Labor of Love

Oct 31, 2025


Labor of Love:

Mayr Yegeghetsi’s Noble and Most Romantic Service

 

By Armen Morian

Next to Armenian Christian formation and Armenian education, the most important role the Armenian Church in America has played is that of wholesome intermediary for young Armenian couples to meet, marry, and start new families. Every church may be said to serve the role of creating new families by performing the sacrament of marriage. But the lengths to which Mayr Yegeghetsi went following the Genocide is truly the stuff of romantic legend and worthy of the most affectionate retelling.

One of the most remarkable vignettes in the storied history of Mayr Yegeghetsi was an undertaking by the Cathedral in its earliest years to make matches between young Armenian women who were living in the orphanages and homes of Lebanon and Syria and young Armenian men who had emigrated to the United States, many before the Genocide, to work in the factories and mills of the industrial Northeast and Midwest.

The men in America were invited to send photos of themselves looking their best. Mayr Yegeghetsi arranged for the photos to be delivered to the Forty Martyrs Armenian Church in Aleppo, Syria, where the young women from the orphanages and homes were invited to come, to view and choose from among them a potential husband. When the women had made a choice, Mayr Yegeghetsi facilitated a correspondence between the potential couples. If the correspondence flourished and a relationship blossomed, and the couples were inclined, arrangements were made to travel under sponsorship to New York, the brides-to-be sailing from the Near East and the grooms-to-be coming by train from the Northeast and Midwest.

 

 

Mary Dugan’s parents, Misag and Zevart Megrdichian, of blessed memory, on their wedding day at Mayr Yegeghetsi, in 1921.

Hampartsoom Hamparian and Armaveni Kazarian, of blessed memory, from Sepastia, married at Mayr Yegeghetsi in the 1920s.

Here in New York, the couples met at Mayr Yegeghetsi where under her chaperoneship they were provided an opportunity for a few days to test the chemistry of their potential match in person, while being squired around the city to see the magnificent sights of Jazz Age New York. After a few days, the couples faced a choice: to marry or not to marry. Those who chose not to marry returned home. Those who had found their mate were wed at Mayr Yegeghetsi on Sunday. On Monday, the new brides would accompany their new husbands back to the American cities the young men had come from, where they embarked on their new lives as married couples, to make for themselves and all of us a new Armenia in their new homes in America.

To facilitate this matchmaking on scale, Mayr Yegeghetsi maintained a wardrobe of wedding dresses, the same one in different sizes, with which the brides were outfitted for their weddings, and had a photographer on hand to capture the moments.

The wedding of Onnik and Araksi Dinkjian, officiated by Rev. Fr. Arsen Simoniantz, in 1954.

The wedding of Peter and Terry Jelalian, of blessed memory, officiated by Rev. Fr. Arsen Simoniantz, in 1949.

We do not know how many such weddings there were, but we do know a beautiful child of one of those weddings. She is our very own, beloved super-parishioner Mary Dugan, 101 years old, who has come to church, on her own, every Sunday, for six decades, and who for many of those decades has been the doyenne of the young who come to Mayr Yegeghetsi and surround her with their Fellowship.

Other introductions and acts of matchmaking at Mayr Yegeghetsi were more immediate, such as the one that resulted in the wedding in the 1920s of Hampartsoom Hamparian of Sepastia, to Armaveni Kazarian of Sepastia, at St. Illuminator’s. They were introduced to each other and married by Rev. Azaria Boyajian.

The wedding of Avedis and Rosemary Alashaian, Avedis of blessed memory, officiated by Rev. Fr. Arsen Simoniantz, in 1957. Note the Altar icon, which was a substitute for Fetfejian’s Madonna and Child, away at the time for conservation.

But Mayr Yegeghetsi is also known for creating other wholesome opportunities, too, for young Armenians to meet: the many socials, hops, and dances she sponsored for more than a century. While these did not have the same dramatic character as her epic post-Genocide matchmaking, they were no less important, creating occasions for countless Armenian couples to meet and eventually marry, including one such couple who met at a dance sponsored by Mayr Yegeghetsi at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights in September of 1960. That couple were my beloved parents, Vazgen and Arpi Muradian, of blessed memory.

“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder”

— Matthew 19:6

The wedding of then-Deacon Krikor and soon-to-be Yeretsgeen Ojeen Lakissian, presided and officiated by Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, joined by Archbishop Zareh Aznavourian, of blessed memory, then-Very Rev. Fr. now Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Very Rev. Fr. Navasart Mardoyan, and Rev. Fr. Moushegh Der Kaloustian, of blessed memory, December 23, 2000.

On the Altar: Hayr Anoushavan, Oshagan Srpazan, Hayr Navasart, Der Moushegh, and Deacon Shant Kazanjian. Holding the cross as Gnkahayr or Best Man is Der Mesrob’s brother, Harout Lakissian, who now serves as Mukhtar of Anjar.

And of course, Mayr Yegeghetsi has also provided opportunities for couples to meet in the most whole-some of ways while serving the Church. One such extra-special couple are our very own pastor, Der Mesrob and our Yeretsgeen Ojeen, who met right here at Mayr Yegeghetsi when Der Mesrob served on her Altar as a deacon and Yeretsgeen sang in her Choir.

No chronicle of Mayr Yegeghetsi or understanding of her importance could be complete without recognizing and venerating the signal role she played since her founding in midwifing the creation of new Armenian families and new Armenians. The romantic narrative arc of Mayr Yegeghetsi‘s post-Genocide matchmaking exemplifies her special role in the life of Armenians in America and the rebirth and renewal of the Armenian nation.

The Martyrs Altar Turns 25

Oct 24, 2025

The Martyrs Altar Turns 25:

A New Shrine in an Historic Church

 

By Iris Papazian †

[This article originally appeared in the commemorative book for the 100th Anniversary of Mayr Yegeghetsi. It is reprinted here in loving memory of Iris Papazian.]

