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Armenian Action
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December 1999
Vol. 22, No. 2 (68)
Supplement to The Collegian
Karekin II Elected 132nd Catholicos of All Armenians
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Hye Sharzhoom Advisor
The afternoon air was filled
with excitement and anticipation on Wednesday, Oct.
27, 1999, as 452 delegates from
more than 30 countries prepared to
enter the doors of the sanctuary of
Holy Etchmiadzin, to cast their
ballots for the 132nd Catholicos of
All Armenians.
One by one the delegates entered the Church as their names
were called, each feeling the weight
of responsibility as an elector who
would decide the leader of the Armenian Church into the next millennium.
Presiding over the election
were Archbishop Torkom
Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of
Jerusalem, Archbishop Mesrob
Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople, and Archbishop
Nerses Bozabalyan, Locum Ten-,
ens (interim head ofthe Armenian
Church).
Hours later, His Holiness
Karekin II Nersisian was elected
as the new Catholicos of All Armenians, by a majority vote of 263
(226 votes were necessary for election on the first ballot). The only
other candidate in the election,
Archbishop Nerses Bozabalyan, received 176 votes, with 11 invalid
(standing left to right) His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrop Mutafyan, Patriarch of Constantinople; His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; and His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom
Manoogian, Patriarch of Jerusalem, participate in the consecration ceremony of His Holiness Karekin
II in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.
votes.
The delegates had gathered at
Etchmiadzin earlier in the week, to
participate in the National Ecclesiastical Assembly, which began on
Tuesday, Oct. 26. The Assembly
had been convened to elect a successor to the late His Holiness
Karekin I, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, who
had passed away on June 29,1999.
His Holiness' reign of a little more
than four years as Catholicos — he
had been elected in April of 1995
— was cut short by illness.
The National Ecclesiastical
Assembly also had on its agenda a
discussion of a draft constitution
for the Armenian Church worldwide.
photo by Mark Crosse, The Fresno Bee
As a delegate elected from the
Western Diocese of the Armenian
Church of North America, I was
privileged to participate in only the
3rd National Ecclesiastical Assembly held in the past 44 years. Although I had been to Armenia on
several previous occasions, this was
the first time that I participated in
the election of a Catholicos. I was
Saroyan Statue to be Restored at Fresno State
By Matthew Maroot
Editor
A30-foot-tall monument to
Fresno's most prolific author, rescued in October
from the wrecking ball, now rests
behind the Conley Art Building at
California State University, Fresno
where it patiently awaits restoration.
This rusted configuration of
twisted metal and decayed wood
was once a shining tribute to the
late author, playwright and Fresno
native, William Saroyan. The
statue titled, "Tribute to Saroyan,"
was created by the late Fresno artist, Varaz Samuelian. Samuelian,
who was a close friend of
Saroyan's, died in 1995 at age 78.
- The statue, which features a
stack of curiously arranged 4-foot-
tall books by Saroyan beneath a
large bronze sculpture of his head,
previously sat on a dirt lot at R
Street and Mariposa Avenue in
downtown Fresno. The lot was
once home to the Varaz Modern
Art Museum.
Community Medical Center,
which now owns the lot, planned
on demolishing the statue to make
way for a parking area—plans that
didn't sit well with those interested
in preserving the work of local artists, including University President
John Welty. "The statue represents
a significant part of the cultural
history of this area. It is important
for the university to be committed
to preserving art and culture," said
Welty, whose phone call to a hospital administrator came to the rescue of a small group trying to save
the statue.
That group included Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, Coordinator
ofthe Fresno State Armenian Studies Program. "Dr. Welty played a
crucial role at just the right mo-
>rof. Ed Gillum (left) and Dr. Dickran Kouymjian view the
statue of William Saroyan created by artist Varaz Samuelian.
photo by Michael Harutinian
ment. He accepted without reservation that the statue come to
Fresno State for restoring. He literally told university officials to
simply 'Make it happen.' And it
did," Kouymjian said.
Professor Ed Gillum of the
Fresno State Art and Design Department will oversee the statue's
restoration which will be done
mainly by advanced art students.
See Statue, Page 8
joined by 22 other delegates from the Western
Diocese, including four
other delegates from the
Central Valley.
The election of a
Catholicos has historically been an important
event in Armenian history, for the primary reason that during periods
when the Armenians had
lost their sovereignty, the
Armenian Church had
provided not only spiritual but political leadership as well (for example
the role ofthe Armenian
Patriarch of
Constantinople as head
of the Armenian millet
during the period of Ottoman Turkish rule over
Western Armenia). But
this election was even
more significant, taking
place on the threshold of
two important milestone anniversaries: the 2000th anniversary of
the birth of Jesus Christ celebrated
in the year 2000 and the 1700th
anniversary of the acceptance of
Christianity as the state religion of
Armenia in the year 2001. By this
reasoning, a Catholicos had to be
See Catholicos, Page 8
ANC Names
Dr. Kouymjian
Man of the Year
The Armenian National
Committee, Central California has named Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, director of the
Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Fresno, as
its "Man of the Year." Dr.
Kouymjian is being honored for
his contributions to the education
of Armenian and non-Armenian
students at Fresno State. He will be
honored at a dinner on Sunday,
March 5, 2000, at Tornino's restaurant. For more information,
please call the ANC at (559) 486-
1918.
Dr. Kouymjian was invited to
Fresno from Paris in 1977 to establish a new Program in Armenian
Studies at Fresno State. He reorganized the Armenian Students Or-
See Kouymjian, Page 7
Assassinations, Page 4
Adana Conference, Page 5
What Makes an Armenian ?, Page 5
Historic Armenia, Page 7