Entries by stjohn

DEATH OF SIMON VRATSIAN

The last Prime Minister of the first Republic of Armenia, Simon Vratsian, was born in 1882, in the village of Medz Sala, near Nakhichevan-on-the-Don (today Rostov-on Don, in the northern Caucasus).

Death of Keri

Keri, a veteran leader of the Armenian liberation movement at the turn of the twentieth century, became also a prominent military figure in the last years of his life. He was born Arshag Kavafian in 1858 in Erzerum, and was twenty-four when he entered the short lived self-defense organization “Defender of the Homeland,” founded in 1882.

FR. MESROP PARSAMYAN’S ADDRESS TO THE DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY

As part of the proceedings of the 120th Diocesan Assembly, Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan presented an address to the clergy and lay delegates, as one of the three candidates for the office of Primate. In his remarks, Fr. Parsamyan sketched out his background and upbringing, and revealed his early experience of God’s call, and some of his thoughts about the future.

A NEW PRIMATE FOR THE EASTERN DIOCESE

The 120th Diocesan Assembly of the Armenian Church of America, the clergy and delegates elected a new Primate, in the person of the Very Rev. Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan. Pending confirmation by His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, Fr. Mesrop will become the 13th Primate of the Eastern Diocese.

LIBERATION OF SHUSHI

Shushi had historically been the capital of Karabagh and the third most important Armenian cultural center in the Southern Caucasus (after Tiflis and Baku) until 1920, when the pogrom executed by Azerbaijani forces ended in the destruction of the Armenian quarters and the extermination of the Armenian population of the city.

WISCONSIN CHURCHES REMEMBER MARTYRED SAINTS

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, the Southeast Wisconsin Armenian Churches gathered to celebrate Martyred Saints of the Armenian Genocide, with a joint Divine Liturgy at St. Hagop Armenian Apostolic Church in Racine.

HOVHANNES SHIRAZ

Poet Hovhannes Shiraz, one of the most popular names in Armenia and the Diaspora during Soviet times, was born in Alexandropol (later Leninakan, now Gumri), in 1915. His birth name was Onnig Garabedian. At the age of five, he lost his father, who was killed in the Turkish invasion of Armenia that followed the Armenian-Turkish war of 1920.

BIRTH OF HENRY MORGENTHAU, SR.

Henry Morgenthau, Sr., was the Ambassador of the United States to the Ottoman Empire. He was born in Mannheim (Germany) on April 26, 1856.

ABOUT AVOIDING ARMENIAN SPELLING MISTAKES

We usually have problems when we try to transcribe an Armenian name into English. There are certain rules to follow. Yes, indeed the name “John” might be transcribed as Ճոն or Ճան which depends on the phonetics you adopt, whether British or American. But if you have a child named Kevork and you want to transcribe his name in Armenian letters, there is only one to write it: Գէորգ.