On April 24, 2000, a moving ceremony took place in New York’s historic St. Illuminator’s Cathedral. A congregation of more than four hundred, including representatives from New England and Mid-Atlantic parishes, watched as Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, consecrated a new altar in the church, dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians massacred by the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the genocide that began in 1915.

This year on April 24—the 100th anniversary of that genocide—Archbishop Oshagan celebrated a solemn Divine Liturgy at the Martyrs Altar, and for seven days following offered prayers during evening services in front of the altar that now seemed to take on new luster because of the canonization of the Martyrs of April on April 23, 2015, in ceremonies in Holy Etchmiadzin presided by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia.

The austere altar of black marble, incised with a map of historic Armenia and crowned by a glass case containing part of a skeleton lying in sand, is graphic testimony to a terrible chapter in Armenian history: the forced deportation marches in which hundreds of thousands of defenseless people, most of them women and children and the aged, were sent into the Syrian desert to be killed, or to die of starvation, heat, and thirst.

The Martyrs Altar was designed and executed by a collaboration of the architects Dikran Tenguerian and Vache Aslanian. Tenguerian also executed Mayr Yegeghetsi’s Cathedral sign which appears in the tympanum over her entrance doors. The painting hanging on the Altar is the work of Kevork Mourad.

 

Erecting the altar was Archbishop Oshagan’s dream. Two years earlier—in 1998—Dr. Herand Markarian, an Armenian American playwright, went to the desert site of Deir El Zor where some of the worst massacres took place. He went into the caves where the remains of the massacred Armenians could still be found, and brought them to the U.S. He presented the sacred relics to the Prelate, who then firmly developed the plan of giving these bones a permanent resting place of honor, “publicly displayed, so our youth will remember,” he said.

The relics enshrined in the Martyrs Altar are believed to be those of a teenaged girl who perished in the desert at Deir el Zor.

Generous sponsorship to design and build the new altar came from Carl and Emma Sogoian of Detroit, Michigan, who were present as Archbishop Oshagan spoke the words of consecration, and passed to them the first of hundreds of lit candles that ultimately filled the interior of the Cathedral.

In his sermon, the Prelate said, “This will be an altar for hope and light; a place for meeting with our martyrs, where Armenian Americans will come to pray, and to renew their sense of Armenian identity.” As for 54 100th ANNIVERSARY | 1915–2015 the denial of the Armenian genocide by Turkey, the Archbishop said, “We will not forget, and cannot forgive until they accept responsibility, because forgiveness must come from the victims themselves.”

 

“O Christ, crowner of the saints . . . through the supplications of the Holy Martyrs who were massacred during the Armenian Genocide . . . Hear us, O Lord, and have mercy.”

— From the prayer of intercession in the Zhamakirk

On March 12, 2016, H. E. Archbishop Oshagan consecrated icons of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. Each parish of the Eastern Prelacy received a consecrated copy of the original, which hangs in Mayr Yegeghetsi. The icons are the work of Rudik Petrosyan.

On March 12, 2016, H. E. Archbishop Oshagan consecrated icons of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. Each parish of the Eastern Prelacy received a consecrated copy of the original, which hangs in Mayr Yegeghetsi. The icons are the work of Rudik Petrosyan.

Participants in the consecration ceremony of the Martyrs Icons, with H. E. Archbishop Oshagan.

The history of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, oldest of the city’s Armenian churches, has been linked from the start with the genocide. Founded in 1915—the year the massacres began—in a building purchased from the Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, it became the religious, social, and charitable center for the survivors.

The two Catholicoi declared on April 23, 2015: We canonize the Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide and declare April 24 to be the day of Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs, who were killed during the Armenian Genocide for faith and homeland…and now, Holy Martyrs, remembering you eternally, in prayerful supplication, we appeal to you: Receive our prayers and intercede for us so that we too, with fearless love, may also continually glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Martyrs Altar at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral is now a true pilgrimage site where pilgrims will come to pray to the Martyrs seeking their intercession.

 

The Story Behind the History of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral

Oct 17, 2025

The Little Cathedral That Could:

The Story Behind the History of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral

 

by Armen Morian 

 

This year marks the 110th since the founding of our cherished Mayr Yegeghetsi [St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Church in New York City]. The story of the birth of our Church is the stuff of romantic legend. In the most Providential of historical coincidences, the founding fathers and founding mothers of our Church did their work at the very same moment that the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide began to unfold.

As Armenian civilization was being extinguished in our homeland, they brought forth on these shores, in this city, an establishment that would play a signal role in the rebirth of the Armenian nation. Every Armenian church is a special place. But the deep and providential symbolism of that coincidence is a genuine testament to the uncommon specialness of this one. For the five score and ten years since, our Church has been a Plymouth Rock, a landing point and touchpoint in the religious and cultural lives of more than five generations of Armenians in America.

We continue that proud tradition of service to the spiritual and cultural needs of the Armenian communities of New York and beyond, as one of the oldest and most historical and most significant Armenian churches in the United States, and Armenian America’s Ellis Island Church.

From the foundation up and the bricks and mortar in, we rose again.

The history of St. Illuminator’s, “the little Church on 27th Street,” as the big stage upon which played out some of the most dramatic events in the history of the Armenian nation, the Armenian American Diaspora, and the Armenian Church, in the twentieth century, is well-known. What is less well-known is the intimate story of Mayr Yegeghetsi, the human institution, and its struggles and triumphs. As is often so of great institutions, those histories of St. Illuminator’s stand against one another as a paradox.

On one side was the St. Illuminator’s that occupied an outsized place of honor in the Armenian imagination, majestic, relevant, and larger than life. On the other, was the very modest, even humble, human-scale institution that, while rich in love and human resources, was nevertheless often neglected and chronically starved of material resources. The history of St. Illuminator’s was always fraught, as the human institution found itself caught up in and the victim of historical forces outside its control, ranging from the controversies of international politics and the politics of the Armenian Church to the historical and demographic forces that were remaking the Armenian American community outside its doors. She was often neglected and sometimes, for reasons hard to comprehend, even ostracized as a red-headed stepchild.

