Armenian parents response to New York gay marriages :)

As you may know, New York is gearing up for their first legal gay marriages.

Thanks to @writepudding, I got this link to The New York Times Special Issue on Gay Marriage.

There was this story there that tells of parents of gay children pushing for gay marriage.

With same-sex marriage now legal in New York, some gay sons and daughters are starting to feel the same heat from parents as do their straight siblings.

...and I started imagining what the Armenian parent would do in the similar circumstances: pushing for marriage of their gay children, fixing 'accidental' date meetings, say, for their son with a son of their friend etc. :))

"տղա ջան, տունն ես մնացել, այդքան լավ տղերք կան մեր շրջապատում, մեկին չես կարում ճարել"

And thanks to Bella, I got reminded of this hilarious anecdote (AM) - not new but still too funny and very relevant - that I have to share with you:

Էդ անեկդոտը գիտես չէ, որ երկու սփյուռքահայ կին հանդիպում են, պարզվում ա, որ մեկի տղան տղայի հետ ա ամուսնացել, մյուսը ասում ա, - «Գոնե հայ ա» ?

"Nasha Russia"

*as part of the Russian Fashion Week, there was a 'anti-glamour' showcase by a popular Russian TV show "Nasha Russia" (via gay.by, via adensya.ru)

Телеканал ТНТ устроил в рамках RFW антигламурный показ: на подиум вышли жена олигарха в период кризиса, гаишник с жезлоимитатором, футболист российской сборной, а также усатая невеста. Пародийный показ вызвал даже больший ажиотаж, чем проходившие в соседних залах дефиле известных дизайнеров.

Gay Armenians in Sweden can marry and be blessed in a church ceremony

There is a small but active Armenian community in Sweden.

Wikipedia: Swedish-Armenians are Armenians living in Sweden. The number of Armenians is around 8,000 and they come mainly from countries in the Middle East. Recently Sweden is seeing some influx from the Republic of Armenia as well. Most Swedish Armenians live in Stockholm, with a significant number in Uppsala.

Not only gay Armenians in Sweden can marry (gay marriage has been legal in Sweden from 1 May 2009), but those preferring church ceremonies can now be formally blessed in a church wedding as approved by the Church of Sweden.

Armenian online news outlets such as Tert.am and Capital business daily carry the news.

Sweden’s Lutheran Church Allows Gay Marriage

Tert.am

Sweden, already a pioneer in giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children, becomes one of the first countries in the world to allow gays to marry in a major Church, report AFP and Reuters news agencies.

Sweden's Lutheran Church decided Thursday to allow gay marriages in its places of worship, five months after they became legal.

The Church of Sweden, which was the state church until 2000, had backed the parliament's adoption of the gay marriage law, which took effect on May 1. But it deferred its synod's decision on church weddings until now.

The church said in a statement it would begin wedding same-sex couples on Nov. 1.

A church official said individual priests would still not be required to perform gay marriages. However, local churches would have to ensure that they could wed same-sex couples, if necessary bringing in an outside priest to perform the ceremony.

The country's smaller Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches said they were disappointed by the Lutherans' decision.

"It is with sadness that we learn about the decision by the synod of the Church of Sweden," Fredrik Emanuelson, a leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and Orthodox church senior official Misha Jaksic said in a joint statement.

"In our churches and communities, we will not unite homosexual couples since it is in complete contradiction with the tradition of the church and our vision of creation," they said.

Sirusho weds Armenia ex-president son (photo)

Armenian pop singer and Eurovision 2008 representative (Qele, Qele - 4th place) Sirusho weds (6 June) Armenia ex-president Robert Kocharyan's son Levon Kocharyan (Twitter).

The Armenian Reporter posted photos from the 'wedding of the year' and a brief info on the ceremony and guests. (below)

"The most anticipated and talked­-about wedding of the year took place in Yerevan on June 6. Armenian pop singer Sirusho married Levon Kocharian, son of Armenia's second president Robert Kocharian.

Hundreds of fans had gathered near Sirusho's house to have a glimpse of the bride as the groom and his family arrived to take her to church. As soon as she stepped out of the building's entrance, Levon Kocharian quickly took her hand and led her to the waiting car. President Kocharian and his wife Bella hung back and greeted the assembled neighbors, fans, and onlookers, along with Sirusho's parents, singer Suzan Margarian and actor Hrachia Harutyunyan.

The wedding ceremony took place in the ancient Sourb Gayane Church in Etchmiadzin. A lavish wedding reception followed at the Ojakh restaurant and banquet complex.

Never before had so many high-ranking officials, including Armenia's current president, Serge Sargsian, and famous personalities such as Tata, Hayko, Arsen Safaryan, Arman Hovhanissian, Alla Levonian, Zaruhi Babayan, Razmik Amyan, and others been assembled in one place."

VIP Armenia: Weddings etc.

Based on Armenian media reports

Last Saturday (22 November) saw a wedding of Viktor Soghomonyan, spokesperson of Armenia’s former president Robert Kocharyan. According to the Haykakan Zhamanak daily, Karen Karapetyan, head of the presidential administration, was the godfather. Wedding was attended by many former and current officials, including Armenia’s former and incumbent presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serj Sargsyan.

