Message of the Board of Trustees
SAINT ILLUMINATOR’S ARMENIAN CATHEDRAL
From the Board of Trustees
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Illuminator’s
This year we mark the 110th anniversary of the founding of our beloved Mayr Yegeghetsi. The inscription over the apse of our Holy Altar reads: “Թագաւոր երկնաւոր, զեկեղեցի քո անշարժ պահեա,” which translates to: “Heavenly King, preserve your Church unshaken.” Those words are not only a central plea of our Christian faith, but also our prayer, year in and year out, that God keep our Mayr Yegeghetsi unshaken and on solid ground.
As we enter our 111th year of faith, service, and tradition and celebrate the 110 years that came before, we find our Mayr Yegeghetsi stronger than it has been in living memory.
St. Illuminator’s is a Mayr Yegeghetsi in a deeper sense than just being the Cathedral and episcopal seat of our beloved Prelate, H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan. As America’s Ellis Island Church, we are not just a parish church or even a Metropolitan church, but a Cosmopolitan church with a historic reach beyond Manhattan and New York City, to the region, to the Nation, to the World.
That we continue to maintain an institution with that kind of reach is a testament to our ministry under the tireless and selfless guidance of our pastor and shepherd, Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, the 20th anniversary of whose ordination we also celebrate in this year of milestones. It is the honor and privilege of this Board to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Der Mesrob and support him with brotherly love. It is our work together that has kept our Mayr Yegeghetsi not only strong, but the relevant and vital Armenian Christian institution it is, a Church that draws back through its doors the descendants of the generations who passed through those same doors when they embarked on their American journeys, along with the many who come to us the first time once they learn about our ministry.
St. Illuminator’s has traveled a long road that has known hardship and renewal. Today, we stand again in the light. There is nothing inevitable about that. It is Providence smiling upon the hard work we do to sustain our ministry.
His Holiness Aram I proclaimed 2025 the “Year of the Revitalization of Traditions.” Throughout history, the Armenian Church has been the author, midwife, and vessel of our Armenian Christian and cultural identity divine and secular. Just as we have a sacred Armenian Christian tradition, we also have an Armenian cultural tradition that we hold sacred. We are called as Armenians and duty-bound to honor both. For eleven decades, St. Illuminator’s has played an uncommonly important role in carrying out that sacred obligation. And we continue to honor our long and distinguished history of serving as a place to preserve, renew, and honor our Armenian Christian and cultural heritage.
We stand on the shoulders of the giants who went before us and built and sustained this humble yet magnificent house of the Lord. We now walk with humility into the future praying that we are worthy of their example.
As we continue to write the story of our vital, precious, and historic Mayr Yegeghetsi, we ask God’s blessing and for your continuing fellowship, participation, devotion, and support.
Yours most faithfully,
The Board of Trustees