What sustained St. Illuminator’s throughout her history was not the material resources befitting an episcopal seat that one might expect would be available to a Mayr Yegeghetsi, but rather the love, devotion, and sacrifices of her parishioners and the community she nourished spiritually.

 

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and prosper for us the work of our hands” — Psalm 90:17.
While it is an eternal truth that the ministry of a Church does not rest on material resources, but on the fellowship and acts of Christian faith, love, devotion, and service of its people, never more was that so than with Mayr Yegeghetsi. What material resources Mayr Yegeghetsi and her people were able to summon from among their own, from her earliest days to her most recent, were devoted to serving others: to taking care of the orphans of the Genocide and families scattered to the four corners of the World; to the newcomers she welcomed to America through her doors; to the relief of her brothers and sisters suffering hardship during the Great Depression; to the support of the displaced persons of war resettled in America by the efforts of ANCHA; to the support of a newly independent Armenia after the collapse of the Soviet Union; and throughout to educating and inculcating new generations of Armenian Christians. Those acts of selfless devotion were directed outward. But they came at a price: the physical decline of Mayr Yegeghetsi the temporal institution.
The Blessing of the Grapes after Soorp Badarak by Der Mesrob, on the movable Altar at the Woodside Center, set up and taken down every Sunday, with Deacon Shant Kazanjian, August 2009.

During her long and storied history, our Mayr Yegeghetsi endured her share of hard times, none harder perhaps than the period immediately before a promising, newly ordained, young Der Hayr named Mesrob Lakissian assumed the awesome responsibility for shepherding her, arriving with his energetic Yeretsgeen Ojeen and their infant daughter, Taleen, by his side.

By the time Der Mesrob became pastor, Mayr Yegeghetsi was ninety years old and showing every bit of her age. The ravages of time on an ancient building that had been held together by love’s labors and the sheer will of her parishioners, diminished attendance resulting from the out-migration of Armenians from the heart of New York City to the suburbs, tensions within the Church and turmoil in the succession of her leadership, all took their toll on the Cathedral, physically, financially, spiritually. St. Illuminator’s retained her majesty as our Mayr Yegeghetsi, maintaining her dignity and the devotion of her faithful, but she had fallen into magnificent decrepitude, her finances in shambles.

The ceremony of Reconsecration, September 19, 2009.

Der Mesrob’s reward for being appointed the 27th pastor of St. Illuminator’s was to inherit an institution not just in serious decline, but on the verge of collapse, figuratively and literally.

Those were hardscrabble days indeed when Der Hayr assumed his heavy burden. The Cathedral often had only a nominal balance in her bank account, often lacking sufficient funds to even pay the electric bill, and had to rely on credit extended to her by members of her Board and her most devoted donors to get by from month to month.

Worse than that, her physical space had deteriorated to such a state of fragility that in places her floors had worn through to the point that one could see from the Nave into Pashalian Hall. What Mayr Yegeghetsi needed was not repair but a gut renovation from the foundation up and the bricks and mortar in. And to do it would require raising more than one million dollars.

Fortunately, owing to his decade of service at the Prelacy and fifteen years as a deacon on her Holy Altar before becoming pastor, Der Hayr was no stranger to Mayr Yegeghetsi, and Mayr Yegeghetsi was no stranger to Der Hayr. Undaunted and with a vision for what Mayr Yegeghetsi could once more be, Der Mesrob literally rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Somehow, through sheer force of personality, fortitude, tireless hard work, faith, and the interposition of Divine providence in favor of their labors, Der Hayr, supported by a Board who loyally and faithfully stood by his side, donors many of whom unexpectedly appeared from nowhere, and a remarkable team of rebuilders led by the late, great Setrak Agonian, of blessed memory, raised the necessary funds—more than $1 million—and swiftly completed the renovation, against all odds.

The Altar and Chancel as they appear today.

On April 1, 2008, the Mayr Yegeghetsi ‘that was’ closed her doors for the last time—doors that had stood open since her consecration in April 1920. The renovation would take eighteen months. During that time came additional hardships. Mayr Yegeghetsi had to continue as a Vemkar church. Services were held at the erstwhile Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens. Celebrating the Diving Liturgy there required setting up and then dismantling a moveable Altar every Sunday. Candles were not permitted and it was not possible to perform sacraments.

Yet throughout, Mayr Yegeghetsi held her head high and never once sought assistance or a reprieve. Her renovation was entirely self-funded, owing to the tireless labors of Der Mesrob and the team he led and the generosity of countless members of St. Illuminator’s community who responded by opening their hearts and their wallets. And even during the bleakest, most difficult days financially Mayr Yegeghetsi paid her quota to the Prelacy in full and on time, without fail.

St. Illuminator’s reopened her doors and was reconsecrated on September 19, 2009. Her reconstruction was a resurrection of Mayr Yegeghetsi and heralded a new dawn.

“Heavenly King,
preserve your
Church unshaken.”

— From the Sharagan
Khorhoort Khorin

Under Der Hayr’s leadership, from the hard work of the reconstruction, Mayr Yegeghetsi turned immediately to the task of rebuilding and restoring her social, spiritual, and cultural vitality. Above all, Der Hayr focused on his ministry, which is characterized by a tireless and selfless ethic of service. His devotion to service quietly built St. Illuminator’s into an institution that attracted the attention, captured the imagination, and earned the trust of potential benefactors, many of whom sought out Der Hayr and St. Illuminator’s despite having no historical connection to Mayr Yegeghetsi. One of those benefactors was our beloved Azadouhi Zarukian, of blessed memory, whose spectacularly generous gift to the Cathedral stood St. Illuminator’s on a solid foundation financially for the first time in her history and has inspired others to give generously as well.

