St. Illuminator’s Sunday and Armenian Schools

Nov 26, 2025

 

The Auxiliaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi

St. Illuminator’s Sunday and Armenian Schools

The education of Armenian children has been at the center of Mayr Yegeghetsi’s ministry since before there was a Mayr Yegeghetsi. Among the initial acts of the generation who began to hold services in New York as the St. Illuminator’s congregation in the first decade of the Twentieth Century, before St. Illuminator’s was formally incorporated in 1915, was to organize an Armenian school. The Mayr Varjaran or Mother School, was founded in 1909. By January 1913, the school had 60 pupils. Thus, Mayr Yegeghetsi‘s most ancient tradition has been to preserve and defend the Armenian language and culture through the educating embrace of the Armenian school.

In addition to operating Mayr Varjaran, Mayr Yegeghetsi supported other Armenian schools in New York City, including the Levonian Varjaran, the Aharonian Varjaran in Washington Heights and the Aramian School in the Bronx. These schools educated thousands of first-and second-generation Armenian-Americans in the Armenian language and culture.

A rare photograph of St. Illuminator’s Armenian School taken in 1918. The pastor at the time was Rev. Fr. Azaria Boyajian, originally from Sepastia.

Mayr Varjaran at the Armenian Center in Woodside, 2008. Pictured in the back row are Tamar Lakissian, Mary Merdkhanian-Yaralian, Gayane Hakobyan, Zmroukht Markarian, Deacon Sarkis Apelian, principal Christine Reiglehoff, and Steven Henock.

Vartges and Armenouhi Aharonian with the Armenian School graduating class of 1942. The Aharonian Varjaran which served the New York community for many years was affiliated with Mayr Yegeghetsi. Both teachers came from illustrious families, Vartges being the son of Avedis Aharonian, the famous writer and national figure, and Armenouhi being the sister of Armen Tigranian of Anoush fame.

Mayr Varjaran during the tenure of Rev. Fr. Nishan Papazian in the 1930s. The teacher is Zabel Arisdakesian. Note the founding date of 1909.

“Why do I go to Armenian school?”

“Why must I remain Armenian?”  

In addition to offering her Sunday and Armenian schools, Mayr Yegeghetsi has for more than a decade co-sponsored a popular Bible study program with the Department of Christian Education at the Armenian Prelacy, conducted by Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian. In addition to serving on Mayr Yegeghesi’s Altar for 35 years, Archdeacon Shant also serves as the Prelacy’s director of Christian Education.

Pictured are the participants in a day-long seminar on the Scriptural origins of the Soorp Badarak, March 2019.

The Armenian School, Christmas 2024.

Until 1977, St. Illuminator’s Armenian school operated at various times under the roof of the Cathedral as a weekend school, a three-day school, or a day school. In September 1977, under the auspices and leadership of Rev. Fr. Moushegh Der Kaloustian, Mayr Yegeghetsi launched the St. Illuminator’s Armenian Day School at the erstwhile Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens. Despite financial hardships, the school operated there successfully until the sale of the center forced its closure in 2012. The school reopened at Mayr Yegeghetsi as a Saturday school and holds its sessions today on Sundays.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

— Proverbs 22:6

St. Illuminator’s founded its Sunday School in 1940 during the pastorship of Rev. Fr. Stepanos Garabedian. Still a new concept for the Armenian Church then, the Sunday School program enjoyed further development in 1955 under the spiritual guidance of Rev. Fr. Arsen Simoniantz and became an established feature of Mayr Yegeghetsi’s educational ministry. Throughout its history, St. Illuminator’s Sunday School has prepared the rising youth of our Church by teaching them the fundamentals of the Christian faith and the Armenian Christian tradition. Since its founding, the school has welcomed pupils ranging in age from five to sixteen years and instructed them in topics such as prayer, Armenian Church history and traditions, the sharagans, the Soorp Badarak, and the saints. Pupils of the school regularly attend Soorp Badarak and throughout the years, some have served on the Altar in the minor orders or sung in the Choir.

Today, Mayr Yegeghetsi continues its tradition of inculcating Armenian Christian and cultural values in the Armenian children of her community under the devoted tutelage and care of Louise Kanian, who teaches Sunday School, Maria Ebrimian, who teaches Armenian School, and teaching assistant Rita Tomassian.

Mayr Yegeghetsi looks forward to further developing and expanding participation in her Sunday and Armenian Schools and invites parents to enroll their children.

