CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston presents, through the Dr. Michael and Joyce Kolligian Distinguished Speaker Series, humanitarian activist Mia Farrow on Thursday, April 29, at 7 p.m., in the Charles and Nevart Talanian Cultural Hall at 145 Brattle St.
Farrow’s talk, “With Knowledge Comes Responsibility: The Darfur Crisis,” will raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic.
The Dr. Michael and Joyce Kolligian Distinguished Speaker Series was established in 2000, by Joyce Kolligian of Belmont, and her family, in memory of her husband, Dr. Michael Kolligian, with the purpose of “providing high-quality educational and cultural programs to enhance knowledge and provide enjoyment to the members of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church, as well as to the community at large.” A pillar of Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Dr. Kolligian was loved and respected as a leader. He served on the Parish Council for six years, two years as its chairman. In 1976, he secured the financial future of the church by establishing the Holy Trinity Armenian Church Trust Fund, serving as it chairman until his passing in 1998.
In appreciation and recognition of his service to Holy Trinity Church, Kolligian was honored in 1990 as “Man of the Year.” In 1998, the late Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin I, presented him with a pontifical encyclical and bestowed upon him the St. Nersess the Graceful medal for his love of and leadership in the Armenian Church.
The previous programs of the Dr. Michael and Joyce Kolligian Distinguished Speaker Series featured Dr. Bob Arnot, “On the Front Line of Terror,” in October 2004, and Immaculée Ilibagiza, survivor and author of Left to Tell, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, in April 2007.
Fr. Vasken A. Kouzouian, pastor of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church, invites the Greater Boston area community to join him on April 29, as Farrow reminds everyone of their moral responsibility to assure that “never again” are not just words. Farrow will speak about what compels her to continue this work despite grave personal risk.
A reception and book-signing of her memoir, What Falls Away, will follow the program that is open to the public and a gift to the community. For further information, email office@htaac.org or visit the parish website at www.htaac.org.
