Haratch (Parish) 2 August 2002

From Adana to London: The 90 Year Old Orphan - The Story of Rosa Khdrian

Hratch Tchilingirian

[in Armenian, see PDF version]

Groong 5 April 2002

Armenian monks safe in Bethlehem, for now
"We are waiting for the arrival of our fate," says Fr. Joundourian

By Hratch Tchilingirian, London

IntraPress News, 5 April 2002 – The seven Armenian priests and monks trapped in the Armenian section of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem are safe, said Fr. Khat Joundourian, 34, deputy abbot of the Armenian monastery in Bethlehem in a telephone interview this morning (Friday, 2:30 AM Bethlehem time) as the military operations in the area continued.

Agos (Istanbul), 1 Mart 2002

Pastanın bölünemeyen dilimi: Kudüs

Hratch Tchilingirian

[in Turkish, see PDF version]

[English Version]

[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.]

June 2001

The Crisis of Armenian Education in Bulgaria

By Hratch Tchilingirian

The decline of “Armenian education” in Bulgaria and its consequences on preservation of identity is a constant concern of Bulgarian Armenian community leaders. They point out that at least two generations of Armenian Bulgarians have been virtually or completely assimilated due to the closure of Armenian schools during Communism.

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 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.

April 2001 - Armenians in Bulgaria

Multiple Routes  

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 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