 

H. H. Aram I Engages with Young Armenian-Americans at the Cathedral

Nov 26, 2025

On Saturday, November 15th, St. Illuminator’s enjoyed the privilege of hosting His Holiness Aram I at the Cathedral for a forum with young adults entitled “Conversation with the Catholicos: A Dialogue Between H. H. Aram I and Young Adults of the Armenian-American Community.” The event brought together an audience of nearly 150 participants consisting primarily of young professionals and university students ranging in age from 18 to 40, joined by a number both older and younger.

“Conversation with the Catholicos” was the latest of such dialogues that Aram Vehapar has held with young members of the community on each of his visits. It was his third at the Cathedral, the first having taken place in 1997 and the second in 2015. Saturday’s forum was one of four formal events in the New York area celebrating the 30th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness as Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

The program consisted of a moderated 75-minute question-and-answer session preceded by a brief introductory program of remarks, recitations, and the singing of a Sharagan.
Archpriest Fr. Mesrob Lakissian welcomes all gathered. Seated with H. H. Aram I from left:
H. G. Bishop Dajad Ashekian, H. E. Archbishop Khoren Doghramadjian, 
H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, H. E. Archbishop Kegham Khatcherian,
H. E. Archbishop Papken Charian, and Very Rev. Fr. Ardag Arabian.
After a traditional Agh oo Hats blessing by His Holiness as he entered the Cathedral and a procession of clergy into Pashalian Hall, Archpriest Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, Paster of the Cathedral, opened the event with his welcome, and invited Armen Morian, Esq., Sub-deacon and Chairman of the Cathedral’s Board of Trustees, to step forth as master of ceremonies. Mr. Morian then introduced Aram Vehapar with brief appreciation of Vehapar’s “remarkable tenure” of 30 years as Catholicos and “the uncompromised leader of the Armenian nation.” “By bestowing upon you and abundantly all the gifts of ability for leadership, God has smiled upon you, and by giving you to us, He has smiled upon us,” Mr. Morian said.
Armen Morian, Esq. introduces H. H. Aram I.
Tamar Kanarian moderates the dialogue with H. H. Aram I. 
After Aram Vehapar delivered his opening message, Mr. Morian invited Tamar Kanarian, Secretary of the Executive Council of the Eastern Prelacy to introduce the dialogue for which she also served as moderator. The theme for the dialogue was “What can the Armenian Church do to serve Armenian-American young adults, facilitate their spiritual, cultural, and community needs in the contemporary world, and play a meaningful role in their lives?” However, the discussion covered a wider array of topics, ranging from Armenian Christianity under pressure, to dual identity, to mixed marriages, to artificial intelligence and technology, and more. At the close of the dialogue, Ms. Kanarian invited Aram Vehapar to give his closing message. 
H. H. Aram I gives his message. Seated with him from the left: H. E. Archbishop Khoren, H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan, H. E. Archbishop Kegham, and H. E. Archbishop Papken.
In his opening message, Aram Vehapar emphasized that “it is imperative to give ample space to the youth in Armenian life.” “I make this same suggestion with special emphasis whenever I have meetings with the responsible leaders of our community and with the youth during my Pontifical visits. I make the same suggestion because I feel and see that our youth has not yet been given the necessary place and role in our common life. The need for this is imperative, especially in the contemporary world. Our young people are called upon to bring their participation to the life of our Church and our structures, utilizing their professional expertise and their unique perspective on the modern world.”

The brief cultural program that served as a prelude to the dialogue featured a reading by Sahrad Melkonian of “Khatchû” (The Cross) by Abp. Yeghishe Tourian, followed by a singing of the Sharagan“Soorp Soorp” from the Divine Liturgy by Anahit Zakaryan, Choirmaster of Mayr Yegeghetsi, accompanied on the piano by Hasmik Mekhanejian, Choirmaster of St. Vartan Cathedral and daughter of Maestro Khoren Mekhanejian of blessed memory, and finally, a reading by Zivart Balikjian of “Yegeghetsin Haygagan” (The Armenian Church) by Vahan Tekeyan.

In keeping with tradition, the program concluded with a singing of the timeless, emotionally powerful patriotic song “Giligia” and the Pontifical anthem “Ee Véh Partsants.” Afterward, Aram Vehapar blessed the table and a fellowship hour ensued, serving Armenian mezze.

Participants received as a parting gift, H. H. Aram I’s book The Armenian Church, together with a commemorative bookmark.

