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PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710
Fax: (212) 779-3558
Web: http://www.armenianchurch.org/
Email: [email protected]
Update on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Dikranakert
The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America expresses its sorrow
over the lives lost in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked eastern
Turkey this morning.
We are greatly relieved to report that the delegation of Armenian pilgrims,
who had departed from the Eastern Diocese earlier this week to take part in
the re-consecration of the historic Armenian Church in the city of Diarbekir
(Dikranagert), are safe and were not affected in any way by the earthquake.
The group of Diocesan leaders led by Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian were far from the strike zone and did not experience any of the
tremors or aftershocks, Archbishop Barsamian reported in a telephone
interview on Sunday morning.
Plans for later this week which would have taken the pilgrims to Van, the
historic Armenian region which was seriously affected by this morning's
disaster-were cancelled; instead, the pilgrims visited the St. Kevork Church
in Derek, near Mardin. They will travel to Istanbul as scheduled on Tuesday.
The sacred festivities at the St. Giragos Church in Dikranakert took place
before the earthquake, and went forward as planned. Archbishop Barsamian
described the service as deeply moving, both in terms of the event itself
and in terms of the extremely warm welcome accorded the Armenian visitors to
the city. More than 2,000 people took part in the service, including
dignitaries from the Armenian Church, officials from various levels of
Turkey's government, and diplomats from a number of countries, including the
U.S.
"After such a splendid ceremony, our hearts were heavy when we learned of
the earthquake, and our prayers go out to the victims and their families,"
Archbishop Barsamian said.
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710
Fax: (212) 779-3558
Web: http://www.armenianchurch.org/
Email: [email protected]
Update on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Dikranakert
The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America expresses its sorrow
over the lives lost in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked eastern
Turkey this morning.
We are greatly relieved to report that the delegation of Armenian pilgrims,
who had departed from the Eastern Diocese earlier this week to take part in
the re-consecration of the historic Armenian Church in the city of Diarbekir
(Dikranagert), are safe and were not affected in any way by the earthquake.
The group of Diocesan leaders led by Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian were far from the strike zone and did not experience any of the
tremors or aftershocks, Archbishop Barsamian reported in a telephone
interview on Sunday morning.
Plans for later this week which would have taken the pilgrims to Van, the
historic Armenian region which was seriously affected by this morning's
disaster-were cancelled; instead, the pilgrims visited the St. Kevork Church
in Derek, near Mardin. They will travel to Istanbul as scheduled on Tuesday.
The sacred festivities at the St. Giragos Church in Dikranakert took place
before the earthquake, and went forward as planned. Archbishop Barsamian
described the service as deeply moving, both in terms of the event itself
and in terms of the extremely warm welcome accorded the Armenian visitors to
the city. More than 2,000 people took part in the service, including
dignitaries from the Armenian Church, officials from various levels of
Turkey's government, and diplomats from a number of countries, including the
U.S.
"After such a splendid ceremony, our hearts were heavy when we learned of
the earthquake, and our prayers go out to the victims and their families,"
Archbishop Barsamian said.