[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WELCOMING ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN CHOLOYAN

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Cicilline) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, as the Representative for Rhode Island's 
First Congressional District, which is home to many Armenian American 
families, I am honored to rise today in order to thank His Eminence, 
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, for offering our opening prayer and for 
recognizing the 98th anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide.
  A native of Aleppo, Syria, Archbishop Choloyan was first ordained 
into the priesthood in 1967. He attended the American University of 
Beirut where he majored in history and later received two master's 
degrees from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Since 1998, Archbishop 
Choloyan has served as the prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the 
Armenian Apostolic Church of America and has focused his efforts on 
strengthening local faith communities under his jurisdiction.
  On behalf of the Armenian community in my home State of Rhode Island, 
I am honored to welcome the archbishop here today and to join him in 
remembering the victims of the Armenian genocide--the systematic 
extermination of Armenians living under the Ottoman Empire in the early 
20th century.
  I join members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in 
urging that our government finally recognize the Armenian genocide as a 
historical fact.

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