Book Review: “The Call of the Crane”
APRIL 24, 2016
"Who remembers the Armenians?" Hitler once taunted.
History
has
made
a
mockery
of
his
infamous
claim,
for
who
does
not
remember
and
mourn
the
destruction
of
a
million
and
a
half
innocent
Armenians
a
century
ago?
Dispossessed,
driven
out
of
their
homes,
cast
out
into
the
desert,
annihilated
for
no
other
reason other than that they worshipped a different God.
The Nightingale that flew away
April 20, 2016
Anna
Vahan
Baghsarian,
beautiful,
elegant,
gentle
nightingale
of
the
Armenian
Quarter's
Baghsarian
clan,
has
flown
away,
after
a
lingering
debilitation.
Her
voice,
before
we
had
even
heard
of
Feirouz,
ignited
our
soul.
She
will
be
sorely
missed
by
all
who
knew
her, and all who love music.
Uncovering unknown mystic masterpieces
April 18, 2016
A
thousand
years
ago,
a
monk
in
a
distant
monastery
in
the
western
Armenian
province
of
Reshdunik,
picked
up
a
reed
pen
and
began
etching
out
what
would
later
become
known
as
the
first
great
Armenian
mystic
and
liturgical
poetry.
Krikor
Naregatsi
(Gegory
of
Nareg),
who
spent
his
entire
life
in
the
monastery,
died
at
the
relatively
young
age
of
50,
but
what
he
has
left
behind
has
outlived
his
time
and
age:
as
long
as
one
Armenian
heart
beats
anywhere
in
this
world,
his
inspired
odes
and
lamentations
will
continue to find an echo there.
Guardians pledge to restore Edicule
JERUSALEM, March 29, 2016
The
Three
Guardians
of
the
Holy
Places
(the
Greek
and
Armenian
Orthodox
Patriarchates
and
the
Franciscan
Custodia)
have
pledged
to
begin
renovating
the
tomb
of
Jesus
(the
Edicule)
in
the
Holy
Sepulchre
church,
at
an
estimated
cost
of
3m
Euros.
The
work
is
expected
to
start
within
a
few
weeks
and
take
up
to
8
months
to
complete.
The
last
time
the
Edicule
was
restored
was
200
years ago.
Abp Shirvanian resigns from post
JERUSALEM, March 25, 2016
The
highly
esteemed
Archbishop
Aris
Shirvanian
has
resigned
from
his
position
as
head
of
both
the
Secretariat
and
Ecumenical
Department
of
the
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem,
after
several
years
of
sterling
service.
He
is
being
replaced
by
Fr
Goryoun
Baghdasarian, lecturer at the Armenian seminary, and a former private secretary to the late Patriarch Torkom Manoogian.
Church loses eminent leader
LYONS, FRANCE, March 16, 2016
The
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem
has
lost
one
of
its
most
eminent
leaders,
Archbishop
Tavit
Sahagian,
former
Grand
Sacristan
under
the
late
Patriarch,
Torkom
Manoogian.
Sahagian
had
been
suffering
from
kidney
ailments.
He
had
served
the
church
in
various
postings
around
the
world,
and
had
settled
in
France
recently.
His
nephew,
Serop
Sahagian,
has
penned
this
touching
obituary in tribute.
“Gentle Prince” passes away
CALIFORNIA, USA, February, 2016
Alfred
Kevorkian,
nephew
of
the
great
musician
and
composer,
Ohan
Dourian,
has
passed
away
after
a
long
illness,
scant
weeks
after
losing
another
uncle,
the
eminent
philosopher
Haig
Khatchadourian.
He
gained
his
15
minutes
of
fame
early
in
life
when
he
underwent
the
first
open-heart
surgery
in
the
Middle
East.
He
was
always
known
as
a
gentle,
cheerful
person,
ever
eager
to
lend
a
hand.
He
spent
several
years
in
Saudi
Arabia
working
as
a
teacher
before
retiring
in
the
US.
His
loss
further
devastates
the
Khatchadourian clan, one of Jerusalem Armenians grandest.
Irretrievable loss
SYDNEY, Feb 2016
Within
a
matter
of
weeks
earlier
this
year,
the
Armenian
community
of
Jerusalem
was
decimated
by
the
loss
of
four
of
its
members.
One
family
alone,
the
Stepanians
of
"Dar
el
'Ajayez",
lost
their
first-born,
Kevork,
only
days
after
the
death
of
his
sister
Arousiag.
The
devastating
development
was
followed
by
the
departure
of
Hagop
Mnatzaganian,
a
man
of
many
sorrows.
And
soon
after, the whole Armenian world became poorer for the absence of the great philosopher, Haig Khatchadourian.
