Looking Forward, Remembering Our Past

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Spotlight On Our Heritage Co-ordinator + Researcher

We are thrilled to introduce the creator behind our social media presence, the passionate and dedicated researcher, Liz Chater! Her tireless pursuit of understanding the history of the Armenian communities in the Indian subcontinent, through genealogy research, has yielded remarkable insights and discoveries.

 

Liz is a pilar in the preservation of Armenian history and has long been fascinated by the stories of our ancestors in the subcontinent and the intricate webs of familial connections that span across generations. Her journey into the world of genealogy began 20+ years ago, driven by a deep-seated curiosity and a desire to uncover the hidden narratives that shape our identities.

 

Liz Chater’s work stands as a beacon of curiosity, dedication, and expertise that impacts far beyond the realm of genealogy. By uncovering and preserving Armenian’s shared histories, her work contributes to a greater understanding of ourselves and our footprint in the world. The research serves as a nexus between past and present, enriching our collective knowledge and fostering a sense of belonging and identity for the future. Her unwavering commitment to uncovering the stories of our ancestors and preserving our shared heritage serves as an inspiration to us all.

St. Paul Coptic Medical Services team: L-R: Dr Mina Tharwat, Dr Basm Abid, Ms Marina Adwr and Dr Mena Safwat

Armanitola Free Medical Camp

St. Paul Coptic Medical Services team: L-R: Dr Mina Tharwat, Dr Basm Abid, Ms Marina Adwr and Dr Mena Safwat

St. Paul Coptic Medical Services team: L-R: Dr Mina Tharwat, Dr Basm Abid, Ms Marina Adwr and Dr Mena Safwat

 

The Armenian Apostolic Church of the Holy Resurrection and the St. Paul Coptic Medical Services, an Egyptian Charitable Organization, collaborated to offer essential medical help and guidance today, February 1st.  Local families who live in the area around the Armenian Church Dhaka were welcomed by the visiting doctors.  Conditions that were treated were varied and included some dermatology, gynaecology and general medical issues.

 

We are very grateful to our friends from the Coptic Church Medical Service for giving up their time to hold this very essential service, and extend our warmest appreciation and thanks to the participating medical team, Dr Mina Tharwat, Dr Basm Abid, Ms Marina Adwr and  Dr Mena Safwat.

 

Armenian Church Dhaka, Armanitola Free Medical Camp

The Armenian Church Dhaka and the Egyptian Copic Church will be offering a free medical camp tomorrow, 1st February 2024. This one-day program  is an important event for the local community and we look forward to welcoming everyone who seeks medical help and advice.

 

On this occasion we are very fortunate to have Dr Basm Adib, Dr Mina Tharwat, Ms Marian Adwr and Dr Mena Safwat respectively, assisting with medical issues.

Christmas Service 2024

Armenian Church Dhaka

We are delighted to announce there will be a Christmas Mass conducted at the Armenian Church, Dhaka today Friday 12th January 2024 between 4pm and 6pm.

Please note this is NOT an Armenian service.

At the invitation of our Warden, the service will be undertaken by the Church of Bangladesh led by Reverend Simson Mazumdar and assisted by Brother Guillaume respectively.

Venue: Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection, Armanitola, Dhaka 1100
Date: 12th January 2024
Time: 4pm – 6pm

Online Lecture 31st May 2023 – The Armenian Community + History in Dhaka and Sir Catchick Paul Chater

Online Lecture 31 May 2023

Online Lecture 31 May 2023

On Wednesday 31st May 2023 an online lecture was hosted by the Armenian Diocese of Australia. The topics were ‘The Armenian and History of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection in Dhaka’ AND ‘Sir Catchick Paul Chater, The Greatest Armenian Hong Kong Has Ever Seen.’

The speakers were Julieta Arslanian, Board Member of the Armenian Apostolic Church Dhaka and Liz Chater, Heritage Co-Ordinator for the Armenian Church Dhaka and Armenian Family History Researcher.

A short history of the Armenian community in Bangladesh was given. Reference was made to some of the early leading Armenians in Dhaka. There was also mention of Armenians who lived in the city as early as 1714. We also covered the opening of the Pogose School in Dhaka, the founder’s family connection to the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy in Calcutta. There’s an update on our future plans for the Armenian Church in Dhaka and how we are implementing a number of ideas to secure a strong permanent place for the church in Bangladesh. Our food program strategy, along with our education plans to work with NGOs to help the underprivileged children in Dhaka was covered.

And as if there wasn’t interesting enough there was a fascinating presentation on Sir Catchick Paul Chater covering his early years in Kolkata and Hong Kong, his plans to develop Hong Kong into a leading commercial port in Asia, to his pastimes and passions and his lasting legacies that many benefit from today.

Use this link to listen to the whole online presentation or use our LinkTree page in our Instagram bio and pick it up from there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe6-VpatRlk

We Remember – April 24th

 

April 24th marks the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Genocide was the slaughter and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, which resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians and the deportation of hundreds of thousands from their native lands. The Armenian Church Bangladesh, commemorates and honors all those who lost their lives. 1.5 million souls will always be remembered by every Armenian around the world.

 

Memorial Image: Shant Kha – Flickr

Christmas Service 2023

A Christmas Mass was held by The Church of Bangladesh hosted at the Armenian Church Dhaka on Friday 6th January 2023. The church was full of worshippers and additional seating was used to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend. Afterwards we were delighted to serve refreshments.

The service was conducted by Reverend Simson Mazumdar and assisted by Brother Guillaume respectively.

