Next Tuesday the father Aram Ghazaryan, priest of the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of the Holy Translators of Marseilles will officiate in the small chapel of Sant’Antone overlooking the village of Sorio di Tenda. The ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. for peace, brotherhood and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenians of Corsica and all those who so wish will unite in prayer and meditation.
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Tuesday, September 27, a requiem mass for Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh will be celebrated, according to the Armenian liturgy, in the Sant’Antone chapel, about ten minutes walk from Sorio di Tenda, in Haut Nebbiu. The appointment is set for 3 p.m.
The celebration will be led by Father Aram Ghazaryan, priest of the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of the Holy Translators of Marseille, accompanied by Deacon Mourad Meremetci as well as by Sub-deacon Aram Balyan. Robert Azilazian, president of the diocesan council of the Armenian Apostolic Church of France and of the coordination committee of Armenian organizations in France (CCAF-Sud de Marseille) will also be present on the island for the occasion.
The office will intervene on a highly significant date for the Armenian community, that is to say two years, to the day, after the outbreak of the 44-day war in 2020. Previously, the initiative, unprecedented in the island, was carried by the Association for Friendship Corsica Armenia-Amica, chaired by Serge Norayan. It also benefited from the active support of CCAF-Sud, to which the association is also attached. Several factors then contributed to the choice of place of worship.
Starting with the surrounding landscape which, in common opinion, creates blurred and porous borders with Armenia. “The mountains surrounding the sanctuary are reminiscent of those of Artsakh., note by common agreement Serge Norayan, as well as Hervé Cheuzeville, the regional of the stage, but also member of the Amica and Charles Sansonetti, treasurer of the association. Sant’Antone, for his part, is able to make the spiritual link and to appeal to a universal conscience. “Saint Anthony the Great, or Anthony of Egypt (251-356), founder of Christian monasticism, is venerated by the Church Roman Catholic as well as the Tri-Council Churches which include the Armenian Apostolic Church. On its own, it constitutes an additional link between Armenia and Corsica, where it is also known as Sant’Antone u rimitu, Saint Anthony the Hermit.“they explain.
moral duty
Peace, brotherhood and friendship between peoples are preached in Soriu di Tenda, because the municipality and its mayor, Joseph Chiarelli, have still “welcomed the project warmly”welcome the associative actors.
Beyond the homily, “vsand exceptional event”according to the formula of Serge Norayan, will be the occasion to look with a little more emotion than usual on the side of Armenia struggling with a succession of tragedies and outbreaks of violence. “In the context of the continuous Azerbaijani violations of the ceasefire and the attack launched by the Azerbaijani army on September 12 against Armenian territory, Amica wishes to express its solidarity with the Armenian people of Artsakh who are without protection, alone, against the soldiery of the dictator of Baku who wants to force him to abandon his ancestral lands. During the month of August, several villages had to be evacuated by their population, in international indifference”deplore the members of the association.
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All wish to express their disgust and anger at the atrocities allegedly committed by Azerbaijani soldiers and which would constitute a terrible escalation in the conflict. “The international community cannot look the other way,” they assure. To denounce these appalling acts, at their associative level, constitutes a moral duty.
Sorio di Tenda: a mass for Armenia this Tuesday, September 27