This measure of financial stability has afforded Mayr Yegeghetsi the freedom to shift her gaze from survival to the sublime, where it ought to be: the invigoration and flourishment and further development of Mayr Yegeghestsi’s ministry across the board from the religious, to the charitable, to the educational, to the cultural, and above all, to the benevolent.

Now, let’s get back to work . . .

As always, Mayr Yegeghetsi does not measure herself by the resources available to her, but by what she does with them. We measure our success first and foremost by the charitable resources we are able to deliver in support of our Armenian brothers and sisters in need in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon, Syria, and wherever they may be found. During the past five years, we were blessed to have been able to deliver nearly $500,000 of such relief through the Catholicosate at Antelias, the Prelacy’s charitable office in Armenia, and our own channels. When the Catholicosate or the Prelacy calls, we dutifully answer to the maximum extent the prudent management of our resources permits, even contributing from time to time when it is neither asked nor expected. And we will measure our success in the years ahead by our ability to continue and expand our giving. Christ calls us to this mission and we will answer the call.

 

“Let the favor of the Lord
our God be upon us and
prosper for us the work
of our hands”

— Psalm 90:17

Like a Christian Phoenix, Mayr Yegeghetsi rose from her ashes and was reborn physically and financially. But the Church is not a building with a bank account. It is a fellowship, a community of Christians that comprise the body of Christ. The indispensable element to fellowship and community is presence and participation. And that brings us full circle to the truest sign of our rebirth as a parish. The real highlight of the period described by Der Mesrob’s ministry and the one about which we are the most joyful may be seen at Mayr Yegeghetsi in the faces of our people. The energy is palpable. It can be felt, and seen, in the young new faces we see at Mayr Yegeghetsi, Sunday in and Sunday out, and measured by the presence, participation, and support of our events by our parishioners and friends. Somehow, in spite of the odds, in a secular Metropolis, in an age of distraction when faceless and ruthless cultural forces alienate us from our traditions and one another, Mayr Yegeghetsi’s family manages to grow. With each new face we welcome and familiar face we welcome back, we count a blessing, as they lift us up with their presence, participation, and promise. Not half bad for the little Cathedral that could.

Success is not linear. It must be measured by where one has been and what one has overcome. By that measure, Mayr Yegeghetsi is stronger today than she has been in living memory, perhaps ever. There is nothing inevitable about that success. It is Providence smiling upon the hard work we do to sustain our ministry, the reward for our toil.

The history of Mayr Yegeghetsi reflects the romance of the Armenian story itself: of struggle and survival; of perseverance and renewal; of rising from the ashes to build a new Armenia; of a leap of faith. Mayr Yegeghetsi stands as a testament to the idea that with hard work and belief all things are possible.

We have always walked with humility and our newly earned success will not change that. With the grace of almighty God, together we will write new chapters of Mayr Yegeghetsi’s story worthy of the ones that came before.

2025: A Year of Reflection, Celebration

Oct 10, 2025

2025: A Year of Reflection, Celebration

By Dr. Herand M. Markarian

 

[Earlier versions of this article appeared in the commemorative books for the 75th and 95th Anniversaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi.]

 

 

The hundred and tenth anniversary of Saint Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, affectionately called the Mother Church (Mayr Yegeghetsi), marks a proud accomplishment in the history of the Armenian Diaspora and deserves the jubilation of all of us.

Whenever we celebrate an anniversary of an organization or an institution, I ask myself, what is it really that we are celebrating?

Anniversaries are occasions to reflect on the past, evaluate it critically and learn from it; rejoice in the present, and most important, plan for the future. If we neglect these aspects, then anniversaries become short-lived, self-glorifying, psychologically deceiving comforts—things that we need the least, especially at this moment in our history.

So, what are we celebrating today?

First, we look upon our church not as a separate entity on its own, but as a part of an institution that is seventeen hundred years old. Very few institutions in the world’s history can claim this reality. By celebrating the anniversary of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral of New York, we are celebrating seventeen centuries of ARMENIAN CHURCH existence.

Our church is part of the Golden Age of Armenian culture, when St. Mesrob, supported by Catholicos St. Sahag and supported by the wise King Vramshabouh, invented the Armenian alphabet, which became the means by which poets, writers and troubadours expressed the innermost feelings of our people and created an aesthetically enduring literature. At the hundred and tenth anniversary of our church, we are also celebrating sixteen centuries of ARMENIAN LITERATURE.

“Since its consecration . . . the Mother Church . . . has become a home-away-from home to thousands of its own sons and daughters, who have sought sanctuary on these shores . . . Like offering the Body of Christ during the Badarak, the church offered HOPE— and this is what we are celebrating.”

— Dr. Herand Markarian

Our church is part of the accomplishments of history’s greats: Movses Khorenatsi, Puzant, Ghazar Parbetsi, Yeghishe, Tovma Ardsrooni, the respected church scholars, who recorded and saved the precious fragments of our history that otherwise would have been lost. The hundred and tenth anniversary of our church is a celebration of ARMENIAN SCHOLARSHIP.

Our church is part of the traditions that have reached us through-out centuries from both the Christian and Pagan era. Vartavar, Diarruntarach, khoong, Madagh, all these have their roots in the thousands of years of our history. Our Christian forefathers had the wisdom to adopt these rituals and interpret them anew. So, through the hundred and tenth anniversary of our church, we are celebrating ARMENIAN TRADITIONS.

Since its consecration in New York, the Mother Church has become a home-away-from home to thousands of its own sons and daughters, who have sought sanctuary on these shores. It became a refuge for the homeless, a beacon to the estranged, and a place to start a new life for the immigrants. Like offering the Body of Christ during the Badarak, the church offered HOPE—and this is what we are celebrating.

Dr. Herand Markarian with Raffi Sevadjian and members of the Kousan Choir at Town Hall, circa 1964.

