Armenian International Magazine (AIM), Vol. 12, Issue 3, April 2001, pp. pp. 31, 32, 35
Creating New Cultural Scripts Ancient Techniques for Modern Expression in a New Bulgaria
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In 1997, a collection of more than 150 works of Bulgarian-Armenian artists was exhibited for the first time under one roof. The 50 artists featured (13 women) in the exhibit included those who had come to Bulgaria as refugees, such as Tbilisi-born Grigori Agaronian (1896-1978), Trabizon-born Kamer Medzadurian (1908-1987), and Swiss-born Carl Shahveledian (1898-1953), and Bulgaria-born artists, among them Araksi Karagiosian (b. 1896), Diran Sarkisian (1894-1970), Ovagim Ovagimian (b. 1908), Hilda Haritinova (1908-1990) and a host of contemporary painters and sculptors.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM), Vol. 12, Issue 3, April 2001, pp. 30-36
THE FORGOTTEN DIASPORA Bulgarian-Armenians after the end of Communism
By Hratch Tchilingirian
"As long as my neighbor is worse, I don’t have to be better," goes the Bulgarian saying. When faced with enormous problems, a sense of relative wellness might provide temporary comfort. A decade after the fall of Communism, Bulgarian-Armenians describe the current state of their community with both pessimism and hope -- and offer many ideas for a preferred future.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 12, Issue 2, March 2001, pp 18-19
HEAVENLY TREASURES
The British Library's extensive exhibit dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of Armenian Christianity
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Ten years in the making, the British Library in London is staging a large-scale and first of its kind exhibit, called "Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art," that will be on displace from March 2 until May 28
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 12, Issue 2, March 2001, pp 22-24
Cover Story
CELEBRATION OF FAITH The Armenian Church celebrates 1700th Anniversary of its Establishment and Adoption of State Religion in Armenia
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Imagine a giant organization with over 350 offices and branches in some 40 countries, with 500 top executives, thousands of full- and part-time employees, tens of thousands of volunteers, serving millions of people. That's the Armenian Apostolic Church today and, this year, it's celebrating the 1700th anniversary of its founding.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) November 2000 Vol. 11, No. 11
Armenia Joins Europe What Council of Europe Membership will mean for Armenia and Azerbaijan
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers passed a resolution on November 9 accepting Armenia as a full member of the 41-nation pan-European democratic and human rights organization. The Armenian flag will be raised outside the organization's headquarters in Strasbourg in January when the CE Parliamentary Assembly, which had also voted in favor of accession in June (see AIM July 2000) formally ratifies the decision.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) November 2000 Vol. 11, No. 11
Catholicos Visits John Paul II Heads of 'Sister' Churches Renew Ties
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The heads of the Armenian and Roman Catholic Churches met in the Vatican during Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II's official three-day visit to Rome.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2000, pp. 58-61.
Risking Democracy Much at stake for President and Son in upcoming elections in Azerbaijan
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
Azerbaijanis will go to the polls on November 5 to cast their votes for a new Parliament. However, indirectly, it seems they will be voting for a new president. An ailing President Haidar Aliyev, hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where he had heart surgery just a few years ago, must hang on until the elections, until his son Ilham Aliyev is elected to Parliament. This would make the younger Aliyev eligible for the position of that body’s Speaker, and thus able to assume the duties of the president in the event the head of state is incapacitated or dies.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2000, pp. 40-44. COVER STORY
Dividing Jerusalem Armenians on the line of confrontation
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem has become one of the most talked about issues in the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations over the final status of the city that is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims. At the Camp David II talks in the US in July [2000], it was proposed that the Old City be divided into two sections: Israeli control over the Jewish and Armenian quarters and Palestinian control over the Christian and Muslim quarters.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 2000, Volume 11, No. 7, pp. 44-45.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Votes In favor of Armenia’s membership
By Hratch Tchilingirian
On June 28 the Coucil of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted unanimously to approve Armenia’s bid to join the 41-member organization. Armenia is set to become a full member of Council of Europe (CE) when its Committee of Ministers meet in September. Azerbaijan’s bid was also overwhelmingly accepted, with just one vote against.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 11, No. 6, June 2000, pp. 50-51
A Noble Cause Violinist Levon Chilingirian Crusades for Armenia’s Musicians
By Hratch Tchilingirian
With all the pomp and regalia of royal ritual, Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, has bestowed upon Violinist Levon Chilingirian, 52, the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his "contribution to music" during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February. OBE, established by King George V in 1917, is awarded to British subjects for their "outstanding work."
