Saint Sarkis Armenian Church, located in the north Dallas suburb of Carrollton, has received the most votes in our poll for US Building of the Year 2022. Designed by David Hotson Architect, the church reaches far back in time and thousands of miles across the globe to link itself with Armenian traditions and people.
Dr. Ani Babayan
Educating the next generation is a common thread running through all the programs and projects organized by the In His Shoes ministry. As part of our “Empowerment & Progress for Women” project, Dr. Ani Babayan, as an up-and-coming surgeon in Armenia, was the recipient of our 2021 scholarship for continuing education courses in Moscow. This year, we are pleased to support Dr. Babayan with her continuing education pursuits by attending the American Hernia Society’s (AHS) Annual Meeting and Surgical Skills Lab in Charlotte North Carolina. Dr. Babayan received an official invite to the AHS Conference by the chairperson, Dr. Yuri Novitsky, M.D. There she will meet and engage with surgical colleagues.
Yerevan State Medical University of Armenia has 16 general surgery faculty members, of which only one is female. Dr. Ani Babayan, as the only woman surgeon, has a pivotal role to play in both the education of young medical students and as an example of gender equality within and beyond the University walls. Dr. Babayan completed medical school in 2018 and has since spent her professional career honing and expanding her surgical skills while lecturing to medical students on topics such as hernias, gallbladder disease, general surgical techniques, and surgical colon diseases.
Following the conference, she will be in Los Angeles for surgical observations/education by leading hernia surgery experts. Watch for her interviews in the coming weeks.
Watch Dr. Babayan’s lecture at the AHS
Caption
On Sunday, September 11, she attended the Holy Divine Liturgy at the St. Leon Ghevondyants Armenian Cathedral and participated in the 95th anniversary celebration of the Western Diocese following services. Pictured with Fr. Vazken and Yn. Susan Movsesian on behalf of In His Shoes.
Armenia is under attack. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, calls for unity in answer to the attacks against innocent civilians in Armenia – September 14, 2022
This year marks the 40th anniversary of ordination of Fr. Vazken Movsesian into the priesthood of the Armenian Church. Since the 1980’s Fr. Vazken has pioneered the use of various electronic technologies and media within the Armenian Church. From the early days of electronic bulletin board systems, to the first Armenian language fonts, to viral videos and podcasts about the Armenian Church on the Internet, he has pushed the limits of burgeoning technologies to facilitate the spiritual growth and education of people throughout the world.
On September 25 His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, is marking Fr. Vazken’s 40th anniversary with a very special celebration including the launch of a new and dynamic ministry of the Western Diocese called “Epostle.net” pronounced ēˈpäsəl (apostle with a long “e”) dot net. For nearly two decades Epostle.net has functioned as the voice of the In His Shoes Ministry, reaching out to the disenfranchised members of the Church community, to those seeking a more mature understanding of their faith, and to the neophyte – those who are searching for truths in the most ancient of all Christian traditions, Armenian Orthodoxy. Today the mission continues in new and exciting directions.
Epostle.net is apostolic evangelism for an electronic world.
On Sunday, September 25, you are invited to be a part of our launch event for the new Epostle.net. It will take place following the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the St. Leon Ghevondyants Armenian Cathedral, that morning.
With the initiative and encouragement of Dr. Eric Esrailian, Epostle.net is now broadening its scope to bring the Armenian Christian experience through the Armenian Church to people around the globe. With the use of the latest in technology, the Armenian Church experience can be enhanced by offering daily prayers, meditations, and readings, which are already popular on many websites. However, with Epostle.net the limits will be pushed to bring engagement and interaction to and with the faithful.
Under the auspices of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Epostle.net becomes the newest ministry of the Western Diocese, focusing on electronic transmission of the Gospel message for today’s world. The ministry will work in concert with the current Diocesan Media Department, which boasts an extensive library of multimedia productions from the last two decades. Epostle.dot will become a hub for new outreach, exploiting the potential of technology. Epostle is part of the expanding vision and mission of the Western Diocese.
According to Dr. Esrailian, “The Armenian Apostolic Church has been the heart and soul of the global Armenian nation for centuries. I pray that everyone around the world will have access to the incredible tradition, history, and teachings of the Armenian Church thanks to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”
We invite you to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with us September 25 then join in the celebration and launch of Epostle.net. To attend the launch of Epostle.net, please RSVP at Eventbrite. Or you may join remotely by following the stream at the Western Diocese YouTube channel.
Count down to the launch with us at Epostle.net and look for more updates in the coming days. We look forward to seeing you on September 25.
