PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

10:12 11.07.2014
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/07/11/presbyterian-church-adopts-resolution-on-armenian-genocide-centennial/

On Fri., June 20, some 600 commissioners to the 221st General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church (USA), meeting in Detroit, Mich., adopted
with near unanimity a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide
and adopting the 2015 church calendar designating April 26 as the day
for its observance. It also directed the church's Mission Agency to
prepare educational and liturgical resources for member churches in
preparation for the event, the Armenian Weekly reports.

This historic resolution, which was the first of its kind for a major
American church body, was adopted by the 1.8 million-member church. It
originated in the local presbyteries of Los Ranchos (Anaheim, Calif.),
Chicago, and Palisades (New Jersey), and was sent on to the national
body for adoption. Two overture advocates who played a vital role
in this regard were Rev. Dr. Christine Chakoian (Chicago Presbytery)
and Rev. Dr. Vartkes Kassouni (Los Ranchos Presbytery). Dr. Chakoian
is the senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest,
Ill. Dr. Kassouni is retired, and at present the parish associate
of the Tustin Presbyterian Church of Tustin, Calif. Central to
the development and writing of the resolution (called an overture)
was the staff of the Jinishian Memorial Program (Eliza Minassian,
director, and Cara Taylor, coordinator) and the World Mission Agency
of the Presbyterian Church (USA), with Greg Allen-Pickett the general
manager of operations.

Assisting Rev. Drs. Chakoian and Kassouni was Rev. Fr. Garabed
Kocharian, pastor of St. John's Armenian Church of Southfield, Mich.

They spoke on Mon., June 16, before the meeting of the Peacemaking
and International Relations Committee, which had to hear, debate,
and approve the resolution, and then send it on to the plenary session
for final adoption. Their presentations were coordinated, first in an
"open hearing" where Chakoian and Kochakian spoke, and then in the
action phase where Kassouni spoke calling on the Assembly to take
this historic step and recognize the massacres of 1.5 million as
"the first genocide of the 20th century."

The overture includes four key points: One, it urges member
congregations to recognize the Armenian Genocide, express deep
sympathy to the Armenian people, and designate April 24 every year
as the day of remembrance, and honors the provisions of American and
international law in this regard. Two, it supports the designation of
"genocide" for the death of 1.5 million Armenians and the expulsion
of 1 million more from the Ottoman Empire in the years 1915-23.

Three, it directs the stated clerk of the General Assembly to call
on the president and the Congress of the United States of America to
recognize and condemn the death and expulsion of the Armenians, and
to communicate this resolution to our ecumenical partners nationally
and internationally. Four, it directs the Presbyterian Mission
Agency to encourage appropriate observance of the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide (subsequently choosing April 26, 2015) in
the churches, with accompanying educational and cultural forms of
remembrance, noting the important role played in this endeavor by
the Jinishian Memorial Program.

The resolution received great support by the committee during its
hearings and action. The Plenary Session affirmed its recommendation
and adopted it with no opposition. This was a rare occasion when three
Armenian clergy (two Protestant and one Apostolic) stood together
in strong cooperative witness and support on behalf of the Armenian
people. The process took a long time, starting in January 2014,
and worked its way up to the General Assembly in June. It's a great
tribute to cooperative, consistent, intelligent, and dedicated effort
on behalf of our Armenian people, past and present.