Armenian Jerusalem
Book Review: “The Call of the Crane”
APRIL 24, 2016
"Who remembers the Armenians?" Hitler once taunted.
History
has
made
a
mockery
of
his
infamous
claim,
for
who
does
not
remember
and
mourn
the
destruction
of
a
million
and
a
half
innocent
Armenians
a
century
ago?
Dispossessed,
driven
out
of
their
homes,
cast
out
into
the
desert,
annihilated
for
no
other
reason other than that they worshipped a different God.
The Nightingale that flew away
April 20, 2016 Anna Vahan Baghsarian, beautiful, elegant, gentle nightingale of the Armenian Quarter's Baghsarian clan, has flown away, after a lingering debilitation. Her voice, before we had even heard of Feirouz, ignited our soul. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her, and all who love music. Uncovering unknown mystic masterpieces April 18, 2016 A thousand years ago, a monk in a distant monastery in the western Armenian province of Reshdunik, picked up a reed pen and began etching out what would later become known as the first great Armenian mystic and liturgical poetry. Krikor Naregatsi (Gegory of Nareg), who spent his entire life in the monastery, died at the relatively young age of 50, but what he has left behind has outlived his time and age: as long as one Armenian heart beats anywhere in this world, his inspired odes and lamentations will continue to find an echo there.Guardians pledge to restore Edicule
JERUSALEM, March 29, 2016 The Three Guardians of the Holy Places (the Greek and Armenian Orthodox Patriarchates and the Franciscan Custodia) have pledged to begin renovating the tomb of Jesus (the Edicule) in the Holy Sepulchre church, at an estimated cost of 3m Euros. The work is expected to start within a few weeks and take up to 8 months to complete. The last time the Edicule was restored was 200 years ago.
Abp Shirvanian resigns from post
JERUSALEM, March 25, 2016 The highly esteemed Archbishop Aris Shirvanian has resigned from his position as head of both the Secretariat and Ecumenical Department of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, after several years of sterling service. He is being replaced by Fr Goryoun Baghdasarian, lecturer at the Armenian seminary, and a former private secretary to the late Patriarch Torkom Manoogian.
Church loses eminent leader
LYONS, FRANCE, March 16, 2016 The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has lost one of its most eminent leaders, Archbishop Tavit Sahagian, former Grand Sacristan under the late Patriarch, Torkom Manoogian. Sahagian had been suffering from kidney ailments. He had served the church in various postings around the world, and had settled in France recently. His nephew, Serop Sahagian, has penned this touching obituary in tribute.“Gentle Prince” passes away
CALIFORNIA, USA, February, 2016 Alfred Kevorkian, nephew of the great musician and composer, Ohan Dourian, has passed away after a long illness, scant weeks after losing another uncle, the eminent philosopher Haig Khatchadourian. He gained his 15 minutes of fame early in life when he underwent the first open-heart surgery in the Middle East. He was always known as a gentle, cheerful person, ever eager to lend a hand. He spent several years in Saudi Arabia working as a teacher before retiring in the US. His loss further devastates the Khatchadourian clan, one of Jerusalem Armenians grandest.Irretrievable loss
SYDNEY, Feb 2016 Within a matter of weeks earlier this year, the Armenian community of Jerusalem was decimated by the loss of four of its members. One family alone, the Stepanians of "Dar el 'Ajayez", lost their first-born, Kevork, only days after the death of his sister Arousiag. The devastating development was followed by the departure of Hagop Mnatzaganian, a man of many sorrows. And soon after, the whole Armenian world became poorer for the absence of the great philosopher, Haig Khatchadourian.Jerusalem Armenian heroes
