The Challenges Facing the Armenian Church. An Interview with Hratch Tchilingirian
by Khatchig Mouradian
"The Armenian Church hides, under its each and every stone, a secret path ascending to the heavens", wrote the famous Armenian poet, Vahan Tekeyan. Yet, the Armenian Church is more than a religious institution that has acted as a "mediator" between Armenians and their God. Having survived the shifting tides of time for more than seventeen centuries, this "unique organization", as Professor Hratch Tchilingirian calls it in this interview, has served its people as much as, if not more than, it has served God. Today, in the age of globalization, secularization and false crusades, the Armenians - despite their constant boasting about having the oldest Christian state in the world - are also following this global trend, by gradually distancing themselves from established religious institutions and, at times, looking for spiritual answers elsewhere.
Interview de Hratch Tchilingirian par Khatchig Mouradian, le 7 août 2004, Aztag
Parue dans « Aztagdaily » , traduction Louise Kiffer.
« L’Abkhazie n’est pas un endroit pour des vacances, c’est une zone de guerre » a dit le Président géorgien Mikhaïl Saakashvili au début de ce mois, menaçant de couler les bateaux étrangers (sous-entendu : russes) qui entreraient dans la région sans autorisation de son gouvernement. Ses commentaires arrivèrent à un moment où les tensions s’élevaient entre les autorités centrales de Géorgie et deux de ses régions dissidentes, l’Ossétie du sud et l’Abkhazie, que Saakashvili avait promis de récupérer. Moscou s’est opposée furieusement à ces déclarations, ses relations avec la Géorgie s’étant effondrées depuis que la « révolution rose » avait porté au pouvoir Saakashvili le pro-occidental.
... a minority of 18%, compared with the 46% majority of Georgians. However, in the late 19thcentury, before the 'Georgianisation' of the region, as Abkhaz scholars argue, Abkhazians were the majority, ...
First Woman and First Diasporan Ambassador builds vital bridges
by Hratch Tchilingirian
When in 1994 Sevda Sevan was appointed Armenia’s ambassador to Bulgaria, she held three records. She was the first female to head an Armenian diplomatic mission; she was the first Diasporan with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary; and was the first Diasporan to acquire Armenian citizenship by giving up her Bulgarian citizenship.
Armenian Reporter Internatinal [Paramus] 21 Aug 2004: 25.
Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian lectured recently at Haigazian University on "The Armenian Community of Abkhazia."
Tchilingirian described the overall situation in Abkhazia, which lies on the northeastern shores of the Black Sea and has a territory of 8,600 sq km. Abkhazia was an autonomous republic within Georgia during the Soviet period. With its wonderful climate and developed infrastructure for tourism, it was considered the "Riviera" of the Soviet Union. Successive Soviet leaders from Stalin onwards had their summer resorts in Abkhazia. About 1.5 million tourists visited Abkhazia annually in Soviet times, when its total population was only half a million. Agriculture was also a very successful sector of the economy, and Abkhazia had one of the highest GDPs in the Soviet Union.
In Ann Arbor, Hratch Tchilingirian discusses church-state relation
Armenian Reporter[Paramus, NJ] 29 Nov 2008: A9.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Church hierarchy can no longer simply pontificate about complex problems of society without real engagement in the life of the people," declared Cambridge University scholar Hratch Tchilingirianin a recent lecture at the University of Michigan. "What is the relevance of a 1,700 year-old Church and religious faith to contemporary Armenians living in Armenia and outside, all around the world?"
Thaw in Turkey-Armenia relations By Jonathan Gorvett in Istanbul
Despite continuing tensions between Turkey and Armenia over allegations of a 20th century genocide, the two countries seem to be moving closer together.
The Cilician Election and Church Unity Discussed in An Interview with Khachig Babikian, Esq.
HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The following interview, conducted by the editor of Window Quarterly with Mr. Khachig Babikian, Chairman of the World General Assembly of the See of Cilicia, has been made available to a select few Armenian newspapers, including TAR Int'l
LONDON, UK - As Antelias prepares for the election of a new Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, on April 20, 1995, this writer conducted an interview with Attorney Khachig Babikian, Chairman of World General Assembly of the Great House of Cilicia and member of the Lebanese Parliament, discussing the details of the election and the issue of church unity.
... Vol. 1, Beirut: Shirak Press, 1962: 32-37).
The wider historical and sociopolitical context of the founding of SDHP was the modern socialist movement of the late 19thcentury, which was rooted ...
Hayagerdum yev Mangavarjutiun [Armenian-formation and Pedagogy]. By Bebo Simonian. Beirut: Shirak Press. 1996. 360p.
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Preservation ofthe Armenian identity (hayabahbanum) is one ofthe mosttalked-about subjects in the Armenian Diaspora; One couldeven say that "hayabahbanum" has been the raison d'etre of theDiaspora, at least until the independence of Armenia.
... Document 111
The case of a "self-declared" priest.
1953 - Document 116
Permission "to destroy the dilapidated building of [a] church, built in the 19thcentury ... with the aim of opening ...
How absurd a notion it is to con sider having a Peace Center in one of the most war-torm regions of the world. Such has been the response I have often received when pursuing the dreams of the Dormition Abbey/a century old Benedictine Monastry in Jerusalem. However, the more shocking idea seems to be participation of Armenians in this endeavor. While there is foundation for skepticism, the most appropriate answer to such a view seems to be - how is it possible that there not be a Center for Peace in the city of Jerusalem, capital of three monotheistic religions — the City of Peace.
Book Review: Balancing the Traditional and the Modern
Azadouhi Simonian, Youth and Education (in Armenian, Beirut 1995)
The post-cold war era has been a mixed bless ing for the "new world or der". On the one hand, there is increasing inter est in social, ecological, gender and moral issues facing the world; on the other hand, nationalism and politicized religion have dominated the central stage of public discourse.
Window view of the Armenian Church, Vol. I, No. 3, January 1990
Canonization of the Genocide Victims:Are We Ready?
by Hratch Tchilingirian
This year is the 75th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and it seems that the "preparatory activities" are still continuing... So far the victims of the Genocide have not been canonized. There are several problems with the issue of canonizing the victims of the Genocide. However, before going into the discussion of these problems, let us briefly define what "canonization" is.
Window view of the Armenian Church, Vol. 3, No. 3 & 4, 1993
WHAT IS GOOD DEATH? Issues Related to Death and Dying
by Hratch Tchilingirian
------------------------------------------------ Euthanasia (Greek for "good death"), in general, means "the causing of an easy or painless death to the patient who is dying of a terminal illness. Death can be induced by the patient himself without the knowledge or cooperation of any other persons. Or it can be effected by others at the request or with the consent of the patient. In all these cases it is called voluntary euthanasia. If death is induced against the will or without the knowledge of the patient, [it is called] involuntary euthanasia.1