HIS HOLINESS ARAM I EXPRESSES HIS CONDOLENCES TO THE PATRIARCH OF ETHIOPIA
01/25/2010
Upon hearing the sad news of the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines taking off from Beirut, Catholicos Aram wrote to Abuna Paulus, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church expressing his sorrow for the sad event. In his letter he asked the Patriarch to assure the authorities and the families of the victims of his prayers, and that he beseeched the consolation of the Holy Spirit.
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I CONGRATULATES HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH IRINEJ OF SERBIA
01/25/2010
In a letter addressed to His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, who was installed on 23 January 2010, Catholicos Aram I expressed his good wishes and hoped that relations between the two churches and ecumenical relations are strengthened under his spiritual leadership.
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I REORGANIZES THE
DER ZOR GENOCIDE MEMORIAL CHURCH FOR PILGRIMAGE
01/25/2010
Eight years ago, His Holiness declared the Church and the Genocide Monument in the Syrian Desert a place for pilgrimage. He wanted Armenians to visit the place and pay their homage to the memory of the martyrs. In order to make the place spiritually conducive and physically comfortable, he established an office with a Director. The Director Very Rev. Vahan Berberian will operate under the leadership of a committee.
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I DECLARES 2010 YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN WOMEN
01/10/2010
On Sunday 10 January 2010, after the Liturgy at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias, Archbishop Komitas Ohanian read the Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Aram I, declaring 2010 Year of Armenian Women.
The letter is an invitation to Armenian men and women to reassess the role of women in the family and society. In his Encyclical, His Holiness Aram I refers to Biblical, historical and contemporary reflections that make it imperative that we reassess the roles of women and men in society. According to the Bible, he writes, God created men and women in His image, after His likeness (Genesis 1:26); therefore, he explains, women and men are equal in the eyes of God and partners in caring for the created world. His Holiness further notes that in the New Testament, the ‘New Eve’, Mary the Mother of God, plays an important role in the history of salvation.
The Encyclical then refers to Armenian history, where many women contributed to the survival of the nation and to its spiritual and cultural renaissance by assuming political responsibilities through martyrdom and sainthood, as writers, educators, social workers and mothers.
His Holiness bases his reflection on important events and documents of the United Nations and the Ecumenical Movement. He cites the achievements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Decade for Women and International Conferences since 1976 and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly (1979). In the Ecumenical Movement he mentions the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women 1988-1998, which deplored violence against women at home and in society and the Decade to Overcome Violence.
His Holiness concludes his Encyclical letter by calling upon all Armenians to reconsider the nature of women-men partnership in the Armenian community, its organizations and the family, in view of the moral values taught by the Church and internationally endorsed documents.
This Encyclical letter will be read in all Armenian Churches in the forthcoming weeks, and will become a study document both in Church bodies and civil society organizations.
A MEETING BETWEEN PROF. TANER AKÇAM AND ARMENIAN SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS
01/07/2010
On Thursday 7 January 2010 at 18:00hrs at the Gulbenkian Hall of the Cilicia Museum Prof. Taner Akçam the Turkish Dissident Historian met with seventy five Armenian Scholars and Researchers. It was the first time Armenian Scholars and Historians were discussing the Armenian Genocide with a Turkish Historian who courageously has spoken against the official position of his government on this issue for more than a decade.
Prof. Taner Akçam spoke of the importance of dialogue between the two peoples. The two peoples had now to talk because it was important for the Turkish public to hear of the premeditated crime of the Ottomans. After Akçam’s brief presentation the audience discussed with the historian the conditions under which collective memories will heal and justice will be restored.
In concluding the evening, His Holiness Aram I thanked the speaker and the participants for their honest exchange of ideas, and then added: “So far Armenians and Turks were engaged in a monologue each stating its position. It is time to move from monologue to dialogue based on facts, hoping that such dialogue among people will lead to a common strategy for advocacy and action.” His Holiness stated that he believes in dialogue; however “a meaningful dialogue takes place only on the basis of truth and justice, namely the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey”.
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I CELEBRATES ARMENIAN
CHRISTMAS LITURGY IN ANTELIAS
01/06/2010
On Wednesday 6 January 2010, Armenians all around the world celebrated Christmas. In Antelias, His Holiness Aram I celebrated the liturgy with the participation of a large number of believers.
His Holiness emphasized in his sermon the relationship between Incarnation and love. He said, “On this day of Christmas, we should renew ourselves with the commandment of love given to us by God through the birth of His Son. Jesus of Bethlehem loved humanity and taught us to love even our enemies. In fact, love should fuel and guide all our actions. Yet, today, we observe the absence of love towards God, humanity and the environment. Instead, everything in the world evolves around individual self-satisfaction. Both violence and lack of respect of the created world are the inevitable outcomes of this selfish love.”
In the second part of his sermon he greeted the people of Lebanon and said that Lebanon as a big family is unique in that it symbolizes unity in diversity. Lebanon will thrive only through love and mutual respect exercised by its people. The Armenian community will continue to strive for this goal. His Holiness Aram I then expressed his good wishes on this occasion to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Torkom Manoukian, the Patriarch of Constantinople, His Beatitude Mesrob Moutafian, and the Armenian clergy and laity all over the world.
On Christmas day, and the following day, Catholicos Aram I received the visits of Lebanese dignitaries, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of civil society organizations, both Lebanese and Armenian, who expressed their good wishes on the occasion of Armenian Christmas.
2009 HAD BEEN A TURBULENT YEAR FOR OUR NATION
DECLARED HIS HOLINESS ARAM I ON NEW YEAR’S DAY
01/01/2010
A large number of Armenians attended the traditional New Year’s Day Liturgy, at the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Antelias. Following the liturgy, the clergy and the faithful, young and old, went to the Main Hall of the Residence of His Holiness Aram I for his traditional Pontifical blessing.
Very Rev. Krikor Chiftjian greeted the people and said that in line with the Armenian tradition, people had come on this First Day of the Year to receive blessings from His Holiness and hear his hopes for the nation as leader of the Church and Nation.
His Holiness thanked God and expressed his Gratitude to Lord Almighty for His gift of the New Year. He reiterated the hardships and upheavals the Armenian people had been through during the past year and stressed the value and importance of unity. He put the accent on a unified vision, regardless of differences of opinion. He stressed that the Church, the Nation and the Motherland are paramount and should be kept out of all personal and factional interests. The New Year’s Day celebration came to an end with the Seminary students singing the Cilicia anthem and members of the Brotherhood, the clergy, representatives of national organizations and the people receiving His Holiness’s blessings and the official Catholicosate diary.