The community leaders, before even acquiring a building for church services, felt the importance of educating the newly born generation in their mother tongue and history. A picture taken in 1909 attests to the fact of an established Armenian School, the pivot of our existence. On December 29, 1912, the minutes of the Board of Directors clearly states the concerns of the church leaders: “Realizing that, because of the non-existence of an Armenian school the Armenian children are deprived of Armenian education, the Board decided to open a mid-week Armenian school from 3 to 5 pm and rent the space at 138 East 27th Street for that purpose. The task was assigned to Rev. Matteos Manigian and Mr. Karekin Aleon and Mr. Bedros Kaprielian with the stipulation to accomplish the task without delay and open the school as soon as possible.” It is that SPIRIT OF PROTECTING THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE that we are celebrating.

And there are the unique traditions. Can you imagine a church service without khoong (incense)?

I remember my first year in this country. Being far away from an Armenian church, I went to a non-Armenian church for the Feast of Epiphany, our Soorp Dznoont. I went in, said my Hayr Mer, listened to the well-educated clergy’s karoz and went home. For the first time in my life it struck me how much I missed the Armenian sharagans, the hymns, our immaculate Krapar and . . . the khoong. That day I went home without inhaling the aroma of the khoong. The khoong’s aroma takes you from the church pews to the altar and to the Supreme. This is what we are celebrating- the CLOSENESS TO GOD THROUGH THE CHURCH.

Dr. Herand Markarian, right, with Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, then-foreign minister of the Republic of Armenia, H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan, and Robert Avetisyan, then-representative of the Republic of Artaskh in the United States, in 2017.

The majority of Armenians may not know much about the church doctrines. But that really does not matter, for the Armenians look upon the church as a NATIONAL INSTITUTION, where EVERY ARMENIAN BELONGS. It is that tie that we are celebrating.

Are we celebrating the establishment and preservation of the church building? Yes, we are! And let no one underestimate the labor of love, the sincere efforts of the generations of members of the executive bodies who preserved and took care of the church building, making it a respected place for worship. Yes, we are celebrating the DEVOTION of all those individuals. God bless their souls.

Over the hundred and ten years, as many as twenty-five clergy-men, devotees of the Apostolic Church of Armenia, served St. Illuminator’s Cathedral.

Almost all of the clergy served the church for at least a couple of years.

Two clergymen stand out for the longevity of their service, namely Der Moushegh Der Kaloustian and Der Mesrob Lakissian.

Der Moushegh, a beloved figure of the Eastern Prelacy, served as pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral for 28 years until his retirement in 1998, after which he continued to serve the Eastern Prelacy conducting outreach. Previously, Der Moushegh had served as pastor of St. Hagop Armenian Church in Racine, Wisconsin, and Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Worcester, Massachusetts. He began his service to the Prelacy in 1959.

The responsibility and the task was passed to a young energetic deacon, Krikor Lakissian, who was ordained as priest at the hand of H. E Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in 2005 and was given the clerical name Mesrob.

Rev. Mesrob Lakissian, a graduate of the Zarehian Seminary, had served at the Prelacy from the age of 35 and had all the potentials to lead the prestigious historic St. Illuminator’s Cathedral.

For the last twenty years, Rev. Lakissian’s accomplishments are innumerable: Starting with a major project of renovating the Cathedral, to community activities in related educational and social domains, establishing Sunday religion school, guiding the ladies’ and men’s clubs, hosting and encouraging the community organizations: The ARF, the ARS, Hamazkayin, keeping ties with the Mother Church, inviting clergy from other denominations, welcoming students from California and New Jersey schools. Participating in all of the community’s activities, creating cordial ties with the Etchmiadsin churches, helping create funds for the needy in Armenia, Lebanon and Syria, hosting local artists, encouraging displays and art exhibits from Artsakh . . . in other words, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, under Rev. Mesrob Lakissian’s leadership, became a hub, a real home for the propagation of the Armenian spirit.

It is the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORDINATION OF REV. MESROB LAKISSIAN that we are celebrating today.

Armed with Christian cardinal virtues of faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, Rev. Mesrob Lakissian has a bright future to conquer current and future difficulties that surround the church.

I am sure there are more tasks ahead.

These anniversaries coincide with the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which leads us to think seriously and plan our future in a pan-Armenian realm, in a global manner to strengthen our church by having plans to connect with the Fatherland, Armenia.

At the core of our future is the propagation of the Armenian Spirit, especially in the youth.

The Church and we the parishioners together, are given that responsibility and the task to play our part in the preservation of ARMENIAN IDENTITY.

It is time to organize excursions for our youth to connect to the Fatherland, Armenia, where they can relate their history to the ancestral land, see the Mother Church of Etchmiadsin, the historical sites of Sardarabad, the Genocide Memorial, the tomb of St. Mesrob Mashdots and most importantly, the struggling people.

I believe the connectedness to the Fatherland will give the youth immeasurable stamina and commitment to propagate and celebrate future milestones of anniversaries.

I am sure, under his guidance, mentorship and commitment to Christian values, Rev. Mesrob Lakissian, will definitely accomplish this task, for he is a model of Jesus’ statement (quoted in John 10:11) “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” «Հովիւ քաջ, զանցն իւր դնէ ի վերայ ոչխարաց իւրոյ»։

God bless and prosper St. Illuminator’s Cathedral and grant Der Mesrob Lakissian the stamina to take the Cathedral to new milestones.

It is my commitment to this BELIEF that I am celebrating today.

A Man for All Seasons: Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian – An Appreciation.

Oct 3, 2025

A Man for All Seasons: Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian

An Appreciation

By Lucine Kasbarian 

 

The novelist Raffi, perhaps the most influential figure in 19th century Armenian literature, once said: “We have never had a prosperous clergy. We have only had a few revered churchmen.”

Der Mesrob is one such churchman.