All Armenians, not only Jerusalemites, owe a great debt of gratitude to the unsung heroes, particularly Khatchig Bekarian, Ardavazt Minassian, Anoush Nakkashian and Father Ghevond who are so selflessly and diligently striving to place Armenian Jerusalem on the map. Their untiring efforts have resulted in bringing to the attention of all those who love Jerusalem the unique place Armenians occupy in its history. Long may they continue to live and serve Armenian Jerusalem.Armenian Patriarchate renovation work
JERUSALEM, Feb 2016 The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has completed partial structural restoration at our magnificent Cathedral of St James with the intention of pursuing a fullscale restoration at some future date. In order to accomplish this immensely important undertaking, the Patriarchate has launched appeal for help and support from Armenians all over the world. Click here for full text of Patriarchate statement on the restoration project.New book on Armenian genocide
Haygan Mardikjan has published a new book, called “The Call of the Crane,” as a testimony to the valiant spirit of courage and endurance under inhuman suffering displayed by her Armenian grandparents who survived the Turkish genocide. The book was originally written in Dutch and translated into English by Sarah Owen who has dedicated her work to the memory of Raffi Hagopian who passed away in the US nine years ago. The book will be reviewed here shortly.Gulbenkian support for “Armenian Jerusalem”
The august Gulbenkian philanthropic Foundation has expressed its unwavering support for the "Armenian Jerusalem" heritage
preservation project with a timely grant that has enabled us upgrade and update both the hardware and software required to
design and manage the website which has now moved to a permanent address at http://armenian-jerusalem.org
SYDNEY, June 2017
Khatchig
Dikbikian
(Chris
Dikian)
has
passed
away
short
of
his
80th
birthday,
after
a
long
struggle
with
cancer.
He
leaves
behind
his
wife
Seta,
his
son
Jack
and
daughter
Suzie
and
two
grandchildren.
His
life
was
anything
but
ordinary:
he
was
actually
born
in
Greece,
and
lived
there
for
a
few
years
under
the
Nazi
occupation.
It
was
a
painful
struggle
for
existence,
but
he
managed
to
pull
through,
eventually
landing
in
Beirut
where
he
established
a
pharmacy.
But
it
was
Australia
that
was
to
be
his
home
for
the
past
few
decades.
And
it
is
here
where
he
developed
his
cultural
gifts,
writing
articles,
broadcasting,
teaching Armenian. His voluntary community work saw him recognized with an award by the Rotary Club.
Jerusalem Armenian loses another “bantukhd”
July, 2017
In
an
article
entitled
“Fascinating
Armenian
Jerusalem,”
Jirair
Tutunjian
explains
that
“while
many
Armenians
know
that
the
Armenian
Quarter
in
Jerusalem’s
Old
City
covers
one-sixth
of
the
city,
many
Armenians,
including
even
some
living
in
Jerusalem, don’t know the many Armenian-related facts which make our presence in the Holy City so significant.”
And
proceeds
to
regale
us
with
intriguing
and
amazing
tidbits
about
our
beloved
city.
For
instance,
he
reveals
a
long-
dorman
secret
that
Maymar
Sinan
(1489-1588),
the
Armenian
engineer-architect
from
the
Agirnas
village
near
Caesarea,
was
responsible
for
building
the
walls
of
the
Old
City
of
Jerusalem.
As
chief
architect
of
the
Ottoman
palace,
he
was
in
charge
of
the
construction
of
more
than
300
structures—mosques,
hospitals,
public
kitchens,
schools,
mausoleums,
baths,
palaces,
mansions,
bridges,
aqueducts,
and
caravansaries.
He
circled
(in
the
mid-1530s)
Jerusalem
with
the
4
kilometer
walls
including 34 watchtowers and seven gates.
Fascinating Jerusalem
The
Armenians
of
Jerusalem
mourn
the
loss
of
another
of
its
blythe
spirits,
Dickran
Dickranian.
He
was
ever
the
epitome
of
the
cultured
gentleman,
A
gentle
soul
helfpul
and
considerate,
a
warm,
cheerful
presence
in
the
Armenian
Quarter
ofJerusalem.
He
left
the
city
of
his
birth
when
quite
young
and
spent
most
of
his
adult
life
in
the USA.
He
is
the
brother
of
leading
Armenian
educator
Yeghya
Dickranian,
deputy
principal
of
the
Sts
Tarmanchats
parish
school.
RIP Dickran Dickranian
Feb, 2018
