Clergy and lay delegates from Armenian Churches around the world gathered at Holy Etchmiadzin last week for the 5th Ecclesiastical Representative Assembly, presided over by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The 134 delegates who gathered from September 18 to 21 included representatives of the Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople, Diocesan primates from Armenia and throughout the diaspora, lay delegates, members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council.
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Contact: Chris Zakian
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September 30, 2014
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Holy Etchmiadzin Hosts ERA Meetıng
Clergy and lay delegates from Armenian Churches around the world gathered at Holy Etchmiadzin last week for the 5th Ecclesiastical Representative Assembly, presided over by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
The 134 delegates who gathered from September 18 to 21 included representatives of the Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople, Diocesan primates from Armenia and throughout the diaspora, lay delegates, members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council.
The assembly was co-chaired by Archbishop Yeznik Petrosian, Primate of the Diocese of Tavush in Armenia, and Dr. Varoujan Altebarmakian, a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council and a parishioner of the Western Diocese.
Representing the Eastern Diocese were Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Diocesan Primate; Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, Ecumenical Director; Dr. Lynn Cetin, of Holy Martyrs Church of Bayside, NY; Vreij Kolandjian of St. Kevork Church of Houston, TX; and Zaven Tachdjian of St. Gregory the Enlightener Church of White Plains, NY. James Kalustian (who chairs the Diocesan Council) attended the meeting as a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council. A fourth delegate, Karmen Santourian of St. John Church of Southfield, MI, was unable to travel to Armenia and take part in the proceedings due to a family emergency
“The source of the vitality and energy of the church is the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,” His Holiness said in his address to the delegates. “That love unites each of us, and is the heart, life, and deeds of every community member.”
He went on to discuss the need to bolster Armenian communities in every part of the world-by strengthening communication efforts, implementing enhanced education programming, and increasing individual involvement in the life of the Armenian Church.
“In this coming year, our nation will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,” he said. “Let’s stand together in a united effort to seek justice, to honor the memory of our martyrs, and to inspire a new generation of Armenians to carry forward the legacy of our ancestors.”
After a lengthy discussion and several rounds of amendments, delegates voted almost unanimously to approve the proposed Bylaws of the Ecclesiastical Representative Assembly. They also heard a report on the events planned for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and about the process of canonizing Genocide martyrs. Bishop Armash Nalbandian, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Syria, spoke about the ongoing hardship faced by the Armenian communities in the country. Archbishop Grigoris Bouniatian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Ukraine, gave a report on how the recent conflict there has affected the Armenian population.
Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan delivered a message to the delegates on September 20. He expressed his continued commitment to supporting the efforts of the Armenian Church, and gave an overview of the Armenian Genocide commemoration events planned at the national level.
At the conclusion of the assembly, the delegates issued a statement: “We are on the eve of the remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, when our church will sanctify the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” the statement said in part.
“We must continue to raise our voice for justice to the entire world, with a unified spirit, so that other countries, particularly the Republic of Turkey, recognize and condemn the first genocide to occur in the 20th century; thereby preventing the recurrence of such crimes against humanity.”
They also expressed concern for Christians in the Middle East, and prayed for a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.
There was also agreement that future meetings of the Ecclesiastical Representative Assembly would include simultaneous translation in various languages to accommodate non-Armenian speakers.
On Sunday, September 21, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at Holy Etchmiadzin. A special prayer was said for the Republic of Armenia on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of Armenia’s independence.
The Ecclesiastical Representative Assembly (ERA) was born out of discussions dating back to 1995 arising out of the National-Ecclesiastical Assembly (NEA)-the Armenian Church’s highest legislative body, comprised of clergy and lay members from every diocese. The NEA is the body that convenes to elect the Catholicos of All Armenians-a role it has executed twice in the past two decades-as well as to decide other major matters. But at over 400 members, the NEA was deemed too unwieldy to convene on a regular basis, so in recent years the smaller ERA was formed to adjudicate routine matters in a timely way: as currently constituted the ERA is scheduled to meet every two years. The ERA currently has 164 registered members, of whom 134 were present at this month’s meeting, and approximately 83 were lay representatives.
In the ERA, each diocesan jurisdiction is allocated a number of delegates based on its membership; the Eastern Diocese is allotted four delegates, who are to be elected by the Diocesan Assembly.
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