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A Worthy Tribute
A Worthy Tribute
By George Macarian
FLArmenians Diocesan Contributor
When I recently joined Florida Armenians as a contributor, I was excited to learn what topics I was going to cover. Would I write about Genocide legislation on Capitol Hill, my favorite dolma recipe, or one of the many other topics pertaining to the Armenian Diaspora? However, the article I was asked to write wasn’t about any of those topics, but about something that was closer to my heart. It was about a recent tribute to a priest who not only founded what would eventually become the largest Armenian community in Florida, with St. David Armenian Apostolic Church in Boca Raton, but he also started a community where many youth had a place to embrace their Armenian culture, faith, education, social life, and continued involvement with the Church.
Recently, Archpriest Fr. Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian was honored for his literary accomplishments and his 60 years of dedicated service to the Armenian Church, at St. Leon Cathedral in Burbank, California. A distinguished historian, whose publications include a continuation of Patrirch Maghakia Ormanian’s Azgabadoum—a history of the Armenian Church, Fr. Arzoumanian’s ministry has brought faith and love to Christian Armenians all across North America. He has authored a dozen books and articles on the Armenian Church. Among his numerous accomplishments, the one that is most pertinent to the Florida Armenian community was his founding of St. David Armenian Church. This dream of constructing the first Armenian Church in Florida could not have been realized without his tireless dedication and support.
Daniel Arzoumanian went to the Seminary of Antelias at age 16, was ordained a celibate priest in 1954, and then went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to serve as a parish priest. He received his initial theological education in England, then in the United States, where he graduated from Columbia University with a Doctoral degree. He served as parish priest first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then in Montreal, Canada. He was then assigned as Founding Pastor of the Armenian Church of South Florida, later known as St. David Armenian Church, in 1984, where he found a new and emerging community of Armenian-Americans. At that time, there was no Armenian church in Florida, and Fr. Dr. Arzoumanian was leading his parish at a rented church in Ft. Lauderdale, while the new sanctuary was under construction. St. David Armenian Church was officially consecrated on March 27, 1988 by then Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the current Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem. Rev. Fr. Dr. Arzoumanian served the Armenian community of South Florida with distinction, honor and dedication for 18 years. From 2002-2005 he was called to serve as parish priest at St. Gregory Armenian Church in Pasadena, California. He is currently retired and resides in Glendale, California where he continues to write to this day.
As the center of the South Florida Armenian community, St. David’s provides a place for Armenians to pray, learn, and socialize. If not for its consecration, many Armenians, including myself, would not be as active in the Church as we are today. For this we are truly grateful to Archpriest Fr. Dr. Arzoumamian for his 60 years of dedication to our Church, his love and leadership in establishing the South Florida Armenian Community, and his devotion to our Lord.
George Macarian is a Sub-Deacon in the Armenian Apostolic Church and serves as Treasurer on the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) Central Council.
Feast of Assumption, Grand Reopening of St. David Sanctuary & The Blessing of Grapes
FEAST OF ASSUMPTION, GRAND REOPENING OF ST. DAVID SANCTUARY & THE BLESSING OF GRAPES
Boca Raton, FL – On Sunday, August 14, 2011, St. David Armenian Church reopened the sanctuary after a six-week and a half renovation. More than hundred people gathered in the morning for the celebration of the Feast of Assumption and to see the newly remodeled Sanctuary of our St. David Armenian Church. The Service started at the Church Hall with the participation of 15 young sub-deacons of our Church. At the end of the Service, Fr. Nareg along with the young altar servers and choir led the congregation to the entrance of the Church. The Opening of Gates ceremony “Ternpatsek” followed. As the doors of the sanctuary opened, 200 people stood in awe to see the newly remodeled St. David Sanctuary. Their eyes sparkled like precious gems and their spirits were energized as they stepped into the magnificent Sanctuary following the lead of our Pastor, the Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian, altar servers and choir, singing “Voghormoutiamp ko tourn patz mez Der,” which means, “With your Mercy, open the door for us, O Lord.”
Fr. Nareg ascended on the Holy Altar with the altar servers to continue the Holy Badarak.
Prior to his sermon, Fr. Nareg said, “For the first time we are gathered in our magnificently renovated Sanctuary and Narthex on the celebration of the Feast of Assumption.
“As you are marveling at the beauty of our sanctuary, I am certain that the founding fathers of our community are rejoicing with you from heaven. This Church was built by their vision for the enrichment of our faith and culture. They successfully passed their vision to our present generation. Today, it is your responsibility to continue enriching their vision. It is the duty of every Armenian to take part in this project through his/her donation. This is your Church. This Church offers you spiritual, cultural, educational, and social programs. Without this Church, we have no identity and with no identity we are lost in the vastness of this world. There are thousands of Churches in South Florida. We are identified as an Armenian by our own Church. When we say, “I am a member of St. David Armenian Church,” we are identifying where we come from, to whom we belong, who we are and what we are.
“It is not enough to be proud of your heritage and faith. You must be active by sharing your talents and gifts. Being a visiting church attendee is not enough. We have more than 10 thousand Armenians in our county. A sense of belonging must grow among our people.
“Look at the beauty of this Church. As we entered the Church for the first time, we sang “Ourakh Ler,” hymn, which means, “Rejoice O Holy Church.” God is rejoicing today for beautifying His house. Is there anything more rewarding than this? This is the pride of the Church. The next generation will be grateful for the beautification of our sanctuary. Now, we have a clean, neat and bright Church, free of mildew and humidity odor. It is my hope that our present visionaries will be great role models for our youth who understand the Church is a place of worship and fellowship.
“I thank Sita Ohanessian who donated $42,000 towards this project in memory of her parents, Ohannes and Sirpouhi Ohanessian. I thank some of our parishioners for financially supporting this major undertaking. I am certain that we will offset all the expenses through the generosity of our parishioners.
“I am grateful to our Parish Council Chairman, Armen Melkonian, who oversaw this project on a daily basis spending days and nights and even providing food for the workers. He was instrumental in selecting these beautiful tiles, the marble and the medallions. He has great taste in modeling designs. It is a pleasure to work with Armen. We have the same vision, same dedication, same taste, same thinking, and strangely enough we share the same birthday. Armen is a wonderful leader and a great chairman.
“During his chairmanship, we have accomplished major constructions and renovations:
1. The Mardigian Chuch Hall was installed with faux marble;
2. A New Khatchkar was installed;
3. A New pavement was installed in front of the Church entrance;
4. A New Church sign was installed; and
5. The Sanctuary and the Narthex were installed with faux marble.
“All these changes happened within a few years.
“I am also grateful to Andrew Merjian, a member of the Parish Council, who is responsible for building the two beautiful candle boxes. Andrew spent countless hours in helping with this project. He is also responsible for installing the new wainscot panels in the Narthex. We are fortunate to have him in our Council.
“One candle box already has a sponsor. They are Drs. Andy and Rosemary Mencia. The other candle box is waiting for sponsorship.
“I am grateful to the members of the Women’s Guild headed by Carol Norigian and the members of Choir headed by Nina Stapan. They spent many hours cleaning the sanctuary. George Stapan and Andrew Merjian painted the wainscot panels in the Narthex.
“I thank Hagop Alikhanian who worked very hard during the renovation. He is a great man.
“There are more people who are worthy of recognition and will be mentioned during the luncheon.
“We truly have wonderful Parish Council members and parishioners who are always ready to help the Church and its mission,”
Then a sermon was delivered. Fr. Nareg spoke about the greatness of Mary in the New Testament and in Church history, in particular in the life of the Armenian people. He emphasized that Mary revolutionized the role of womanhood in the society. Following the sermon, the Blessing of Grapes ceremony followed. With a great enthusiasm, people gathered at the Mardigian Church Hall for a special luncheon to celebrate both the Feast of Assumption and the grand reopening of our Sanctuary.
Armen Melkonian, the chairman of the Parish Council, raised the cup of wine and gave a toast to the people and said, “Thank you for your support and encouragement. We truly are fortunate to have such a beautiful sanctuary. We are thankful to Fr. Nareg for his vision, guidance and leadership in our Parish. We are grateful to a Parish Council member, Andrew Merjian for making two candle boxes in the sanctuary which was designed with marble, and for installing the decorative wainscot in the Narthex of the Church.”
At the conclusion of the program, Fr. Nareg thanked the chairman of the Parish Council, Armen Melkonian, for closely overseeing and sharing his input in the project.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Approves Amendment on Protection of Christian Heritage in Turkey
HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE APPROVES AMENDMENT ON PROTECTION OF CHRISTIAN HERITAGE IN TURKEY
Florida Representatives Unanimously Support Berman-Cicilline Amendment
Washington, DC – Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Berman-Cicilline Amendment, which expresses the sense of Congress that Turkey should end all forms of religious discrimination and return confiscated church properties, as part of H.R.2583, the State Department-Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.
The Berman-Cicilline Amendment was offered by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-CA) and David Cicilline (D-RI), both Members of the Armenian Caucus. The measure was adopted by a vote of 43-1.
Voting in favor of the amendment were all 6 Florida Representatives who serve on the Committee, namely, Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Reps. Connie Mack (R-FL), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), David Rivera (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).
The bipartisan amendment is modeled after H. Res. 306, introduced by Congressmen Ed Royce (R-CA) and Howard Berman (D-CA). Earlier it was reported that Florida Reps. Bilirakis and Ros-Lehtinen were original cosponsors of H. Res. 306. However, in a stunning retreat, Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen withdrew her cosponsorship on July 13, a week before the Committee vote. Sources close to the Committee indicated intensive lobbying efforts on the part of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
“The South Florida Armenian-American community thanks Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen for her vote in support of the Berman-Cicilline Amendment,” stated 18th Congressional district resident Raffy Yaghdjian. “At the same time, our community remains concerned when our elected officials flip-flop on human rights and freedom of religion issues,” Yaghdjian told FLArmenians.
Congressman Bilirakis is the only member of the Florida delegation that is currently a cosponsor to H. Res. 304 or H. Res. 306, the Armenian Genocide resolution and the Churches bill, respectively. Recently, Rep. Bilirakis delivered remarks on stopping religious persecution at a conference sponsored by the International Coalition for Religious Freedom titled “Stop Religious Persecution Now.”
Armenian-American and Greek-American organizations supported passage of the Berman-Cicilline Amendment. In a letter sent to all Committee Members prior to the vote, the Armenian Assembly of America, along with the Eastern and Western Diocese of the Armenian Church underscored the plight facing the Christian community in Turkey and the urgent need for Congress to act.
“Florida Armenians were pleased to see this issue raised and we thank Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman Deutch, and all of our Florida Representatives for supporting this important measure,” stated Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian, pastor of St. David Armenian Church (Eastern Diocese) in Boca Raton. “We live in an era where nations are in search of expressing their unique and distinctive social, cultural and spiritual freedom. In every nation, religious minorities, particularly Christians in Turkey who have shaped its history and culture, must be granted the right to worship and pray in their own churches,” concluded Very Rev. Fr. Berberian.
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NR#: 2011-002
Florida Armenians 