Accompanying H. H. Aram I was a delegation of senior clergy consisting of H. E. Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy, H. E. Archbishop Kegham Khatcherian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy, H. E. Archbishop Papken Charian, the Prelate of Canada, H. E. Archbishop Khoren Doghramadjian, Pastor of St. Stephen’s Armenian Church in New Britain, Connecticut, and H. G. Bishop Dajad Ashekian, Executive Director of the Catholicosate, joined by other clergy traveling with Aram Vehapar and clergy serving in the Eastern Prelacy. Also present were Col. Aram Sarafian, Esq., Chairman of the Executive Council of the Eastern Prelacy, and Berdj Apkarian, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles and member of the Executive Council of the Western Prelacy.

The program was streamed live on the Facebook pages of the Eastern Prelacy and the Cathedral.

To view more photos, please click here.

The Ladies Guild

Nov 21, 2025

The Auxiliaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi

The Ladies Guild

The Armenian word for parish is “dzookh,” which literally means smoke; the smoke of the hearth; and parishioners are known as “dzkhakans,” people of the smoke of the hearth.

For seventeen centuries, the Armenian Church has been a hearth not just for the spiritual needs of the Armenian people, but for communal fellowship. What it takes to make a hearth is the loving care and attention of our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. Without the women of the Armenian Church there would be no Armenian Church.

The concept of a Ladies Guild is a uniquely American expression of an ancient and beautiful tradition of participation by Armenian women in the ministry of the Armenian Church. Ever since there was an Armenian Church, there was a ‘Ladies Guild,’ whether it was called that or something else or by no name at all.

The Ladies Auxiliary at the 50th anniversary of Mayr Yegeghetsi, circa 1965.

The Ladies Guild today. Pictured with Der Mesrob, in front: Shogher Vartanian, Azadouhi Vartanian, Nelly Aprahamian, Ani Piranian, Lalig Vartanian, Yeretsgeen Ojeen Lakissian, Sossie Vartanian, Shoghig Parsehian, Marie Haroutunian, Rosita Boiatchian.; and on the stage: Sonya Martirosyan, Sevan Basmadjian, Hermine Tervizian, Tamar Lakissian, Liza Yessaian, and Gayane Hakobyan.

Mayr Yegeghtsi’s Ladies Guild is older than Mayr Yegeghetsi herself. The Guild had its beginnings before St. Illuminator’s was officially established in 1915. As early as 1913, the St. Illuminator’s congregation had already organized a ladies’ “auxiliary,” together with a choir and Armenian school.

Thus, for more than 110 years, our “Dignants Miyootyoon” has been organizing functions and events, supporting fellowship, and creating the atmosphere of a loving Armenian home in our Mayr Yegeghetsi.

The work the energetic and resourceful Ladies of our Ladies Guild, past and present, have done and continue to do transcends the seemingly ordinary. The Armenian Church is a spiritual and cultural hearth and the work our Ladies Guild does is an indispensable facilitator of the ministry of our Church. They nourish and nurture us and our Christian fellowship. And what is nourished and nurtured grows and flourishes.

What has not been done by thesen hands. Ancients and new hands,
These hands, mother’s hands”

— Barouyr Sevag

Whether it is organizing fundraisers in traditional, set-piece events such as our annual Thanksgiving and Mothers Days luncheons and bake sales, or preparing table fellowships for our services and events, such as during Lent, or preparing Madagh, or supporting Fellowship Hours, or in the numerous other ways in which they serve, the work our Ladies perform is a pillar of our Church. It also raises a significant amount of funds annually for the support of our ministry.

We owe a profound and continuing debt of gratitude to the Ladies of our Ladies Guild, those whose blessed memories we honor, and those whose loving labors today and every day make our Mayr Yegeghetsi an Armenian home away from home.

The Auxiliaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi

Nov 14, 2025

The Auxiliaries of Mayr Yegeghetsi

A Building for the Future: 219 East 27th Street

 

There is no tangible monument of stewardship at Mayr Yegeghetsi more patent and prominent than the modest apartment building that stands next door. While she is beautiful by the standards of contemporary architecture, there is little that distinguishes 217-219 East 27th Street from other buildings of her vintage, which, when she was built in 1906, were practically mass-produced in Manhattan. Yet, all of six-stories tall with twenty-four apartments and a tiny elevator, what she has done for Mayr Yegeghetsi over the decades is breathtaking. When Mayr Yegeghetsi’s founding generation purchased the Cathedral building from the Crawford M.E. Church, the apartment building came with her as part of the deal. Like most episodes in the history of our Church, the story of the apartment building is a drama of its own. Purchase her the founding generation had the prudence and foresight to do, but they would not hold her for long. Mayr Yegeghetsi lost ownership and possession of the building during the Great Depression. The modern history of the building begins in 1974, when a new generation of stewards found their opportunity and reacquired her. Led by Michael Azarian and Jack Chadrjian, of blessed memory, they were worthy stewards indeed..

