Melkonian Alumni and Friends

CURRENT EVENTS

IMPORTANT

NOTICE OF CHANGE OF LOCATION OF HOKEHANKIST
HALL at St. Gregory Church to School Hall

We just received last minute call from St. Gregory Church Board, that they will serve Coffee and desert for their community members at Yegavian hall, therefore, Melkonian Alumni & Friends are inviting you to its adjacent Hovsepian school hall after the Badarak for Hokejash.
Zohrab Shamassian - Melkonian Alumni and Friends

Farewell to our beloved Marzitch Dickran Missirian
We learned with deep sorrow the passing away of "Marzitch" DICKRAN MISSIRIAN on August 20, 2011. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Verkine and family. Coach Dikran has been our beloved long time "marzitch" teacher at the Melkonian Educational Institute from 1953 to 1975. In appreciation of his dedicated teaching, Melkonian Alumni & Friends honored him during our last year Alumni Dinner banquet. Funeral services will be held on August 26, 2011, Friday at 9.30 a.m. at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn, the Old North Church (Red Church), 6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, CA. 90068. Immediately after funeral services, reception will be at:
                                Marquis Restaurant & Banquet Hall
                                811 E. Colorado St.

                                Glendale, CA. 91205

                                Cross Streets: Colorado/Everett

                                tel. 818 242 3334


God Bless his Soul.

Zohrab Shamassian

Melkonian Alumni & Friends

Zohrab Shmassian receives appreciation plaque

We congratulate our own Zohrab Shamassian for "Man of the Year Award" that he received during the 2011 Melkonian Alumni & Friends Dinner Dance Banquet. Well deserved and long overdue, for the most avid supporter of our Alma Mater.

Mr. Mahdessian, Armenian MP in the Cyprus Parliament

Our heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Vartkes Mahdesian for his re-election as the representative of the Armenian Community in Cyprus Parliament.

You can follow Mr. Mahdessian on facebook.

"HOKEHANKISD" - "HOKEDJASH"
for our national benefactors
Krikor and Garabed Melkonian
January 15th 2012 Pasadena, California U.S.A.

A memorial service (Hokehankisd) will be held for national benefactors, Krikor and Garabed Melkonian at St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church 2215 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena California, U.S.A. at 10:30am January 15th, 2012. Hokedjash and gatering at the Yegavian Church Hall.

Cyprus Armenians on Yerkir Media TV Channel

Class 68 celebrates 85th anniversary in Yerevan

Yeghya Kayayan's MEI Memoroal book published
Download a 58 Page Sample

An event by Gbrahayer in Cyprus celebrating the publication of the "Melkonian Educational Institute Memorial" book, by Yeghya Kayayan, Thursday June 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm Utudjian Hall, Nicosia Cyprus. More events are being planned in other Armenian Communities, one could be coming to your community soon. We will post information from the publishers as soon as we receive them.

SCHOLARSIP Notice. ACT ASAP!

The income from the Melkonian Alumni Endowment Fund for scholarships is available to all Melkonian Graduates and their children for higher education. Application have be sent to the AGBU scholarship committee

From the Archives

Document showing the inauguration program and the speech given by Mr. Seropian during the Laying of the foundation of MEI on February 15th, 1924 ...

2010 year of the reunions
1975 re-union in Cyprus Organized by Harout Knadjian

• A very successful reunion organized by the 1975 graduates and included all their favorite teachers. We thank Harout Knadjian of Califronia and Ani Der-Nishanian of Cyprus for this one week event. (pictures) (video)

   • Organized by Anita Boyadjian-Chilingirian in Montral Canada the 1972(74 Masnakidagan) class held its re-union in the month of July 2010. (1ST PICTURE)
   • The 1990 class had a reunion in July 2010 in Glendale CA USA. (2ND PICTURE)
   • The 1976 mini-reunion in Athens and Cyprus Julu 2010 (3-4TH PICTURES)

• Melkoniantsis are trying to have a major reunion in Yerevan, Armenia. Plans include celebrations for the Melkonian Institute 80th anniversary.

• 1986 Melkonian Alumni planning for a reunion in Nicosia, Cyprus 2011. They have a group on facebook to sign up.

• UK Melkonian Alumni is preparing a reunion dinner in London at the end of September or early October. Dates and location to be announced.

• World wide alumni re-union in Cyprus to be announced soon.

• The word is that the 1977 Class is also thinking of a re-union for next year.

• If your class is planning or had a re-union already, email us at admin@melkoniannews.org and send us pictures so we can announce it and post the information here.

Honoring Dickran Misirian in California, USA.
Melkonian Alumni & Friends in California, USA honored Coach Dickran Misirian on May 22, 2010 during threir annual Dinner-Dance.

Petition Results sent to the President of Cyprus
Worldwide Petition Results sent to the President of Cyprus and other Government
Officials (Updated Aug/2009)

Read our blog

We moved our 'RESPONSES' to the blog section. We welcome all comments and responses.

To the AGBU Central Board of Directors:

I am writing to you as a Melkonian graduate as well as a child of Izmir Armenians.

My father Mourat Basmadjian was an AGBU member all his life. He was an AGBU representative of the Armenian Community in Iraklion- Crete Greece a small community of a couple hundred Armenians. He trusted the AGBU because of its leadership-- Egyptian Armenians with Izmir roots.

I am sure that Garabed Melkonian trusted AGBU for the same reasons. Izmir Armenians always took care of their poor and disenfranchised orphans. I want to remind you that the poor and the orphans will always be with us if we choose to see them. I am sure that the Melkonian Brothers interests were focused on the poor and orphans and it was in serving them that they gave their all. It is by serving the Armenian poor and orphans that we can serve the Armenian nation and not by serving AGBU's interests (the particular interests of the few). All Melkonian past and present students are vocal because that is our duty to the Melkonian Brothers: Garabed and Krikor and their legacy. So listen to us and listen carefully. DO NOT DESTROY THE MEMORY OF THE MELKONIAN BROTHERS. If you are incapable of administering to the needs of the Melkonian Educational Institute let others do it.

I am so glad that His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and all Turkey has taken the responsibility of his position seriously and courageously in filing a Lawsuit against AGBU. I would also like to remind you that in the Greek Orthodox Church the Jurisdiction of both Cyprus (and incidentally, Crete) is under the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) and that the situation historically was the same in the Armenian Church. I will give you an example. When the Armenian Archbishop of Athens Greece tried to sell the Armenian cemetery in Iraklion, Crete, Greece, The Archbishop was not able to complete the sale because the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople had Jurisdiction over Crete. Patriarch Shnorhk came to our rescue and saved our community's cemetery.

It is disingenuous of the AGBU to try to diminish the contractual and historical rights and privileges of the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul).

Eliza Basmadjian O'Doherty

Western Armenian Language in danger.

A movement started by Vartan Ozinian and Koharig Kevorkian(Melkoniantsi) is heading a group of Armenian and French intellectuals, to fight for minority rights in France. The organization is working under PROEDUCATION and GAMMAINSTITUTE with plans to collect signatures and apply to European Union courts to reopen the Melkonian school for the preservation of Western Armenian Language, which has been accepted by the European Union as 54th Minority language with funding for its preservation. You can obtain more information by e-mailing to Vartan Ozinian, proeducatio@aol.com.