"House Of Prayer" Book Presentation at St. Sarkis Church
On Sunday, February 3, after the Divine Liturgy, a sizable number of parishioners gathered in Chaderjian Hall of St. Sarkis Church, in Douglaston, New York, for the presentation of House of Prayer, a book by Hamasdegh, a classic name of Armenian-American and Diasporan literature from the post-genocide period until the 1960s. The book, as it is known, was released in a bilingual edition by the initiative of Archbishop Anoushavan on the occasion of his election as Prelate. Copies of the book were distributed as a souvenir at the banquet held in his honor on December 2.
Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis, welcomed the audience and introduced Dr. Vartan Matiossian, ANEC Executive Director and translator of the book, to present the volume and its author. Dr. Matiossian, who spoke in Armenian and English, noted that this is the first book by Hamasdegh ever published in English and that it constitutes an intriguing work of spiritual reflections by a layman who has succeeded in giving literary consistency with a style both accessible and rich in ideas. Then he proceeded to present Hamasdegh’s life from his birth in a village near Kharpert to his coming to America and his almost fifty years of literary career, with seven books covering all literary genres: short story, novel, short novel, theater, poetry, and essay. The Power Point presentation was followed by readings of excerpts from the translation by Gregory Dosttur, Nevair Oranjian, and Veh Bezdikian.
In his closing remarks, Archbishop Anoushavan reflected on his childhood days, when he discovered the work of Hamasdegh, and his days as a seminarian, when he came across House of Prayer, which deeply impacted him. He thanked the translator and the staffers at the Prelacy who collaborated to have the book published despite time constraints, and he also expressed his gratitude to the Kochoumian and Stanciu families for their sponsorship of this publication.
Copies of the book were available for sale at the event, and they may be purchased from the Prelacy Bookstore.
Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis, welcomed the audience and introduced Dr. Vartan Matiossian, ANEC Executive Director and translator of the book, to present the volume and its author. Dr. Matiossian, who spoke in Armenian and English, noted that this is the first book by Hamasdegh ever published in English and that it constitutes an intriguing work of spiritual reflections by a layman who has succeeded in giving literary consistency with a style both accessible and rich in ideas. Then he proceeded to present Hamasdegh’s life from his birth in a village near Kharpert to his coming to America and his almost fifty years of literary career, with seven books covering all literary genres: short story, novel, short novel, theater, poetry, and essay. The Power Point presentation was followed by readings of excerpts from the translation by Gregory Dosttur, Nevair Oranjian, and Veh Bezdikian.
In his closing remarks, Archbishop Anoushavan reflected on his childhood days, when he discovered the work of Hamasdegh, and his days as a seminarian, when he came across House of Prayer, which deeply impacted him. He thanked the translator and the staffers at the Prelacy who collaborated to have the book published despite time constraints, and he also expressed his gratitude to the Kochoumian and Stanciu families for their sponsorship of this publication.
Copies of the book were available for sale at the event, and they may be purchased from the Prelacy Bookstore.