Armenians Lebanon

The spiritual leader of one arm of the Armenian Apostolic Church came to Southern California this week to highlight the devastation of his community in Lebanon and to ask local Armenians for their help. Karekin II said the situation in East Beirut, where the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia is based, has been overshadowed by ethnic unrest in the Soviet Union and by the earthquake that struck Soviet Armenia in 1988.

Patriarch Aram Keshishian has been elected spiritual leader of the 4 million Armenian Orthodox Christians living outside their homeland. Keshishian was elected at a closed synod in a Beirut suburb. His formal name becomes Aram I when he is consecrated Saturday. Keshishian was chosen from among three finalists to fill the post, vacated in April by Patriarch Karakin II, who was elevated to spiritual head of all Armenian Orthodox worldwide. Karakin is based in Armenia.

Patriarch Aram Keshishian has been elected spiritual leader of the 4 million Armenian Orthodox Christians living outside their homeland. Keshishian was elected at a closed synod in a Beirut suburb. His formal name becomes Aram I when he is consecrated Saturday. Keshishian was chosen from among three finalists to fill the post, vacated in April by Patriarch Karakin II, who was elevated to spiritual head of all Armenian Orthodox worldwide. Karakin is based in Armenia.

The spiritual leader of one arm of the Armenian Apostolic Church came to Southern California this week to highlight the devastation of his community in Lebanon and to ask local Armenians for their help. Karekin II said the situation in East Beirut, where the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia is based, has been overshadowed by ethnic unrest in the Soviet Union and by the earthquake that struck Soviet Armenia in 1988.

Two Armenians, a dentist and a photographer, were shot to death in West Beirut, and political leaders called for a three-day protest strike beginning today by the 400,000 Armenians in Lebanon. Two other Armenians were slain in the Muslim sector of the capital on Tuesday. A joint statement by the Armenians denounced "this ugly criminal wave against Armenian citizens." Authorities said they have no leads in the killings.

A few months back I raved about an Armenian restaurant in Tarzana named Mihran's. Now I've discovered a place in Sherman Oaks, Hagop, with a menu that's more than vaguely similar. The reason is that Hagop and Mihran Ghadanian happen to be brothers, both born in Beirut. Like Mihran's, Hagop features Armenian and Middle Eastern appetizers, wonderful grilled kebabs and a few real surprises. And it's been around 12 years.

The lunch rush was over at Marroosh Sandwiches, an Armenian restaurant on Allen Avenue. The last telephone to-go order had been filled, the last falafel fried, the last shawerma slices rolled in pita bread. At the window table remained only two dark-suited, elderly men who lingered over their plates, chatting in animated Armenian.

A ground-breaking survey of Pasadena's Armenian-Americans revealed a smaller and wealthier population than anticipated, but an expected wave of refugees from Soviet Armenia and Lebanon could change the demographics significantly, an official of the survey firm told the Board of Directors. Although previous estimates of Pasadena's Armenian-American population had run as high as 15,000, a survey completed by Whittier-based SC Communications Group tallied only 6,850 living in Pasadena, 5.

A ground-breaking survey of the city's Armenian-Americans revealed a smaller and wealthier population than anticipated, but an expected wave of refugees from Soviet Armenia and Lebanon could change the demographics significantly, an official of the survey firm told the Board of Directors on Tuesday.

To the large Armenian community here, the arson slayings of a mother and her six children--allegedly by the family's father--raises a disturbing question. Was this an isolated instance of one man's madness--or a sign that traditional Armenian family values are breaking down under the stresses faced by recent immigrants? Armenian Americans pointed to the incident as a possible harbinger of worse to come, as the latest wave of Armenian immigrants arrive from Iran.

Conductor George Pehlivanian was going to be in town anyway. So why not stand in for an ailing Carl St.Clair leading the Pacific Symphony this week? That would be four rehearsals, subscription concerts tonight and Thursday, and a Classical Connections program Saturday. What else did he have to do? "I'm getting married this week!" Pehlivanian said in an interview at the orchestra's offices. "I'm supposed to plan my marriage. I'm supposed to get the catering, valet parking, arrange the dinner. . .

The Sassoon Club is a simple place, full of smoke and insults and the wasted hours of men. In a corner of Hollywood, tucked away from the splendor and decadence, it sits like a fortress sheltering Soviet Armenian emigres against time. Young men who arrived in America in their mid 20s--"too late for school, too early for Social Security"--sip Turkish coffee from demitasse cups and lament their idleness.