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) March 2000, Vol. 11, No. 3, p. 23
Pomp and Circumstance Greet Kocharian
By Hratch Tchilingirian
President Robert Kocharian paid an official three-day visit to Lebanon in February. He was greeted at the Beirut airport by Lebanese President Emil Lahoud, the Chairman of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berrie, Prime Minister Selim Hoss and other senior officials. The 72 hours of pomp and circumstance turned heads. “Even the visit of President Jacques Chirac was not so grand,” said one observer.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) February 2000, Volume 11, No. 2, pp. 54-56
Medieval Lobbyists
AUB Professor Explores Armenian-Moslem Relations in the Middle East
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The political and cultural history of the Armenians in the Near East is one of the least explored areas within traditional Armenian Studies. But Seta Dadoyan, Professor of Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Art at the American University of Beirut (AUB), has created a new interest in the subject — with a particular focus on its contemporary significance.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) February 2000, Volume 11, No. 2, pp. 50-52
Seven Years in Prison “If one suffers, but does not believe, life becomes meaningless.”
Compiled by Hratch Tchilingirian
Father Manuel Yergatian, a 33-year-old priest and citizen of Turkey was arrested in October 1980 while preparing to leave Istanbul en route to Jerusalem. He was charged with anti-Turkish activities in the years when various acts of political violence against Turks by Armenians were reported. His whereabouts were not known and no one was able to contact him. Archbishop Shnork Kalustian, Patriarch of Istanbul, was called to testify before the military court. The Turkish press reported on the trial of the “priest who is Turkey’s enemy.” The US State Department turned down a request to intervene in the case. Amnesty International did investigate the arrest. After his conviction, Yergatian served nearly seven years in Turkish prisons. Since his release, he has remained silent about his ordeal. At this writer's request, Fr. Yergatian, 46, describes for the first time and in great detail, what happened when he was arrested and convicted on charges of inciting terrorism.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) February 2000, Volume 11, No. 2
FOCUS OF THE MONTH
Jubilee in the Holy Land Pilgrimage of the Century Includes Top Government, Religious Leaders
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
early 1000 Armenians from around the world gathered in the Holy Land during the week of January 17-24 to celebrate the bi-millennial jubilee of Christ’s Nativity in Bethlehem. The celebrations were headed by the top leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church with the participation of Armenian President Robert Kocharian, who led a 30-member state delegation to Palestine and Israel for the occasion.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 11, No. 1, January 2000, pp. 35-38; 43.
WHEN SMALL IS BIG
Armenian Evangelicals Render a Century and a Half of Service
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Numbering only 50 to 70,000 around the world, Armenian Evangelicals are among the most organized, visible, and active of the world’s eight million-plus Armenians. Despite their small numbers and their periodic conflicts with the Armenian Apostolic Church, the legitimacy, value and mission of the Armenian Evangelical Church has become indisputable over the last century and a half. Just the fact that it is politically incorrect to call them Protestants – they’re Evangelicals – attests to a change of attitude and acceptance; they are no longer seen as “protesters” but as believers genuinely involved in Christian mission and evangelization.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) December 1999 Volume 10, No. 12, pp. 46-48
Integration The Point of No Return
By Hratch Tchilingirian
After the 17-year devastation of the Lebanese civil war, Arthur Nazarian, 48, has been assigned, arguably, the most thankless job in the Lebanese government. The Beirut-born industrialist is both Minister of Tourism and Minister of the Environment.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) December 1999 Volume 10, No. 12, pp. 24-25
The Istanbul Summit
Fifty-Four Nations Discuss Regional Security and Conflicts
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The much touted European security summit of the 54-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was held in Istanbul in late November. President Robert Kocharian headed an Armenian delegation to the summit, where member heads of states and governments adopted a new Charter for European Security and a revised Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE).
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) November 1999, Vol. 10, No. 11, p. 57
Catholics Elect New Patriarch The Armenian Catholic Hierarchy and Community Face Daunting Challenges
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In mid-October, Cairo-born Bishop Bedros Tarmouni, 59, was elected Catholicos Patriarch of the Lebanon-based Armenian Catholic Church by the Synod of Bishops at the Monastery of Bzommar. Unlike the Armenian Apostolic Church, lay representatives do not participate in the election of a Catholic patriarch. The Synod is made of clergy delegates representing Catholic communities in Europe, the Middle East, the US, South America and Armenia. The new leader will be known as Patriarch Nerses-Bedros XIX.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM), November 1999, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp. 24-25
A New Beginning Catholicos Garegin II Faces the Task of Healing and Leading the Church
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The Armenian Apostolic Church elected the 132nd Catholicos of All Armenians on October 27. Archbishop Garegin Nersissian, Vicar of the Ararat Diocese, succeeded Catholicos Karekin I, who passed away in June after serving for only four years as the head of the 1700-year old Church.