Another Armenian daily, Hraparak, provides more details. According to the reports, Viktor Soghomonyan’s beautiful wife Anna, recent graduate of the Slavonic University, is from ordinary middle-class family. But there is even more intriguing part to this story. Anna is a relative of Ara Sahakyan, former deputy speaker of Armenian parliament, prominent (in past) political figure from Armenia’s first president, currently opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s camp. Therefore, as Hraparak notes, the wedding became the place of pretty interesting and unplanned “political meetings” of current and present political figures.

By the way, the very same day son of the speaker of Armenian parliament Hovik Abrahamyan and daughter of the head of pro-governmental Prosperous Armenia party, Armenian oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan, got engaged.

Another headlining, long-awaited engagement happened a week earlier, on 15 November: Armenia’s Eurovision 2008 representative Sirusho and Levon Kocharyan, son of Armenia’s former president Robert Kocharyan, got engaged (Haykakan Zhamanak daily). Kocharyan’s older son, Sedrak married a daughter of Armenian MP Volodya Badalyan. Kocharyan’s daughter Gayane married a son of the head of real estate agency “Bars”. Kocharyan has two grandchildren. (source)

AGLA NY started blogging

In a welcome move and in line with previously announced expansion of organisational activities, Armenian Gay & Lesbian Association of New York (AGLA NY) launched its blog, with the focus on life of LGBT Armenians in NY, US, as well as organisational news.

Here are some headlines from recent posts.

“Member spotlight” presents NY fashion designer Loris Diran and metalware designer Michael Aram

Nancy Agabian reports on a lecture by Vigen Guroian, Prof. of Theology at Loyola College (MD), entitled, “Homosexuality & Same-Sex Union” at the Armenian Prelacy (16 November 2007). “The main point of Professor Guroian’s talk was that same sex union goes against one of the Armenian Apostolic church’s sacraments, that of a marriage between a man and a woman, as stated in the bible.” However, as Nancy concluded, “The event wasn’t openly hostile towards gays and lesbians; rather, people seemed interested to listen and talk to teach other about the issue. This represents real progress, especially for those who remember when the word gay wouldn’t have even been understood within an Armenian religious context. Our queer Armenian voices were heard in connection with the church, and on the issue of gay marriage, which affects many of us.”

There is also announcement on a special Gartal event in NY on 17 February 2008 which featured reading of the new book (An)daratsutian Mej or In the (Un)space (Women’s Resource Center, Yerevan, 2007) in English, French and Armenian with authors Nancy Agabian, Lara Aharonian and Shushan Avagyan. “In writing about such topics as the domestic violence of upstairs neighbors, an absurd gynecological visit, and furtive reading in a grandmother’s library, the tri-authors create the “(un)space”, where each Armenian woman must interpret herself and translate others in order to find a place to more fully exist.” Hrag Vartanian has more details.

I will keep an eye on AGLA NY blog and will update here on new developments from NY LGBT Armenian community. You may access their blog at http://aglany.wordpress.com

Happy anniversary, Misha & Harut!

First (reported) symbolic gay wedding in Armenia

I beleive that in 10-15 years gay marriages will be celebrated in Armenia without being considered as a phenomenon.
Misha, founder of AGLA France, speaking to GayRussia.ru one year ago


19 June 2006, Echmiadzin (Armenia’s ‘Vatican’)

Misha: On June 19, we came to the Cathedral. I asked Arnaud [Harut] if he accepts to be the man of my life for the best and the worst, until the death separates us. I knew the answer, but it was still a very nervous moment. We kissed each other after exchanging the rings that we had prepared for each other in secrecy. That's how I became a married man. It was a very memorable day. (GayRussia.ru)

It was the first same-sex marriage in Armenia reported by electronic (here and here) and printed press (168 zham).

“When we met we didn’t know that we would build a relationship,” Misha recalled in ArmeniaNow.com. “Later we fell in love with each other so much that neither I nor he was able to work.”

They met through AGLA France (Association of Gay and Lesbian Armenians), organisation founded by Misha.

Marrying by church was Harut’s preference: “I am an Armenian and that’s why I want to get married in Armenia, and as my family taught me, I wanted it to be in church.” (ArmeniaNow.com)

As Vahan Ishkhanyan from ArmeniaNow.com reported:
Of course, it was a symbolic ceremony, as the Armenian Apostolic Church does not condone gay marriages. They exchanged rings in the church and staged a small wedding party at a restaurant with Misha’s mother and their friends. They came from Paris especially to exchange vows in Echmiadzin.

Misha: I don't care if the church or the public opinion in Armenia approve our marriage. What counts for me is that we decided to celebrate our love in a symbolic way, in a symbolic place. And we did it. We did it for us, first of all. (GayRussia.ru)

Harut is a jeweller and he made the Misha's ring and engraved inside in Armenian: "Love and faithfulness." (ArmeniaNow.com)

Source of picture: GayArmenia.com (for photo report of wedding, visit here)

Today Harut and Misha celebrate their 1st anniversary. Congratulations, guys!!! You did it! You did it the way you wanted it to be despite all ‘legal’ and other obstacles.

It was exciting year for you, with its ups and downs, a happy year. I wish you keep up with that sparkle! ;)

…in the name of love

I hope this example will inspire more Armenian gay and lesbian couples to tie the knot, whether in a symbolic or legally recognised ceremony. I hope that in time same-sex unions would be recognised by Armenian state and gay wedding ceremonies would be so routine, that I would not need to write about them in my blog. Till then… if there are other Armenian gay and lesbian couples out there who tied the knot – be that marriage, civil union or a symbolic ceremony, and want to share their experience, please do keep in touch – this blog would be more than happy to feature your stories.