And like so many self-sacrificing churchmen who have passed through the portals of St. Illuminator’s before him, for the glory of God, Der Mesrob has, in word and deed, inspired and reinforced the conviction in his people to maintain, advance—and even at times re-
store—their attachment to their Christian Armenian identity.

During his ordination year of 2005, following Der Mesrob’s first or second Soorp Badarak as pastor, I said to him as I approached the Altar to venerate the Asdvadzashoonch, “You are the right man at the right place at the right time.” Today, the 20 years of Der Mesrob’s ministry stands as a vindication of that sentiment, and I repeat it with even deeper conviction. Der Mesrob does justice to the spirit of our Mayr Yegeghetsi which began her history as a welcoming beacon of hope and renewal to exiles after the Armenian Genocide and upholds the Cathedral’s contemporary position as spiritual and cultural touchpoint for the descendants of those generations of Armenians and those entirely new to her family.

A native son of Anjar, Lebanon, Der Mesrob comes from an Armenian family of lawmakers and educators of courageous Musa Daghtsi ancestry. Upon the invitation of H. E. Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, of blessed memory, Der Mesrob arrived in the United States in the early 1990s and first went to work as the manager of the Armenian Prelacy’s bookstore in Manhattan. It was during that time, while interning at the Prelacy, that I met him. Back then, he was known by his baptismal name, Krikor, but we called him “Koko” for short. His ability to relate to people of all ages and persuasions was immediately evident. His friendliness, honesty, high energy, generous nature and inherent leadership skills made him a magnetic personality.

“You are the right man
at the right place at
the right time.”

— Lucine Kasbarian

Der Mesrob was ordained at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral on November 20, 2005 by H. E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. Richard Sarajian was his “Gnkahayr,” which means Godfather. Armenian Christian tradition calls newly ordained priests to assume a new name upon ordination. Der Mesrob chose the name Mesrob for three reasons. First, he wished to pay homage to St. Mesrob Mashdots, inventor of the Armenian alphabet, godfather of our literary tradition, and one of Armenia’s patron saints, the 1,600th anniversary of whose birth was, at that time, upon us. Second, he wished to honor his patron and mentor, Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian. And third, he wished to channel his own love for and dedication to Armenian literature by invoking Mesrob’s name.

Der Mesrob graduated from the Zarehian Armenian Theological Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, at Bikfaya, Lebanon, in 1990. In New York, he attended Queens College in New York; taught Armenian history, language, and religion at St. Illuminator’s Day School and St. Sarkis’ Saturday School; and spent three years as principal of the Prelacy’s Siamanto Academy. He also served fifteen years as a deacon on the Altar of our Cathedral.

These assignments and experiences before his ordination, together with his 20 years of pastoral service at St. Illuminator’s, reveal how Der Mesrob is indeed a man for all seasons—capable of taking on many directives so essential to the perpetuation of the Armenian identity, and succeeding at every turn.

Then-Deacon Krikor with his beloved parents, Diramayr Isgouhi and Bedros Lakissian, of blessed memory, at the Catholicosate on the day of his ordination as a deacon, Antelias, June 1987.

Appropriate for the worldly position one must fill as the pastor of a metropolitan and cosmopolitan parish, Der Mesrob comfortably wears many hats: Clergyman, cultural ambassador, educator, administrator, fundraiser, activist, guidance counselor, diplomat and negotiator, champion of youth, and above all, Hoviv, Shepherd. In addition to celebrating the Divine Liturgy and performing the sacraments, Der Mesrob is responsible for organizing and is present at nearly every spiritual, educational or cultural event sponsored by the Cathedral. He also routinely visits hospitals and nursing homes, delivers meals to elderly parishioners, escorts the infirm to see physicians, keeps a watchful eye on our elders, and selflessly and discreetly performs acts of goodness, service and grace too numerous to count, for which he neither seeks nor receives the recognition he deserves. As comfortable introducing cultural programs or leading public demonstrations as he is in the pulpit, his sermons and speeches not only speak to us as Armenians and Christians, they contain something meaningful and relevant to our everyday lives.

It was also because of Der Mesrob’s foresight and under his watchful eye that the necessary and overdue structural renovation of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral took place. Thus, Der Mesrob tended not just to the spiritual, cultural, and social nourishment of the Church community in his charge, but to the decidedly temporal restoration of the house it occupied.

 

Then-Deacon Krikor in his dormitory room, final year at the Zarehian seminary, 1990.

In addition, Der Mesrob also singlehandedly raised the profile of St. Illuminator’s through his outreach to Armenian schools from far away communities who now include the Cathedral among their whistlestops when they tour Manhattan. Indeed, Der Mesrob is at the nexus of the special energy that guests describe upon visiting St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, a wholly Armenian sanctuary that, in the words of H. H. Catholicos Aram I, is “draped with faith and paved with love.”

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Der Mesrob not only for lovingly shepherding his flock. We thank him for the existence of our Cathedral’s benevolent fund—a fund which has secured the Cathedral’s finances and enabled the St. Illuminator’s to do charitable work through financial gift-giving to Armenians in need in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon and Syria and to Armenian causes here at home.

Eloquently summed up by Board of Trustees Chair Armen Morian, “The fund is our providential reward for the uncommonly attentive ministry of our very own Der Mesrob, whose tireless labors have built an institution that has attracted the attention, captured the imagination and earned the trust of benefactors who have given so generously to the Cathedral.”

Vodûnlva at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral by H. H. Karekin II, Antelias, 1990.

Der Mesrob at his ordination, with Richard Sarajian, his Godfather, and Diramayr Isgouhi, of blessed memory, November 20, 2005.

