Armenian Church of Atlanta June 2008 In This Issue Solemn Divine Liturgy Father’s Day Luncheon Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Battle of Sardarabad His Holiness Is 2:5-11, Rom 8:31-10:4 MT 13:16-23 Karekin’s visit with the Pope Construction in Holy Etchmiadzin Sunday, June 15, 2008 Update from our PC 11:00 a.m. at Hye Doon chairman Mission parish forms Celebrant Update from Women’s guild Very Rev. Fr Zaven Yazichyan Chair Armenian Language 9820 Coleman Road Classes Roswell, GA 30075 Sunday School Thank you letter to Women’s Guild Garage Sale Kef Night Recipe of the Month Armenian Poem You Rejoice My Heart ACYOA update Birth Announcements Piggy Bank Graduation news Ads Photos June 2008 Page 2 of 14 Diocese News & Articles COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF SARDARABAD This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the battle of Sardarabad. In 1918, the enem y, far better equipped and with more trained soldiers, was just five miles away from Holy Etchmiadzin. His Holiness Catholicos Gevorg V was advised to evacuate the Holy See. His response was that he was not going to abandon the Mother See, and if he was going to die, he preferred to die in Holy Etchmiadzin. He also sent clergy to the battlefield to encourage the people to stand firm against the enemy. Among the clergy was Fr. Garegin Hovsepian, later the Primate of this Diocese and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. It was a second Avarayr or Vartanantz, but this time the Armenians managed to repulse the enemy and secured their right to live in a land which eventually became the Armenian Republic of today. To remember this event, all parishes are holding requiem service on May 25 after the Divine Liturgy. In 1968 during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Sardarapat that took place in May 22-26, 1918 a memorial park was laid out on the spot of the battlefield. Sardarapat Memorial is located in Armavir, Armenia 25 kilometers from Echmiadzin. The entrance is flanked by huge winged oxen made of red tuff. A flight of steps leads to a square from which a 26-metre-high bell tower rises. The beautiful trellis structure with its nine bells can be seen from afar. The bells ring every year on the day of the historic victory. The monument is guarded by massive Assyrian-style winged lions, and is flanked by a memorial garden for Karabakh martyrs. Sardarapat Memorial is a symbol of pride and survival, the Sardarapat Memorial marks the place of Armenia's successful last-ditch effort to save the nation from obliteration at the hands of the Turks in the Battle of Sardarapat. Against tremendous odds, and during the haunting backdrop of genocide during the previous few years, Armenia's makeshift army rebuffed the Turkish troops and safeguarded the small portion of historic Armenia, what became the current republic as it stands today. Battle of Sardarabad The Battle of Sardarabad (Armenian: Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ; Turkish: Sardarapat Savaşı) was a battle of the Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarapat, Armenia from May 21 to May 24, 1918. Sardarapat was only 40 kilometers west of the city of Yerevan and the battle is currently seen as not only stopping the Turkish advance into the rest of Armenia but also preventing the complete destruction of the Armenian nation. Background Just two months after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, the Ottoman Empire attacked into what had been Russian-Armenian territory.[1] In violation of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with the Russian SFSR, elements of the Fourth Army crossed the border in May 1918 and attacked Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri). The Ottoman Army intended to crush the Armenia and seize Transcaucasia. The German government objected to this attack and refused to help the Ottoman Army in this operation. Continued…. 9820 Coleman Road, Roswell GA 30075 www.armenianchurchofatlanta.org June 2008 Page 3 of 14 At that time, only a small area of historical Armenian territory which used to be a part of the Russian Empire remained unconquered by the Ottoman Empire, and into that area hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees had fled after the Armenian Genocide. The Ottoman Forces began a three-pronged attack in an attempt to conquer Armenia. When Alexandropol fell, the Ottoman Army moved into the Ararat Valley – the heart of Armenia. However, Armenians under Movses Silikyan defeated the Ottoman troops in a three day battle at Sardarapat as well as Abaran and Karakilisa. The victories here were instrumental in allowing the Armenian National Council in Tiflis to establish the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Aftermath Worried by the Ottoman invasion of Armenia, the Democratic Republic of Georgia to the north asked for, and gained, German protection. The Democratic Republic of Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum in June 4, 1918, since the Army of Islam held positions seven kilometers from Yerevan and only 10 kilometers from Etchmiadzin. Two days later, after the battle of Sardarapat on May 28, 1918 Armenian National Council in Tiflis proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, which existed until the Bolshevik takeover of Armenia in November 1920. His Holiness Karekin II Visits His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI On Tuesday, May 6, the Pontiff of All Armenians and his delegation arrived at Ciampino Airport in Rome. Also joining His Holiness were more than 75 devoted laymen of the Armenian Church from throughout the world who were invited by the Catholicos to participate in this historic visit to the Holy See and Italy. This was His Holiness’ third visit to the Vatican since his election as Catholicos of All Armenians in 1999. The visit to Italy was composed of three parts: a four-day visit to the Vatican, a one-day visit to the Armenian community of Milan and a two-day visit to the Mekhitarian Congregation on the Island of San Lazzaro in Venice. On Wednesday morning, His Holiness Karekin II and the Armenian bishops visited the tomb of Pope John Paul II of blessed memory, in the crypt below Saint Peter’s Basilica, and offered a solemn prayer for the repose of his soul. The Catholicos and the Armenian delegation also visited the newly named St. Gregory the Illuminator plaza inside St. Peter’s courtyard and viewed the statue of the patron saint of the Armenian Church, placed there during the pontificate of John Paul II. Immediately afterwards, the Armenian delegation of clergy and laity participated in the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, jointly held by Pope Benedict XVI and Catholicos Karekin II. The two church heads exchanged messages of greeting, a fraternal embrace and kiss of peace on the platform in front of the mother cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church, before a crowd of more than 35,000 faithful. Continued……. 9820 Coleman Road, Roswell GA 30075 www.armenianchurchofatlanta.org June 2008 Page 4 of 14 In his message to the Pope and the faithful, the Catholicos stated in part, "Dear Brother in Christ, today, on the threshold of the Feast of Pentecost, when we unite our prayers to those of Your Holiness and of your faithful sons and daughters, we praise and glorify the Holy Spirit, Who is the fountainhead of unity and transforms our steps on the paths of brotherhood with grace – steps which are for the glory of God and are born from the love of Christ, for the sake of establishing peace in the world and a blessed life for mankind. In spite of different historical experiences and paths we have traversed; in spite of dogmatic and cultural divergences, we are all children of the one God, and we are all brothers and sisters in His Holy love. For in our diversity, it is our unity of love that is the genuine testimony that we are children of God. "Intolerance and confrontation must not be allowed within the brotherhood and love of Christ. Mankind has suffered much as a result. Today as well, the creation of God – the world that surrounds us – is imperiled through interfaith disagreements, through wars and terrorism, through the effects of poverty and neglect. Our brothers and sisters are in distress in the Middle East and many other regions of the world; where women and children, the elderly and disabled are endangered by the blows of disagreement and division, unjust competition and enmity. This is not the Will of God. This is not our calling. We aspire to live a life in peace, of creation and creativity, to use the graces given to us by the Holy Spirit, to serve the establishment of unity and solidarity with the love of Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel, since ‘for those that love God, all things work together unto good.’ (Romans 8:28) "We Armenians are a people who have survived genocide, and we know well the value of love, brotherhood, friendship, peace and a secure life. Today, many countries of the world recognize and condemn the Genocide committed against the Armenian people by Ottoman Turkey, as did the Holy See, by His Holiness Pope John Paul II of blessed memory during our fraternal visit to Rome in 2000. Offering prayers to his luminous memory, we as Pontiff of the Armenians, appeal to all nations and lands to universally condemn all genocides that have occurred throughout history and those that continue through the present day, so that those who yield power and authority realize their responsibilities and results of those crimes which have been and continue to be committed against the creation of God, and that the denial of these crimes is an injustice that equals the commission of the same." New Construction Projects at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is bustling with construction projects that will not only facilitate the Church’s mission but add to its beauty as well.