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A time of decision for Jerusalemite Armenians
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17831
In a few days' time, we will learn the name of the new Armenian
patriarch of Jerusalem. Four or five names have been see-sawing in the
consciousness of those following these developments for many long
weeks already. But the haze of speculation will finally be removed
with the elections and actual votes of the members of the St James
Brotherhood (36 in all).
So 23rd and 24th January 2013 will be two important dates not only for
the new person succeeding HB Patriarch Torkom II and leading the
church in the Holy Land, but equally importantly for the Armenians
still living and witnessing in those biblical and historical lands.
No doubt I will return to reflect on the "name" choice next week, but
in the meantime let me share with you the Armenian and English
versions of the Christmas Eve sermon in Bethlehem (for calendar and
protocol reasons, it is 19 January of every year in Bethlehem for the
Armenian Orthodox Church) by HE Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, Locum
Tenens of the Patriarchate during this interim period.
If you look at both documents, and assuming you can read both, the
Armenian text (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/files/armenian_christmas_message_2013-3.pdf)
is focused on the intra-Armenian family and representatives, whereas
the English (shorter) text
(http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/files/armenian_christmas_message_2013-4.pdf)
homes in -- and rightly so -- on a larger Holy Land society within
Palestine, Israel and Jordan. There are special mentions, it will be
noted, for Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad of the newly-recognised
Palestinian state.
This blog comes with seasonal greetings to and from all Jerusalemite
Armenians as we usher in the "ordinary times" following Christmas.
(For those who may not realise, Armenians celebrate Christmas on 6th
January - the date when, historically, all Christian churches
celebrated Christ's birth until the fourth century. So our 'Christmas
period', coinciding with Epiphany, extends to the beginning of this
weekend.)
----------
© Harry Hagopian is an international lawyer, ecumenist and EU
political consultant. He also acts as a Middle East and inter-faith
advisor to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales and as
Middle East consultant to ACEP (Christians in Politics) in Paris. He
is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor
(http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/HarryHagopian). Formerly an Executive
Secretary of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee and Executive
Director of the Middle East Council of Churches, he is now an
international fellow, Sorbonne III University, Paris, consultant to
the Campaign for Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (UK), Ecumenical
consultant to the Primate of Armenian Church in UK & Ireland, and
author of The Armenian Church in the Holy Land. Dr Hagopian's own
website is www.epektasis.net Follow him on Twitter here:
@harryhagopian
From: A. Papazian
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17831
In a few days' time, we will learn the name of the new Armenian
patriarch of Jerusalem. Four or five names have been see-sawing in the
consciousness of those following these developments for many long
weeks already. But the haze of speculation will finally be removed
with the elections and actual votes of the members of the St James
Brotherhood (36 in all).
So 23rd and 24th January 2013 will be two important dates not only for
the new person succeeding HB Patriarch Torkom II and leading the
church in the Holy Land, but equally importantly for the Armenians
still living and witnessing in those biblical and historical lands.
No doubt I will return to reflect on the "name" choice next week, but
in the meantime let me share with you the Armenian and English
versions of the Christmas Eve sermon in Bethlehem (for calendar and
protocol reasons, it is 19 January of every year in Bethlehem for the
Armenian Orthodox Church) by HE Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, Locum
Tenens of the Patriarchate during this interim period.
If you look at both documents, and assuming you can read both, the
Armenian text (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/files/armenian_christmas_message_2013-3.pdf)
is focused on the intra-Armenian family and representatives, whereas
the English (shorter) text
(http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/files/armenian_christmas_message_2013-4.pdf)
homes in -- and rightly so -- on a larger Holy Land society within
Palestine, Israel and Jordan. There are special mentions, it will be
noted, for Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad of the newly-recognised
Palestinian state.
This blog comes with seasonal greetings to and from all Jerusalemite
Armenians as we usher in the "ordinary times" following Christmas.
(For those who may not realise, Armenians celebrate Christmas on 6th
January - the date when, historically, all Christian churches
celebrated Christ's birth until the fourth century. So our 'Christmas
period', coinciding with Epiphany, extends to the beginning of this
weekend.)
----------
© Harry Hagopian is an international lawyer, ecumenist and EU
political consultant. He also acts as a Middle East and inter-faith
advisor to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales and as
Middle East consultant to ACEP (Christians in Politics) in Paris. He
is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor
(http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/HarryHagopian). Formerly an Executive
Secretary of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee and Executive
Director of the Middle East Council of Churches, he is now an
international fellow, Sorbonne III University, Paris, consultant to
the Campaign for Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (UK), Ecumenical
consultant to the Primate of Armenian Church in UK & Ireland, and
author of The Armenian Church in the Holy Land. Dr Hagopian's own
website is www.epektasis.net Follow him on Twitter here:
@harryhagopian
From: A. Papazian