As Der Mesrob himself has often said, “being a priest is not a 9-to-5 job.” It is also not one that is performed solo. To everyone’s good fortune, Der Mesrob has had a solid support system behind him, beginning with our beloved Prelate, H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, the Cathedral’s Board of Trustees, Altar servers, choirmaster and organist, the Ladies Guild, Saturday and Sunday School faculty, the Cathedral staff, pro bono attorney and other volunteers, all the way to the Armenia Religious Educational Council, The Armenian National Education Committee, Prela cy staff and of course the Cathedral parishioners, benefactors, supporters and friends. Der Mesrob is also blessed with his devoted wife, Yeretsgeen Ojeen, their energetic daughter Taleen, and his steadfast sister Tamar, all who stand behind and support Der Mesrob in his ministry and selflessly serve the Church, body and soul, quite visibly as well as behind the scenes.

Der Mesrob at his ordination, with H. E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan and then-Very Rev. Fr., now-Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, his sponsor.

Like a true leader, Der Mesrob does not lead by directive, he leads by example. He sets a vision, then guides and inspires by his own hard work. Above all, he has a keen eye to see those who give of themselves to serve; expresses appreciation and gratitude for their service, and assures that all who have earned it receive the recognition they deserve. He shines the spotlight on all, celebrating that each person has unique gifts to share with the parish and the world.

Our parish may be a modest one in size and number, but under Der Mesrob’s leadership, the St. Illuminator’s community turns the rhetoric of Christian charity into concrete action and makes an outsized difference in the lives of Armenians in New York and beyond than the scale of the institution he leads.

“Der Mesrob reminds us why
the Armenian Church has been
the standard-bearer of national values,
the vessel of national identity,
and mother protector of both,
ever since 301 A.D.”

— Lucine Kasbarian

Throughout its history as a captive nation, Armenia and its people have, time and again, turned to their Church and clergy for not just spiritual, moral and communal guidance but even political representation, advocacy, negotiation, arbitration and adjudication in times of repression. And the Armenian Church, in turn, has assumed by necessity, the role of leading the Armenian people, se-curing their safety and rights from hostile imperial rulers, and preserving Christian Armenian identity. In that very same tradition, Der Mesrob does far more than an average churchman. His fulfillment of his sacred obligations to his “frock and flock” explains why he so aptly carries out his duties with the trust, love and support of his parishioners. His vocation and avocation are one and the same.

Ordination day, with Yeretsgeen Ojeen and baby Taleen.

The Lakissian Family, 2024.

By repeating the sacred traditions that have sustained the Armenian people for centuries, Der Mesrob reminds us why the Armenian Church has been the standard-bearer of national values, the vessel of national identity, and mother protector of both, ever since 301 A.D.—and especially during the more than 700 years of foreign occupation and turmoil.\

As the Armenian homeland again faces existential threats as tens of thousands of Armenians today continue to face fractured existences on native lands as well as in exile, and as Armenians in the Diaspora face the forces of cultural assimilation and nihilism, that role is as important as ever. Der Mesrob stands on the front line, and that stewardship fulfills those very same needs now—in the highest and best tradition of the Armenian Church.

“So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands.” — Psalms 78:72

A Century of Community, Commitment, and Faith.

Sep 26, 2025

St. Illuminator’s Cathedral:

A Century of Community, Commitment, and Faith*
By Hourig Papazian Sahagian † 

[This article originally appeared in the commemorative book for the 100th Anniversary of Mayr Yegeghetsi. It is reprinted here in loving memory of Hourig Papazian Sahagian.]

 

If only the walls of St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral could speak to us today. They might echo the tune Kele Lao (Let’s go home). Since the early 20th century, generations who passed through the church doors found a new home within these walls and with its parishioners.

The first generation to do so fled persecution as a result of the Armenian Genocide; they left their homes and villages behind in the mists of blood and anguish. In the years following the Genocide, St. Illuminator’s shone like a beacon of hope for Armenians. After landing on Ellis Island they flocked to this church located on a bustling midtown Manhattan street, searching for family members, village neighbors, and the anchor to a new life.

The church’s hall, with its stalwart posts, bravely supported the weight of the church as well as the Armenians seeking refuge. Despite the economic hardship faced by its members, St. Illuminator’s plunged into fulfilling her mission as a nurturing place full of spirit. For the survivors she personified the Statue of Liberty’s welcome of loving generosity; she offered the Armenian haven of ancient light and succor—the Holy Badarak. There were joyous times of family reunions, young people finding love, weddings, christenings, and inevitably the last farewells of parishioners.

George Mardikian, founder of ANCHA, with Rev. Fr. Asoghik Kelejian and the Peshtimaljian Family.

As the new St. Illuminator’s parish took shape, there were triumphs great and small—finding factory work, learning English, opening grocery stores, starting shoe, tailor, and seamstress shops. Coffee shops, the Armen Garo Club, and a variety of Armenian specialty stores also popped up along Third Avenue, around the corner from the church. All the while parishioners sacrificed time, money, and effort for their church although they were living through hardship themselves. There were constant fund raisers by the trustees, Ladies’ Guild, and others for the Genocide survivors, orphans, the Garmir Khatch (later known as the Armenian Relief Society) and the Armenian Legion (Gamavor).

Funds were also saved to bring relatives to the United States. Hearts trembled for news of loved ones; a letter from home was cause for celebration. As finances improved, an Armenian school was established where classes were held three days a week and absentees were rare. Soon following were the start of charitable, cultural, and political organizations. Evening events crowded the calendar with gatherings of various men’s and women’s organizations, youth groups, sports clubs, regional and village fraternal societies, as well a choir and mixed chorus.

“Building on our
historic legacy, we are
inspired to create new
memories and legends
within the resurrected
walls and pillars
of St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral.”

— Hourig Papazian Sahagian

During the years 1917 to 1920, parishioners received the news that their loved ones in the old country were once again being persecuted. Thus the Armenian Legion was formed as an army of volunteers who trained as part of the French Foreign Legion. A number of United States divisions were created with a single mission: to return to Historic Armenia to rescue survivors and orphans. Old anxieties were revived in the hearts of St. Illuminator’s parishioners as they said farewell to the volunteers in the church hall. These courageous volunteers had barely found a foothold in their new country when they turned around and went back into the fields of genocide.

