Category Archives: News
Diocese of Armenian Church of America Participates in Florida Activities
Jacksonville Parish Completes Hall Renovation
Last weekend, parishioners of the Jacksonville mission parish gathered for the provisional opening of the church’s new hall. On Sunday, February 17, the Rev. Fr. Tateos Abdalian, the Diocese’s Director of Mission Parishes, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and performed a Home Blessing service in the new facility.
The hall is located on the first floor of a two-story building that the parish purchased in the summer of 2011. Since then, parishioners have worked together to renovate the building, which will serve as a community center, where local Armenians can gather for worship, and for cultural and social programs. The second floor, which will be completed soon, will be used for liturgical celebrations and performing sacraments. The formal blessing ceremony will be presided over by Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian later this year.
[PHOTOS from Jacksonville Mission Parish]
Parish Council chair Elmira Grigoryan expressed her appreciation to the community for its dedication to the project. Special thanks went to Suren Vardanian and Harout Baboyan, who have been overseeing the renovations.
Also during his visit, Fr. Abdalian performed a requiem service to honor the Armenian victims of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing. Many of the families in Jacksonville moved to the U.S. after fleeing anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and Baku.
ACYOA Juniors Gather for Retreat in Florida
Earlier in February, Jennifer Morris, the Diocese’s Youth Outreach Coordinator, traveled to the Sunshine State where she led the Western Florida ACYOA Juniors Retreat.
More than 20 teens from St. Hagop Church of Pinellas Park, and Soorp Haroutiun Church of Orlando, gathered for small group discussions and Bible study sessions that encouraged them to think about how they can better share the light of Christ in their everyday lives.
[PHOTOS from Western Florida ACYOA Juniors Retreat]
On Sunday morning, the Rev. Fr. Hovnan Demerjian, pastor of St. Hagop Church, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and welcomed Jennifer Morris to speak to the parish about the Diocesan Summer Camp programs. The retreat was hosted by St. Hagop Church, with the leadership of youth adviser Yn. Anna Demerjian and the support of several parish volunteers.
Story combined from the February 21st Armenian Church E-Newsletter.
Notre Dame’s Ara Parseghian: Football Coach, Philanthropist, Founder
By Grant Pakhtigian
FLArmenians Sports Contributor
Earlier this month, the annual College Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game was held at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium and featured top seated Notre Dame versus Alabama. The Crimson Tide rolled over the Fighting Irish 42-14, handing them their first and only loss of the season, while celebrating their third national title in four years. While reflecting on the game and Notre Dame’s historic season, I was inspired to revisit the life of former Notre Dame University head football coach Ara Raoul Parseghian.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, Parseghian was the head coach to Miami, Ohio where he once played from 1946-1947 as Running Back and Defensive Back. He also played for the professional football team the Cleveland Browns from 1948-1949.
In 1950 he first began as an assistant coach and later, head coach for the Miami of Ohio college football team. From 1951-1955 he served as head coach at Miami and began and ended a career for which few are as accomplished and consistent.
To put into perspective what Coach Ara did, a 170-58-6 overall record, or equal to an .836 winning percentage, one must have both feet on the ground with a good dose of confidence and many other skills which are to many to name. A football coach is part teacher, part father, must be modest, a great communicator and has excellent leadership skills.
From 1956-1963, Coach Ara served as head coach for the Northwestern University football team. Some say that Coach Ara had the most impact at Notre Dame University where he coached the Fighting Irish. While at Notre Dame, from 1964-1974, Parseghian was responsible for winning two national championships, in 1966 and 1973 respectively.
He was named “Coach of the Year” twice in 1964, once in 1966 and in 1980 – named for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. In 1980 he was also named to the College Football Hall of Fame. Coach Ara wouldn’t shy away from naming his great predecessors.
While at Miami University, his coach was the great Woody Hayes, and an interesting fact to point to was that while coaching at Northwestern, Parseghian defeated the Fighting Irish on four separate occasions.
Upon being hired in 1963 as the 22nd head football coach at Notre Dame, he inherited a team with a 2-7 record, and with young men who were down on their luck as a unit. No sooner did you turnaround; the next year Parseghian brought Notre Dame a National Championship.
