... Armenians are members of the “Armenian Rite” of the Catholic Church (others put the number closer to 150,000) with communities in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Jerusalem and the US. The Armenian Catholic ...
... several high-ranking clergy including the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Istanbul issued a Pastoral Appeal warning against what they called “the involvement by government officials” in the elections.
The ...
... of the elections and have Patriarch Manoogian of Jerusalem become the new Catholicos.
AIM asked Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan of Istanbul and All Turkey, whose name was mentioned in the rumor, to respond ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM), October 1999, Volume 10, Number 10, pp. 52-53
Big Player Joe Baroutjian Reaches New Height in Lebanon’s Music Industry
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
“Studio Joe” is tucked in the ground floor of an old, war-scarred building in a narrow alleyway of Beirut's Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud, where at night you can still park your car in the middle of the street and get away with it.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM),October 1999, Volume 10, Number 10, p. 24-27
Turkish Tragedy A Devastating Earthquake Shakes the Land, People and Government of Turkey
By Hratch Tchilingirian
The devastating earthquake that hit Turkey’s Marmara region in August killed almost 20,000 people, left more than 27,000 people injured and hundreds of thousands homeless. The epicenter of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake was near Izmit, an industrial city about 104 km (60 miles) east of Istanbul.
Armenian International Magazine Volume 10, Number 10, October 1999, p. 10
[Editorial by Hratch Tchilingirian]
Two Different Islands Cooperation among state officials, policy makers and businesses benefits all
In the last few years, Great Britain, a huge and important island in Europe, has gone through a process of reassessing its foreign policy in the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Armenia in particular.
Armenian International Magazine Volume 10, Number 10, October 1999, p. 11
[Editorial by Hratch Tchilingirian]
Electing A Holy Father Will the new Catholicos heal, build and lead the Church into the next century?
At the end of October over 450 delegates from around the world, elected by their respective communities, will convene the National Ecclesiastical Assembly (NEA), the Armenian Church’s highest body of authority, to elect a new Catholicos of All Armenians.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM), August-September 1999, Vol. 10, No. 8&9, pp. 76-77, 79
Looking to the East Chant Avedissian rediscovers and redefines Egyptian visual art
By Hratch Tchilingirian
If you’ve traveled through London’s Heathrow Airport or flown on British Airways in the last few years, chances are you’ve seen Chant Avedissian’s paintings—representing Egypt. It is one of a series of colorful art deco British Airways plane tails representing different nations around the world.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 53-54
Instilling the Armenian Spirit Armenian Education in a Transient Community
By Hratch Tchilingirian
The tiny Armenian community in the United Arab Emirates, numbering less than 2000, has a collective history of about 20 years. Unlike most established Diaspora communities around the world, the most prevalent characteristics of this community is its transient nature.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 37 & 39
Crisis Without Borders The Media in the Middle East
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In the old days, when things looked bleak in the Diasporan communities of the West, everyone looked to the Middle East for hope. There, Armenians spoke, read, wrote Armenian. There, the future of the language and the culture was guaranteed.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 29-33
The End of a Journey Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians, 1995-1999; Catholicos of Cilicia, 1977-1995
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In April 1995, Karekin I was elected the 131st Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin by the National Ecclesiastical Assembly, arguably, the most pan-Armenian body representing almost nine million Armenians in the republic and 32 countries in the Diaspora. Unlike other elections in the last five hundred years, this one was the first in a free and independent Republic of Armenia. And for the first time in history, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in Lebanon, was elected Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) June 1999, Volume 10, Number 6, pp 46-48
Master of Grand Theater Gerard Avedissian in the Cultural Landscape of Lebanon
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Playwright, actor, director and producer Gerard Avedissian, 55, is one of the most sought-after artists in the Middle East. A regular guest on the Lebanese television talk show circuit and the cultural scene, Avedissian is the master of the grand theater. “People expect something big and something well done,” he says, when they see his name associated with a theatrical production. In 1997, when he wrote, directed and co-produced “Ghadat Al-Camilla”—a musical play inspired by Alexandre Dumas Jr’s The Lady of the Camellias—some 55,000 people saw the production in one season.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 58-59
AN ARAB HISTORIAN AND HIS CAUSE Saleh Zahredeen Takes on the Armenian Genocide
By Hratch Tchilingirian
"The truth shall be told even while hanging on the gallows," confidently affirms Saleh Zahreedin, 48, Lebanese Druze historian and author of a dozen books and pamphlets in Arabic on the Armenians and the Genocide.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 56-57
The Armenian [Diplomatic] Mission in Egypt Ambassador Edward Nalbandian goes to Paris with acclamation
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Unlike countries with decades-old (even centuries-old) state apparatus and experience in diplomatic relations, the "first generation" diplomats of virtually all newly independent countries carry enormous responsibilities and challenges. In addition to representing political and economic interests of their respective countries, diplomats of new states bear the responsibility of creating new diplomatic infrastructures in their host countries with virtually no (or at best very little) state budgets. From finding, acquiring and maintaining decent embassy buildings to obtaining cars, computers, faxes and staff, the first few years for a "new diplomat" are most challenging.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 34
From Activism to Diplomacy Karabakh finds a place in the geostrategic architecture of the Caucasus
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
In the last decade, the Karabakh leadership has effectively transitioned from the political activism of the late 1980s and armed conflict in the early 1990s to serious diplomacy-with a combat-ready, disciplined army to back its political and geostrategic interests. Today, having acquired the constituent elements of statehood, Karabakh functions as a de-facto independent state.
... (the other three are the Catholicosates of Ejmiatsin and Cilicia, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem). The Istanbul Patriarchate was established in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror of Constantinople. ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) September 1998, p. 13
Election of Patriarch Postponed Indefinitely by Turkish Government
By Hratch Tchilingirian
For almost five months now, the Turkish state has refused to approve an election date permitting the 80,000-strong Armenian community, Turkey’s largest Christian minority, to proceed with the election of the 84th hierarch of the 537-year old Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) August 1998 (Notebook, p. 10)
UNITED DIOCESE?
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In an interview with AIM (April-May 1998), when speaking about the protracted administrative schism in the Armenian Church, Catholicos Aram I made it very clear that it is ultimately up to the people to decide the question of “church unity.” When asked about the role of the hierarchy and who is going to take the first step, His Holiness said: “Antelias came here not to divide the people, but to serve the people. If the people whom we are serving tell us thank you very much for what you did, the next day Antelias will go back to Antelias.”
Privatization, de-nationalization, investments, free-market are among the most complex and misunderstood terms in virtually all the newly independent states. Like chemotherapy which introduces drastic and painful changes in the body even while trying to save it, the introduction of free-market economics brought major pain (together with some good and the promise of more). All of this came with many unexpected and often undesired side effects.