Tweet
First Armenian church opens in Abu Dhabi
December 13, 2014 - 22:00 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The first Armenian church opened in Abu Dhabi on
Friday, Dec 12, with hundreds of Armenian Christians in attendance,
Gulf News reported.
Previously, Armenians in Abu Dhabi would worship in other churches
such as St Andrews Church, or go to Sharjah which has an Armenian
church.
Father Mesrob, the church priest, said the community was very thankful
to the UAE leadership.
"Shaikh Zayed gave us land to build our churches and Shaikh Khalifa
has continued to help us. We are very grateful to the Abu Dhabi
government for the freedom to conduct our church services. Such
actions will encourage stronger relations between the UAE and Armenian
community."
Pakrad Balabanian, an Armenian who attended the church opening, told
Gulf News that "we have up to 1,000 Armenians living in Abu Dhabi so
we needed a church to hold our gatherings. We have quite a few
buildings on the site, one of which will be used as Sunday school for
the children. We will be able to hold other ceremonies here as well.
Previously, we had to rent different churches for our ceremonies. We
want to thank the government for the land and its generosity."
Another Armenian resident, who did not want to be named, said that the
church will keep the Armenian community in Abu Dhabi together.
"We also have a school here for Armenian children for them to come
weekly, with 5-6 teachers. There is also a building for the priests so
whoever is in need of help can come and talk to a priest. Armenian
Christians can also get married here instead of travelling to their
countries such as Lebanon, Syria, or Iran."
He added that Muslims being free to visit and see the church. "They
can come inside and see pictures and photographs. They are more than
free to come and take a look."
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/186087/
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/first-armenian-church-opens-in-abu-dhabi-1.1426120
December 13, 2014 - 22:00 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The first Armenian church opened in Abu Dhabi on
Friday, Dec 12, with hundreds of Armenian Christians in attendance,
Gulf News reported.
Previously, Armenians in Abu Dhabi would worship in other churches
such as St Andrews Church, or go to Sharjah which has an Armenian
church.
Father Mesrob, the church priest, said the community was very thankful
to the UAE leadership.
"Shaikh Zayed gave us land to build our churches and Shaikh Khalifa
has continued to help us. We are very grateful to the Abu Dhabi
government for the freedom to conduct our church services. Such
actions will encourage stronger relations between the UAE and Armenian
community."
Pakrad Balabanian, an Armenian who attended the church opening, told
Gulf News that "we have up to 1,000 Armenians living in Abu Dhabi so
we needed a church to hold our gatherings. We have quite a few
buildings on the site, one of which will be used as Sunday school for
the children. We will be able to hold other ceremonies here as well.
Previously, we had to rent different churches for our ceremonies. We
want to thank the government for the land and its generosity."
Another Armenian resident, who did not want to be named, said that the
church will keep the Armenian community in Abu Dhabi together.
"We also have a school here for Armenian children for them to come
weekly, with 5-6 teachers. There is also a building for the priests so
whoever is in need of help can come and talk to a priest. Armenian
Christians can also get married here instead of travelling to their
countries such as Lebanon, Syria, or Iran."
He added that Muslims being free to visit and see the church. "They
can come inside and see pictures and photographs. They are more than
free to come and take a look."
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/186087/
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/first-armenian-church-opens-in-abu-dhabi-1.1426120