Later when calamity struck the United States in the form of the Great Depression, Armenians endured with the resilience acquired through millennia of troubled times. St. Illuminator’s again stretched out her arms serving as support for her flock during those long, dark years. In the same decade, political upheaval caused a rift in the hierarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and months of negotiations took place in the hall of St. Illuminator’s, which resounded with the voices of church and community representatives at endless meetings in search of reconciliation.

Despite turbulent times, this period ushered in a “Golden Age” in culture among Armenian Americans. For the St. Illuminator’s community in particular, Armenian artistic life developed through music, dance, and dramatic productions featuring renowned artists who appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and Town Hall. Within the Armenian world, General Antranig’s visit prompted a fund raising campaign-reception in St. Illuminator’s hall to benefit the Armenian Army. Fellow heroic military leader General Sebouh became a familiar figure at St. Illuminator’s as he lived in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. But it was the visit to New York of Franz Werfel, the author of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh that topped all the events of the 1930s. A gala black-tie reception held in his honor at the Waldorf-Astoria, just blocks from St. Illuminator’s, created unparalleled excitement in the parish.

Just a short while later as Europe teetered on the brink of World War II, Armenian Americans observed all diplomatic and political machinations chilled by the old fear of a coming conflagration. Painful scars of the First World War were still fresh in Armenian minds when Pearl Harbor suddenly burst upon America. The entire Armenian American community met the demands of war with patriotic determination. Countless men from St. Illuminator’s parish and thousands from the Metropolitan area rallied to the defense of their country. They served, fought, and died with honor on every front.

After the war, when some Eastern European countries became part of the USSR, Armenians fled by the thousands. A great number were interred in refugee camps in Germany as stateless persons and many were able to immigrate to the United States thanks to the Nansen Passport issued through the efforts of Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian humanitarian and Nobel Laureate who aided survivors after World War I. The Armenian American community hastily rallied to the cause of bringing the refugees to the United States. The Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Relief Society, and the National Council of Churches joined forces and formed the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA).

St. Illuminator and St. Sarkis parishioners of all ages rose as one to meet the challenges of re-settling wave after wave of newcomers. Once again, St. Illuminator’s hall was filled with the voices of workers in a colossal community effort, bridging two decades. Cadres of volunteers stood ready at the New York docks, where ships arrived from Europe, to escort refugees to the St. Illuminator’s hall. The new ANCHA refugees were fed and clothed by the army of volunteers who stood ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice. Traditional Armenian meals were prepared in the kitchen of the church hall by a legion of volunteers from the two parishes.

In addition to being a spiritual home, Mayr Yegeghetsi also welcomed, encouraged, and became a home for literary and cultural activities. In 1962, Hagop Khashamian organized monthly literary evenings at Mayr Yegeghetsi; Very Rev. Fr. and Maestro Krikor Pidejian, pastor from 1962 to 1964, founded the Kousan Choir here, which performed at the World’s Fair in 1964 under the baton of Armen Babamian, for many years Mayr Yegeghetsi’s choirmaster; Maestro Raffi Sevadjian led the chorus to perform at Town Hall in 1969; the Armenian Cultural Association in New York, which later became Hamazkayin, had its inception at Mayr Yegeghesti in 1967 and, until 1977 held its choral, dance, and theater rehearsals here: Herand Markarian, for ten years, rehearsed at Mayr Yegeghetsi and held all rehearsals of his 1995 Off-Broadway play “Mirrors” here. These are mere highlights from among thousands of cultural activities under Mayr Yegeghetsi’s embrace throughout her history that have sustained our heritage, earning Mayr Yegeghetsi distinction as a singular pan-Armenian cultural center like no other. Pictured above are Hayr Krikor and Armen Babamian, with the Kousan Choir, in Pashalian Hall, 1964.

Newcomers were then processed through interviews with the committee and remained to take up residence in the Tri-state area. Others in large numbers were relocated to California and other states. All were escorted to the bus, train, or airport and upon arrival were greeted by their sponsoring families in destinations throughout the United States. Parish youth of the Saturday and Sunday schools ran errands, made phone calls, and delivered messages.

The Sunday School, with Rev. Fr. Moushegh Der Kaloustian at left and then Very Rev. Fr. Aram Keshishian, now H. H. Aram I, at right, circa mid 1970s.

Over the next twenty years, Armenian day schools emerged throughout the United States and in the late 1970s, St. Illuminator’s Day School was founded at the Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens. Later the Siamanto Academy for high school students was organized where weekly lectures were offered by well-known Armenian educators at St. Illuminator’s church hall. A decade later when the earth quake of December 7, 1988 struck, diaspora Armenians leapt into action as first responders. Instantly, the Prelacy offices, St. Illuminator’s, and the Woodside Armenian Center became the hub for fundraising, emergency aid, and collection of supplies. Physicians and specialists of the parish boarded flights to Yerevan to begin the aid work.

After these difficult years, St. Illuminator’s consecrated an altar in memory of the martyrs of the twentieth century’s first genocide. On April 24, 2000, the recovered bones of martyrs from Deir el Zor were encased in this contemporary reliquary as a solemn remembrance of the genocide.

Five generations had prayed, worked, and played in St. Illuminator’s Cathedral. But the passage of decades began to weigh heavily on its walls, pillars, and foundation. In 2008 architects and construction and metallurgy specialists were called upon to plan, design, rebuild, and renew the venerable space. The balcony was taken down, brilliant chandeliers lit the new lofty space, and the walls seemed to rise to even greater heights.

The tired old walls and pillars might have taken away with them some of the imprint of memories and legends of a venerable community. The people, past and present, of St. Illuminator’s accept the challenges of the future with a national spirit that burns more fiercely than ever. Building on our historic legacy, we are inspired to create new memories and legends within the resurrected walls and pillars of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral.