother in law the Rev. James Spence and fam-ily. Also members of the Goenjian, Aivazian,Dombourian, Garmirian, Tavitian, Yerganian,Ghurabi, Kazanjian and Mandossian families.

Donations in lieu of flowers were sent tothe the AMAA.

Rev. Yacoub Afrem Iwas ShekerjiYacoub Afrem

Iwaz Shekerji wasborn to Afrem &Lucia on June 6th

1917 in Urfa, Tur-key. He was theyoungest childamong an olderbrother, AbdulNoorand two sisters, Sa-rah & Manush. In1924, the family immigrated to Aleppo, Syriaas refugees. The family settled in the AssyrianCommunity of ‘Barakkat Al-Syrian’.Yacoub’s primary education was at theAssyrian Orthodox School of Aleppo, wherehe studied in Syriac, Arabic and French. Hisfamily being very poor, he started to work asan apprentice jeweler at a very young age. Atage twenty, under Rev. Tovmassian’s minis-try, he re-affirmed his faith and was born againas a Christian. His first ministry was to teachSunday school within the community. Someof his notable Sunday school students were hisfuture wife, Mary Hajjar, Rev. PeterDoghramji, and Rev. Habib Alajaji. He startedto learn watch repair to supplement his incomeand support his ministering. He started to min-ister door to door in the community.

On November 17, 1944 Rev. Yacoub mar-ried Mary Hajjar. Within a year, the new

couple traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, at whichtime they lost their first-born son. They re-turned to Aleppo, Syria in 1947, where theywere blessed with the birth of their second son,Abel. Yacoub and his family moved back toBeirut, Lebanon and he began to minister forthe Bible Society, by selling Bibles through-out the villages of Lebanon. During his com-mute on the Beirut Tramways, he started theself-study of the English language. They lostfour more children at birth. In early 1950, heentered the Nazarene Bible School. Upongraduation, he was appointed as minister ofthe Aleppo Armenian Nazarene Church. In1960 he was ordained by the Nazarene Churchin Damascus, Syria. In 1961, at the request ofRev. Tovmassian of the United States, hemoved to Lebanon to minister the largeAssyrian Community in Beirut. During thisperiod in Lebanon, he entered the Near EastSchool of Theology and furthered his educa-tion at the Haigazian College and the Ameri-can University of Beirut. Due to financial dif-ficulties and work pressures he stopped hiseducation, just short of a BA in Theology. In1967, Yacoub fulfilled his lifelong dream ofvisiting the house of his birth in Urfa, Turkey.

In February 1968, Rev. Yacoub and his fam-ily immigrated to Los Angeles, CA. Through-out the years, he was invited to preach at localArmenian Evangelical Churches. He alsostarted his ‘Pamphlet’ ministry and for the lastfifteen years, was very active in writing Chris-tian pamphlets and mailing them throughoutthe world. Within the last six years, with hisfailing health and kidney dialysis, he contin-ued his ministry by writing Christian Pam-phlets and mass mailings. Just a few hoursbefore his passing, he was attempting to stuffthousands of his last written pamphlets in en-velopes. On Friday November 24, 2000 at11:30 AM, God decided that his servant hadfulfilled his ministries and called him toHeaven for the rewards. Rev. Yacoub is nowreunited in heaven, with his five children, hissisters, and his older brother, AbdulNoor, whoalso died during Thanksgiving, 10 years ear-lier, of similar kidney complications.

Alice Esaian HakimianAlice Esaian Hakimian, age 96, formerly of

Troy, died Monday, October 23, 2000 at theAlbany County Nursing Home. Born inAintab, Turkey and educated in Troy, she wasthe widow of Avedis Hakimian. and the daugh-ter of the late Harry and Rebecca Vartanian-Esaian. She was employed by Cluett Peabodyin Troy, retiring in 1949. She was a partner inthe A & A Hakimian Holding Company. She


O B I T U A R I E S

was a member of the United Armenian Cal-vary Congregational Church in Troy and wasactive in the Ladies Aid Society of the churchfor many years. Mrs. Hakimian was a lifemember of the Armenian Missionary Associa-tion of America.

She is survived by a son, Harry Hakimianof Albany; a sister, Virginia Esaian-Noga ofBrunswick; four grandchildren; two nephews;one niece; and several great-nieces and neph-ews and great-great-nieces and nephews. Shewas predeceased by a son, George Hakimian,Sr.; a daughter-in-law, Elizabeth StephensHakimian; a daughter, Anna Hakimian; foursisters, Florence Esaian, Gladys Esaian, LydiaEsaian-Darmanjian and Rose EsaianManoukian; three brothers, Harry Esaian,Charles Esaian and George Esaian; and twonieces, Rachel Manoukian-Dudley and Flo-rence Manoukian-Brooks.

Funeral services were held in the Lasak andGigliotti Funeral Home and at the United Ar-menian Calvary Congregational Church, ofTroy, NY.

Remembrances, in Alice’s name, were sentto the Armenian Missionary Association ofAmerica.

Louise (Fermanian) BoyajianLouise Boyajian, 67, of Brockton, the wife

of Vahan “Barney” Boyajian, died Thursdayat Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital after a pe-riod of failing health.

Born in Providence, R.I., she was the daugh-ter of Violet (Avedisian) Fermanian and thelate Samuel Fermanian.

In addition to her husband and mother, sheis survived by two daughters and a son, Mrs.David (Judy) Manoogian of North Attleboro,Mrs. Walter (Nancy L.) Anoushian of NorthKingstown, R.I., and Dr. Stephen S. Boyajianof Medford, N.J.; two brothers, JackFermanian of Boynton Beach, FL, and SamuelFermanian of Peabody; 10 grandchildren, andmany nieces and nephews.

For many years Mrs. Boyajian was a mem-ber of the First Armenian Church in Belmont,MA. She was also a member of the Commer-cial Club and the Armenian Cultural Society.

She passed away on December 14, 2000.Her memorial service of celebrating her tran-sition from this life to life eternal was offici-ated by Rev. Soghomon Nuyujukian on De-cember 18, 2000.

Mrs. Boyajian's heart of love for others wasdemonstrated daily in her life of serving oth-ers with a genuine spirit. “Whosoever be great-est among you, let him be a servant of all.”(Matthew 20:27).

Zarouhie (Zee) Chopourian Trott (Sept. 29, 1917-Dec. 23, 2000)

by Giragos H. ChopourianMrs. Trott was born in Adana, a prominent

town of the Rupenian Armenian Kingdom ofCilicia established in 1080 A.D. by an Arme-nian noble named Rupen. The kingdom col-lapsed in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks cap-tured Constantinople and subjugated the Ar-menians by 1473 for the next 445 years, fi-nally ending it with the Genocide of its people.Zee’s greater travails began in 1921, whenabandoning farms, two houses, horses andeverything else, her parents self-exiled them-selves and three children to the British Colonyof Cyprus. Refugee life was tough. Living onthe sale of Mother’s jewelry for a couple ofyears, the family finally found a niche, addedtwins (boy and girl) and hungrily opted forwhatever education they could get. Zee gradu-ated from the Armenian elementary churchschool and the American Academy (an Ameri-can Mission High School). Graduating fromthe Nursing School of the American Univer-sity of Beirut, Lebanon in 1939, she becamesurgical nurse until 1941, and served as chiefnurse at the Howard Karagheuzian clinic inBeirut for a year. In 1942 she joined the hos-pital of an asbestos mining company perchedon a high-altitude mountain village and a yearlater in 1943 she shifted to the hospital of an-other mining company, the Cyprus Mines Cor-poration, whose product was copper. From1943 to 1957 she was matron (head nurse)and served also as sister at the surgical theateroperating room.

Married in May, 1959 to Arthur Trott, Zeesettled in England and adopted two children,Hilda and Peter, from Lebanon. She provideda hospitable and loving home, exposed her twochildren to an evangelical church, became agrandmom to Peter’s daughter Jade and madegenerous provisions for their future. Zee wasa guardian angel for all the members of theChopourian family, meeting their social andfinancial needs when necessary.