Our staff were on hand to help make the occasion go smoothly and once again, we think they particularly excelled themselves with the beautiful lighting effect displayed. It is always good to see so many come to church for the Christmas service and our thanks are extended to both Rev Simson and Brother Guillaume for taking the service and ensuring it was conducted safely.

Christmas Service 6th January 2023

Armenian Church Dhaka Christmas 2022

 

We are delighted to announce there will be a Christmas Mass conducted at the Armenian Church, Dhaka on Friday 6th January 2023 between 4pm and 6pm. There will be refreshments afterwards.

 

Please note this is NOT an Armenian service.

 

At the invitation of our Warden, the service will be undertaken by the Church of Bangladesh led by Reverend Simson Mazumdar and assisted by Brother Guillaume respectively.

 

 

**IMPORTANT COVID-19 NOTICE** To enable everyone to participate safely, we must ask you to ensure there is always adequate spacing between all those attending. Visitors are also respectfully requested to wear masks. This is for your own health and safety, as well as our staff and those conducting the service.

 

Venue: Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection, Armanitola, Dhaka 1100

Date:     6th January 2023

Time:     4pm – 6pm

FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd January 2023

 

Bangladesh in Armenia

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib

We often highlight the Armenian presence in Bangladesh via the history of our church in Dhaka and the past community, but recently we learned of three Bangladeshi students studying in Armenia, and we were keen to know more about them. We were delighted to speak via Zoom with Zarrin Mahdiyat Ali recently about her time in Armenia.  Zarrin, and two other students, Ayman Asif and Shahib Uddin Prokhor, are all from Dhaka.

Dilijan is a long way from home, but it is at the United World College (UWC) at Dilijan, where, after two years studying,  they have all recently graduated. We wanted to know a little about their time in Armenia and Zarrin kindly shared some of her thoughts and observations with us.

UWC have schools in 18 countries around the world, and the one in Dilijan was opened in 2014. “UWC Dilijan is a story of developing international education in Armenia. Its location in Armenia, a country that is reimagining itself in the post-Soviet period, made the school a perfect social venture that could grow and gain strength together with the new Armenia”. 

 The students apply to this program and are unsure where exactly they’ll get placed. Zarrin chose Dilijan from a selection of Armenia, Thailand, and Hong Kong because she was gravitated towards the nature of Armenia, very different from Dhaka, where she grew up her whole life.

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib spent two years in Dilijan and graduated this month.

Their curriculum consisted of 6 core subjects:

    • Native Language
    • Foreign Language
    • Humanities (Econ, politics, geography, history, philosophy, etc)
    • Sciences – physics, chemistry, biology
    • Mathematics
    • Arts (theatre, music, etc)

The school in Dilijan is for grade 11 and 12. It has about 100 students who are from over 80-90 nationalities.

The Artsakh war broke out two months after Zarrin arrived in Armenia, and with Covid still being an issue, her experience was quite unique. She got to live through the hardships of Armenia as a nation, and the interpersonal impact from her peers and mentors who were directly affected by the war with having a loved one on the front line, or them personally.

Nonetheless, Dilijan felt like home. Zarrin said: “The nature is beautiful, the monasteries, surrounding cities. Gyumri was a personal favorite of mine”.

Although Zarrin and the other students knew of the Armenian Church, Dhaka, none had visited.  We have, of course, extended an invitation to come and see us when they are back in Bangladesh and we’ll make sure our Warden, Armen Arslanian and his daughter Julie are there too.  Zarrin would absolutely love to visit Armenia again, she considers it now a part of her, and her journey of growth.

She knows of four Bangladeshi students that have studied in Dilijan before. She’s one of three that graduated this year. Four will graduate next year.

Zarrin will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall, and we wish her and all the other Bangladeshi students much success in the next stage of their further education.

We are thrilled to see young, vibrant, talented Bangladeshi students embracing Armenia and everything it has to offer and choosing Dilijan, not only for their educational needs but for unique life experiences that will live with them forever.  We look forward to seeing more students from Bangladesh taking advantage of Armenia’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, for we are, most definitely, the land of endless possibilities and opportunities.

Armenian Church Bangladesh: Michael Martin Scholarship Success in Armenia

The memory of Mr. Michael Martin, the late caretaker of the Armenian Church, Dhaka now stretches further than ever before.

 

Today we are featuring the applicants who received the Mr. Michael Martin Scholarship to matriculate at the Artsakh State University under the Yunus Social Business Centre.

Participants who applied for the scholarship had to present a business proposal and these eight candidates now have access to an education and the resources needed to be able to pursue their small business plans and help drive the economic and social future of Artsakh.

 

The Armenian Bangladesh Church strives to not only give back to the community in Bangladesh, but in Artsakh and Armenia as well.

 

Our warmest congratulations are extended to these best winning business ideas:

Narine Krikoryan – Grigoryan’s Natural Cosmetics
Artsakh Abrahamyan – Haka Group
Samuel Kirkoryan – ARTsakh’s GReeN Garden
Hasmik Ardzanyan – Sand Planet Learning Center
Milena Ohanyan – Ohanyan Dairy Factory LLC
Lusine Vanyan – Languages Learning Platform
Margarita Afanasyan – DedoBabo
Nanar Aleksanyan – Fun Way Training + Development Center

The same scholarship opportunities were provided to a group of students at Gavar State University in Armenia earlier this year.

 

The Board of the Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection, Dhaka, will continued to extend assistance through the respective Mr Michael Martin Programs both here in Bangladesh and Armenia, and we are very much looking forward to new ways and opportunities of helping each community.

 

 

 

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