In 1964, a player from Parseghian’s second year tenure named John Huarte won the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman is the most significant and important accolade a college football player can receive in his career. The tandem of Huarte and Jack Snow were prolific as passer and receiver for Coach Ara.
After coaching, Parseghian went into the world of business. A family man, Parseghian has three children, wife Kathleen, and works for two foundations. He founded a charity, which serves to eradicate Niemann-Pick disease and also works for the foundation to cure Multiple Sclerosis.
A couple of months back, Parseghian joined former Notre Dame Coaches Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly on the set of ESPN College game day. At 89 years of age, Parseghian is a testament to health and wellness and will always be revered as an iconic Armenian-American sports figure.
Petition Launched on White House Website Calling on Government of Turkey to Open Border with Armenia for Syrian Refugees
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Political Contributor
Over the course of the last week, an Internet petition launched on the White House website has stirred emotions and reignited the debate surrounding Turkey’s nearly 20-year blockade of Armenia. In September 2011, the Obama administration launched “We the People” an online platform whereby American citizens can petition their government, a right enshrined in the First Amendment of US Constitution. According to the terms, a petition must reach 25,000 signatures within 30 days of its launch in order for it to receive a response from the administration. On January 15, the White House raised the signature threshold to 100,000 signatures. However, the new requirement applies only to new petitions and does not affect this petition.
[Click here to read the petition.]
The petition says that “There are 200,000 ethnic Armenians living in Syria and most of them want to escape to Armenia where they can feel safe, comfortable, find a job, a place to live and go to schools” and that the “road from Syria to Armenia goes through Turkey which closed its border with Armenia in 1993.” It concludes, “There shouldn’t be closed borders in the 21-st century.”
The petition was launched on January 5 and, as of this writing, has garnered over 500 signatures, five of which hail from Florida. The petition was initiated by Heritage Party activist Daniel Ioannisian in Armenia, ArmeniaNow first reported. There is no stipulation that the petition organizer be a US citizen, according to the Terms of Participation of the “We the People” platform.
Last year, Florida Armenians held events in Boca Raton and Hollywood, raising thousands of dollars to assist in the Syrian-Armenian relief effort.
According to the ArmeniaNow report, Petros Gasparian, who fled to Armenia amid intense fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, welcomes the initiative. He says that many want to drive to Armenia, but avoid the long travel through Georgia, which is also complicated by the need to get an extra visa and other difficulties.
“The road is very long and unfamiliar, while it’s only half a day’s drive from Aleppo to Yerevan [it takes about 35 hours to reach Armenia from Aleppo by way of Georgia]. That would be easy to all of us, but I’m not sure Turkey would display such an attitude,” Gasparian told ArmeniaNow.
Syria’s largest city, Aleppo is home to 80,000 ethnic Armenians, most descendants of survivors of the 1915 Turkish genocide of Christian Armenians. Today, thousands of Armenians have fled Syria, many seeking refuge in Armenia. According to immigration officials in Yerevan over 6,000 Syrian-Armenians have applied for citizenship in Armenia.
As Turkey’s failed policy to blockade Christian Armenia enters its second decade, the remnants of the Soviet Union continue to linger in the South Caucasus as the last iron curtain hangs over this remote but volatile region. Support for Armenian-Turkish rapprochement reached an all time high in 2009 when Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols to establish diplomatic relations. However, the accords stalled in the Turkish parliament and still await ratification.
Others hope, however, that modern-day Turkey can play a leadership role in the region and in the Syrian conflict in particular. Perhaps in all of the turmoil in the Middle East the Turkish government can display such leadership and open the border with Armenia, at least for refugees. Although a relatively small step in this context, it has the potential to move the ball forward in a larger one: Armenian-Turkish relations. When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Armenia in July 2010, she was asked about the state of Armenian-Turkish relations and the next step in the process. She replied, “The ball is in the other [Turkey’s] court.”
Taniel Koushakjian is an independent political commentator for Florida Armenians. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, and is currently enrolled at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C. Follow him on Twitter @Taniel_Shant.
*This story was updated on January 16, 2013.
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