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Religion: Armenian Church In Britain And Ireland Celebrates Its New

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  • Religion: Armenian Church In Britain And Ireland Celebrates Its New

    ARMENIAN CHURCH IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND CELEBRATES ITS NEW BISHOP

    Ekklesia
    http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15757
    Nov 21 2011
    UK

    The Armenian Church in Britain and Ireland has been celebrating its
    new bishop over the second weekend in November.

    The Very Rev Fr Vahan Hovhanessian, who was elected Primate of the
    Armenian Church on 14 December 2009, has now become The Rt Rev Dr
    Vahan Hovhanessian, Bishop of the Armenian Church, following his
    Episcopal ordination by HH Catholicos Karekin II at Holy Etchmiadzin
    in Armenia on 6 November 2011.

    Since then, and on Sunday, 20 November 2011, the newly-ordained
    bishop also celebrated his first Badarak or Holy Divine Liturgy at
    St Yeghishe Armenian Church in London.

    The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church.

    Part of the Oriental Orthodox tradition, it is one of the ancient
    Christian communities with a continuing, living presence in the
    21st century.

    Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity officially, in
    301 CE. The Armenian Church traces its origins to the missions of
    Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century.

    There has been an Armenian presence in the UK since the 18th century.

    There are up to 18,000 ethnic Armenians including those who are
    British-born and of part Armenian descent, living in Britain at
    present.

    By way of personal introduction and reflection, Dr Harry Hagopian
    writes:

    Born in Baghdad almost five decades ago, Bishop Vahan received
    his BA in Electrical Engineering from Iraq. He later pursued his
    graduate studies in Theology at St Nerses' Armenian Seminary and at St
    Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. His Master of Divinity from
    St Vladimir was titled "The Council of Shahabivan 445AD: Introduction,
    Translation and Commentary." He later continued with his doctoral
    studies in Scriptures at the Jesuitical Fordham University in New
    York and successfully defended his thesis titled "Third Corinthians:
    Reclaiming Paul for Orthodox Christianity".

    Bishop Vahan is also the author of numerous articles and books in the
    fields of biblical studies, theology and Armenian Church history. His
    publications include In Remembrance of the Lord: Biblical Introduction,
    Historical Review and Contemporary Commentary (2008) as well as
    Exegesis and Hermeneutics in the Churches of the East (2009) and The
    Old Testament As Authoritative Scripture in the Churches of the East
    (2010).

    I personally had never met Bishop Vahan prior to his arrival in
    London, nor had I even heard of him. So what I witnessed personally
    at the initial stages of his presence in our midst as pastor of the
    Armenian Church was a man with a robustly confident faith, a dogged
    determination to serve the church in its authentic definition of an
    assembly of believers (rather than just of long traditions and few
    buildings) and an ability to strengthen the institutions that define
    the Armenian ethos within the UK & Ireland.

    In fact, there was suddenly so much church activity in London,
    Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff or Dublin that I often joked with
    Fr Vahan (then) as much as with my own friends or colleagues that
    he is kicking up so much dust in such a short time! And for an
    ancient institution such as the Armenian Church, when coupled with
    its sedentary and almost self-defining approach to matters of faith
    in many instances, there was certainly a lot of dust swirling about!

    Almost two years into his arrival to London, and his subsequent
    ordination a couple of weeks ago, I tend to believe that Bishop Vahan
    should apply his abundant Christocentric energies toward further
    strengthening the church as a visible manifestation of the Mystery
    of the Incarnation and as a relevant living and engaging presence
    in the lives of Armenians in the UK & Ireland. Moreover, and perhaps
    crucially, I strongly believe that Bishop Vahan should continue the
    leading and quintessential legacy of his predecessor Bishop Nathan
    by reaching out to the other churches and cementing the ecumenical
    role that the Armenian Church plays today in the life, presence and
    witness of Christians at the WCC in Geneva and across all continents.

    The Armenian Christian faith is neither insular nor torpid; it
    reaches out to share the Evangelos or the Good News. But this is
    done neither by compulsion nor by an archaic sense of tradition or
    institutionalised inheritance that focuses on rituals and sidesteps
    the real message! After all, 'For where two or three meet in my name,
    I am there among them' (Mt 18:20).

    Rather, this outreach both within (critically) and without
    (essentially) should be done by applying the one and only power -
    often very sorely wanting - that defines the Church of Christ. Have
    you second-guessed me already? I am of course referring to the power of
    love as the determining tenet of Christ's teachings that is abundantly
    clear in, say, St Luke's Gospel and one that sits comfortably alongside
    the more exalted fundamentals of faith and hope.

    So Serpazan Hayr is no longer a Hayr Sourp and I wish him well ... In
    fact, I have often found myself in the past reflecting upon First
    and Second Timothy. St Paul's warmth as he wrote those two epistles
    encourages me, just as his exhortations to his protege Timothy
    challenge me, and his example of sacrificing all for the Gospel
    humbles me. No wonder my mind keeps returning to St Paul's last words,
    "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
    the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness
    ..." (2 Tim 4.7-8).

    To cross necessary bridges, one must at times tread on some delicate
    marshlands. Besides, and to paraphrase loosely Lord Tennyson in his
    Ulysses, Christians should not rust unburnished but rather shine in
    use. And in terms of faith, all of that requires prayer, meditation,
    reflection, discipline, perseverance, humility and ... again ... love
    for the other.

    * Diocese of the Armenian Church of Great Britain:
    http://www.armenianchurch.co.uk/


    From: Baghdasarian
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