Jerusalem Armenian heroes
All
Armenians,
not
only
Jerusalemites,
owe
a
great
debt
of
gratitude
to
the
unsung
heroes,
particularly
Khatchig
Bekarian,
Ardavazt
Minassian,
Anoush
Nakkashian
and
Father
Ghevond
who
are
so
selflessly
and
diligently
striving
to
place
Armenian
Jerusalem
on
the
map.
Their
untiring
efforts
have
resulted
in
bringing
to
the
attention
of
all
those
who
love
Jerusalem
the
unique
place Armenians occupy in its history. Long may they continue to live and serve Armenian Jerusalem.
Armenian Patriarchate renovation work
JERUSALEM, Feb 2016
The
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem
has
completed
partial
structural
restoration
at
our
magnificent
Cathedral
of
St
James
with
the
intention
of
pursuing
a
fullscale
restoration
at
some
future
date.
In
order
to
accomplish
this
immensely
important
undertaking,
the
Patriarchate
has
launched
appeal
for
help
and
support
from
Armenians
all
over
the
world.
Click
here
for
full
text
of Patriarchate statement on the restoration project.
New book on Armenian genocide
Haygan
Mardikjan
has
published
a
new
book,
called
“The
Call
of
the
Crane,”
as
a
testimony
to
the
valiant
spirit
of
courage
and
endurance
under
inhuman
suffering
displayed
by
her
Armenian
grandparents
who
survived
the
Turkish
genocide.
The
book
was
originally
written
in
Dutch
and
translated
into
English
by
Sarah
Owen
who
has
dedicated
her
work
to
the
memory
of
Raffi
Hagopian
who passed away in the US nine years ago. The book will be reviewed here shortly.
Gulbenkian support for “Armenian Jerusalem”
The august Gulbenkian philanthropic Foundation has expressed its unwavering support for the "Armenian Jerusalem" heritage
preservation project with a timely grant that has enabled us upgrade and update both the hardware and software required to
design and manage the website which has now moved to a permanent address at http://armenian-jerusalem.org
SYDNEY, June 2017
Khatchig
Dikbikian
(Chris
Dikian)
has
passed
away
short
of
his
80th
birthday,
after
a
long
struggle
with
cancer.
He
leaves
behind
his
wife
Seta,
his
son
Jack
and
daughter
Suzie
and
two
grandchildren.
His
life
was
anything
but
ordinary:
he
was
actually
born
in
Greece,
and
lived
there
for
a
few
years
under
the
Nazi
occupation.
It
was
a
painful
struggle
for
existence,
but
he
managed
to
pull
through,
eventually
landing
in
Beirut
where
he
established
a
pharmacy.
But
it
was
Australia
that
was
to
be
his
home
for
the
past
few
decades.
And
it
is
here
where
he
developed
his
cultural
gifts,
writing
articles,
broadcasting,
teaching Armenian. His voluntary community work saw him recognized with an award by the Rotary Club.
Jerusalem Armenian loses another “bantukhd”
July, 2017
In
an
article
entitled
“Fascinating
Armenian
Jerusalem,”
Jirair
Tutunjian
explains
that
“while
many
Armenians
know
that
the
Armenian
Quarter
in
Jerusalem’s
Old
City
covers
one-sixth
of
the
city,
many
Armenians,
including
even
some
living
in
Jerusalem, don’t know the many Armenian-related facts which make our presence in the Holy City so significant.”
And
proceeds
to
regale
us
with
intriguing
and
amazing
tidbits
about
our
beloved
city.
For
instance,
he
reveals
a
long-
dorman
secret
that
Maymar
Sinan
(1489-1588),
the
Armenian
engineer-architect
from
the
Agirnas
village
near
Caesarea,
was
responsible
for
building
the
walls
of
the
Old
City
of
Jerusalem.
As
chief
architect
of
the
Ottoman
palace,
he
was
in
charge
of
the
construction
of
more
than
300
structures—mosques,
hospitals,
public
kitchens,
schools,
mausoleums,
baths,
palaces,
mansions,
bridges,
aqueducts,
and
caravansaries.
He
circled
(in
the
mid-1530s)
Jerusalem
with
the
4
kilometer
walls
including 34 watchtowers and seven gates.
Fascinating Jerusalem
The
Armenians
of
Jerusalem
mourn
the
loss
of
another
of
its
blythe
spirits,
Dickran
Dickranian.
He
was
ever
the
epitome
of
the
cultured
gentleman,
A
gentle
soul
helfpul
and
considerate,
a
warm,
cheerful
presence
in
the
Armenian
Quarter
ofJerusalem.
He
left
the
city
of
his
birth
when
quite
young
and
spent
most
of
his
adult
life
in
the USA.
He
is
the
brother
of
leading
Armenian
educator
Yeghya
Dickranian,
deputy
principal
of
the
Sts
Tarmanchats
parish
school.
RIP Dickran Dickranian
Feb, 2018