Letters

Dear Advisor,

Congratulations on the 20th Anniversary of Hye Sharzhoom!  Please pass on my congratulations and best wishes to Arakel Arisian and the staff – Chad, Jennifer K., Matthew, Talin and Jennifer O.  Also, to Michael, the photographer and yourself. The special 20th anniversary supplement to the Collegian was informative and well-written.  Thank you for your hard work and contributions to the campus community!

Judy K. Sakaki
Vice President for Student Affairs
Dean of Students
Fresno State

Dear Jennifer Ounjian:

Greetings from an Australian armenophile and church historian, who was interested to read your article in the October issue of “Hye Sharzhoom”.  It is good that you are trying to place the Armenians and their Church in the wider context of World Christianity, but there are a few small problems with your outline – caused no doubt by the books you consulted.  I hope you will not be offended if I make a few suggestions.

1.  I am myself am a member of the ‘Byzantine’ Orthodox group.  But I really dislike the old triumphalist terms Greater / Lesser Orthodox Churches.  Having studied Armenian and attended many church and civil functions with Armenians in many countries, may I say that I consider them Great, not Lesser!  Host writers today would use more sensitive terms such as Old Oriental or Oriental Orthodox – and I would prefer the latter, myself.

2.  Your list of “Greater” Orthodox Churches is rather skimpy, but perhaps you didnít mean it to exhaustive?  It could be nearly three times as long.

3.  More seriously, you omitted entirely the E. Syrian Church (Assyrians/Church of the East), who although not in communion with most other groups, have like the Armenians testified with their blood to their faith – and still do so.

4.  I am surprised that you mentioned St. Basilís visit to Egypt (which was primarily to visit monastic settlements) but not his two visits to Armenia:  not that St. Gregory the Illuminator was consecrated by St. Basilís predecessor in Caesarea, along with SS. Hripsime and Gayane and their companions.

5.  It was certainly a great tragedy for the whole of Christendom, not just for the Eastern Churches, that doctrinal and other difference were allowed to cause alteration and division amongst them, facilitating the Muslim invasions, which did enormous and lasting damage.  Thank God there has been for some years dialogue between the various groups, which is leading us back together again, to fulfill Christís mandate:  that all may be one!

With warmest regards,
Cr. H. L. H.  Simmons
Bond 1 Junction
Australia

Dear Editor:

I have lived away from Fresno, CA for the past six years, going to school in other parts of California. When I returned to Fresno, one of the aspects I was most looking forward to was being able to take a class at Fresno State to learn more of my Armenian Ancestry.

The people of this city and neighboring towns are very lucky to have a program such as the Armenian Studies Program within their reach. Programs like this are not common, therefore I consider myself fortunate to be able to be a member of the Armenian Studies Program. It is truly wonderful to see much involvement, such as Hye Sharzhoon, the ASO, and the Program itself including all the important speakers and community events.

Andrea L. Moushigian R.N.
Fresno, CA

Dear Editor:

Your October 1998 edition of the Hye Sharzhoom was well done and one of the best editions in recent years. The paperís appearance, variety, and content all were factors that appeal to the readers. The paper covers issues, news, and stories that most importantly affect the students, university, and community. This blend of articles and news will continue to spark an interest in readers and in growth of readership.
As I read through the paper, I saw a good mixture of variety that creates a mass appeal for the Armenian community. The students had a number of sections that described about the Armenian Student’s Organization (ASO) and other programs. However one criticism is that some of the articles should be more targeted to students. The manner that a few of these articles were written just seems to report the events of the students to non-students. The critical elements in these sections that I see missing is a description of what happened among the students at the events, a description of what the participants felt about the events, and the enthusiasm that was present at the events.

Further, upcoming events for students should be described a little more in detail so that they sound as exciting as they should be.  I found the news section and the historical article to be very informative and interesting to all readers. And the community events that are reported may have a well affect on tying the Armenians in the area together. This section seems to be what the paper is about. If that is the intent then you are doing very well in meeting that criterion. These are just a few constructive criticisms, which can further improve this growing paper. Overall, again I must say this was one of the best issues I have read in recent issues.

Sincerely,
John Jabagchourian
Fresno, CA