Her sister, Azadouhie (Aye), was always aphone-call away to help even though they werea hundred or more miles apart. Peter andHilda, two gentle souls ever thankful for thelove bestowed on them, stood by to help. Pe-ter, with a great capacity for music, delightedher. He did a yeoman job of taking care of herin her last painful and depressing days, arrang-ing for a 24-hour round the clock service atthe home she loved so much. Garo, twinbrother of Aye who lived in Cyprus, wasequally sensitive to Zee’s needs, paying yearlyand half-yearly visits and brother Loutfig did

The AMAA Board of Directors and staffwish to extend their heartfelt condolencesto the families of the following deceasedfriends whose names were submitted to usfor publication in the AMAA News:

* Bedrosian, Avedis May. 25, 2000* Zerounian, Harutun

Aleppo, Syria May 31, 2000* Nahigian, Marie

Belmont, MA June 17, 2000**Hadidian Arshalous

Fresno, CA July 5, 2000* Tokatlian, Hrantouhi

Watertown, MA July 16, 2000* Chekijian, Mary

Arlington, MA July 31, 2000* Kassab, Flora

Sunnyside, NY July 31, 2000* Karamanlian, Jean

N. Hollywood, CA Aug. 26, 2000* Manasian, Anitza

Mission Hills, CA Sept. 8, 2000* Chankalian, Vahan

Leonia, NJ Sept. 15, 2000* Bilezikian, Paul

Newtonville, MA Oct. 3, 2000

* Memorials were designated for AMAA**Bequests Assigned

the same each time he was in Manchester forbusiness.

Each one of us is born with God’s multiplegifts and Zee had many of them – patience,endurance, capacity for suffering, determina-tion, caring and loving. She had them all. Herwhole life was structured on what Jesus em-phasized: Love of God and neighbor. Theanswer Jesus gave to the scribe who asked him“which is the first commandment of all?” wastwo (Mark 12: 29-31): To love God totallyand the neighbor as ourselves. And he said,“There is none other commandment greaterthan these.” Zee lived her life believing inand living by those commandments.

Zee reached out to her family, friends in herchurch, and neighbors with sincerity and com-passion. Despite being exiled from her home-land, she aspired for excellence and achievedit. She moved beyond survival to professionalexcellence. With her abundant love she madethe life of little ones deprived of love to enjoylife fully. She was God’s child, and her Godwill recognize her contributions and give herthe crown of victory.

All of us will miss her badly, especially weof her immediate extended family – theChopourians, Blacks, Trotts, Stepheys,Baileys, Gehrts, Jarjisians.

We shall cherish her sweet memory.

Armenian Missionary Association of America31 West Century RoadParamus, NJ 07652

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDParamus, NJPermit No. 55

D

"SEARCH FOR SNEAKERS"

Sneakers are so common here that parents buy a few pairs each year for each child in their household.However, sneakers in Armenia are a rare commodity as most families can not afford to buy even a singlepair.

Out of 7500 children attending AMAA Summer Camps in Armenia, Karabagh and Georgia last year, onlya few had sneakers. Many did not even have a pair of decent footwear.

The Armenia Summer Camps Committee as part of its preparation for Summer Camps 2001, has em-barked on a "Search for Sneakers" program this year for children attending summer camps in Armenia,Karabagh and Georgia. The AMAA organized summer camps are one of the major projects of the Or-phan/Child Care Committee. Each year, over 7000 children attend these camps and participate in sports

and arts & crafts activities. They associate with otherchildren in their age group. They enjoy nutritiousmeals, fresh air and comfortable beds. They also learnabout their Christian heritage and about Jesus Christ.A pair of sneakers will be of much needed help.

Would you kindly participate in this "Search for Sneak-ers" project, by providing a pair(s) of new sneakersfor boys and girls ages 8-18, or make a contributionfor us to buy a pair or more. Children will really ap-preciate and will smile when their little feet feel thecomfort of the sneakers you donate.

Sneakers or your donations may be sent to the Ar-menian Missionary Association of America, 31 WestCentury Road, Paramus, NJ 07652 by April 15, 2001.

Yes, I would like to provide sneakers forchildren attending AMAA camps in Arme-nia, Karabagh and Georgia. Enclosedplease find:

---------- pair(s) of sneakers

--------- U.S. dollars for sneakers

Name ---------------------------------------------

Address ------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------

(Please make tax-deductible checks payable to AMAA,earmarked for "Search for Sneakers)

evangelical theological seminary of armenia - class of 2000 · january 26, 2001, measured at 7.9 on...

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