BOB HOPE AIRPORT — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center on Monday to sign two pieces of legislation intended to put pressure on leaders in Sudan to halt government-sponsored genocide in the Darfur region.
The first law, Assembly Bill 2941, will prohibit the state’s pension programs — the California Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System — from making investments in corporations with business ties to Sudan.
“This is an action that says we do not cooperate with them in the horrors of Darfur,” he said. “We will not pay for it; we will not support it and we will not enable it.”
The second piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 2179, provides legal safeguards for the University of California against potential liability issues that could stem from state divestiture of funds from companies with interests in Sudan, he said.
Joining Schwarzenegger for the bill-signing ceremony on Monday were former
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, celebrity activists Don Cheadle and George Clooney and Assemblyme
ich lobbied heavily for the legislation, raising money and collecting petition signatures.
n Tim Leslie and Paul Koretz, who wrote the bills. Also in attendance was Father Vazken Movsesian, a parish priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale and director of In His Shoes Ministries, wh
“It’s our way of saying that we’re walking in the shoes of the people of Darfur, just as we’ve gone through our own genocide,” Movsesian said. “It’s sending a loud, clear signal that genocide will not be tolerated in the modern world. The one weapon that we have is money. It costs money to run a genocide and by California — the world’s fifth-largest economy — divesting from Sudan, it’s sending a signal that if you continue it, you’re out of money. Without picking up any guns, without killing anybody, we’re making a difference.”
The Sudanese genocid
e, which began in 2003, has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children and left millions homeless, Schwarzenegger said.
“No one is being spared, and even if the violence would stop today, the country would still have deep scars for many generations to come,” he said.
The governor also signed a bill on Monday that permits California residents affected by the Armenian Genocide to pursue legal challenges against financial institutions that withhold deposited or looted assets, extending the statute of limitations to Dec. 31, 2016.
Schwarzenegger has signed Armenian Genocide Commemoration bills every year since he took office in 2003.
A beautiful summer evening in Southern California, a roof top party in Beverly Hills and cool jazz playing in the background are hardly the elements in which a discussion about landmines would ordinarily take place. But this was no ordinary gathering. Concerned and compassionate individuals joined together at the home of Seza Ouzounian and Ohannes Beudjekian in Beverly Hills on Sunday, August 4 to learn about landmine clearance in Artsakh and about the Halo Trust. As a result, $30,000 was raised toward the goal of a landmine-free Artsakh.
At the initiative and invitation of Seza Ouzounian the invaluable work of the Halo Trust was showcased to this group. Landmines have haunted the people of Artsakh for over two decades. One of the largest per capital incidents of landmine and unexploded ordnance accidents in the world – a quarter for victims are children – is in Artsakh (Nagorno Kharabagh). Since 2000, The HALO Trust has cleared approximately 500 minefields removing nearly 12,000 mines for the benefit of over 130,000 people.
The evening began with welcoming words by the hostess, who then invited Fr. Vazken Movsesian of the Western Diocese to share some insights about the urgency of landmine clearance. Next Amasia Zargarian of the Halo Trust presented a short video and explained the workings of the Trust.
The area of land that Ms. Ouzounian has targeted is in the Maratuk region. $100,000 is needed for this area. A matching fund (dollar-for-dollar) has been established.
According to Ms. Ouzounian, “What was gained from this fundraising event is awareness of how serious the situation is in Karabagh. Landmines have made the inhabitants suffer with loss of limbs and deaths and crippled the farming economy. A third of landmine victims are children.”
Many of the guests had not heard of the Halo Trust. “What touched me most,” she continued “is that some of my non-Armenian friends were so moved that they went to their employers and doctors who are Armenian and discussed Halo’s actions to demine Artsakh.
“We need to not rely so much on outside support, we rather need to hold hands and raise funds so that Halo can finish their work and the land can be safe to live on. We raised almost $30,000.00 and we need to raise $20,000.00 more to clear the region of Maratuk. There is an anonymous donor who is matching each dollar. It takes $100,000.00 to clear this particular area and this minefield is being worked on as we speak.”
If you would like to help this effort, you may visit the Halo websites www.halotrust.org/MineFreeNK, Or you may write checks out to The Halo Trust and write “For Nagorno Karabakh” in the memo field and please mail to
Seza Ouzounian,
℅ In His Shoes
PO Box 70773
Pasadena, CA 91117.
They will be forever grateful.
2023 Fr. Vazken
2023 Fr. Vazken Movsesian