“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received..”

— 1 Peter 4:10

This remarkable photo strikingly illustrates Mayr Yegeghetsi’s metropolitan location in midtown Manhattan and identifies her as the true New Yorker she is. It also shows the changes her environs were undergoing in the early 1960s as the Armenian population migrated away from “Little Armenia,” which is how the Rose Hill and Murray neighborhoods were known because of the concentration of Armenians who had settled there beginning around the turn of the Twentieth century. Appropriately, the photo also serves as an iconic portrait of our humble yet magnificent Mayr Yegeghetsi “complex.”

The façade of the apartment building with her fire escapes is also iconically New York.

Since then, the apartment building became and remains the Cathedral’s principal single source of income and, in tough times, was a lifeline without which Mayr Yegeghetsi could not have survived financially. As the fortunes of New York real estate have risen, so too has the income-generating potential of this precious asset. We are not talking about big New York real estate money. Like Mayr Yegeghetsi herself, the building and the cash flow she generates is modest and human-scale. But for us that income is heaven-sent. We are fortunate to enjoy this revenue, which, by going a long way toward covering our annual operating expenses, relieves pressure on our budget and frees us to use the other income we generate to support and develop our ministry.

In this milestone year, we are mindful to remember and honor with gratitude our predecessors in leadership who, to provide for Mayr Yegeghetsi and her future, had the prudence and foresight to acquire the little apartment building next door.

Service at Mayr Yegeghetsi

Nov 7, 2025


Service at Mayr Yegeghetsi

We are Grateful

 

Our Mayr Yegeghetsi is not a building. It is a fellowship, a community of Christians that comprise the body of Christ. The indispensable elements of fellowship and community are presence and participation. Another is service: service to one another; service to community; service to God. Whether that service is on the Altar or in the Choir, on the Ladies Guild, or to our schools, or in the numerous other selfless ways Church volunteers give of themselves, such acts of devotion are manifestations of Christian love, faith, and fellowship, and the ministry of the Church depends upon them.

Pictured with Der Mesrob, in front: Deacon Sarkis Apelian, Choirmaster Anahit Zakaryan, Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian, Deacon Dickran Kabarajian, Tatevik Sukiasian, Christopher Nazarian; and on the Altar: Hakob Keymetlyan, Armen Morian, Aram Parnagian, and Mark Dilsizian. Absent from the photo is our organist, Ara Dinkjian.

 

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness”

— Psalms 100:1-2

 

We are profoundly grateful and express our thanks to our many parishioners, living and departed, who year-in and year-out have given their time and talents for the greater glory of God and the success of our Mayr Yegeghetsi, and without whose devotion we could not possibly carry out our ministry. They include all who have served on her Altar; who have sang in her Choir or played the organ; who have served on her Board or as NRA delegates or in other elected positions; who have taught in her Sunday and Saturday Armenian schools; who have been members of her incomparable Ladies Guild, Mr. and Mrs. Clubs, and other auxiliaries, such as the basketball team; who have written, edited or, prepared Mayr Yegeghetsi newsletter and her other publications; who have organized, presented, or performed at her cultural and social events; who have served her as church secretary or zhamgoch or on the Building board; who have donated their services as professionals, or who have given money, time or other resources to Mayr Yegeghetsi or who have stood as faithful friends of Mayr Yegeghetsi in good times and bad.

Lalig Vartanian, Arevig Caprielian, and Mireille Babikian-Hanna, with Der Mesrob.

“By love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

— Galatians 5:13-14

H. H. Aram I proclaimed 2024 as the “Year of Manpower.” But his call to service is forever timely. For the Church to function and flourish, every year must be the year of manpower. The work of the Church is never done. To do it, in this time as in all times, requires many categories of skills, in the professions, the trades, the crafts, the arts, and beyond. In short, it requires manpower. There is practically no skill that is not potentially relevant to the Church and no contribution of time or talent too small. And service does not necessarily mean a continuing obligation; it may be a single act to help us when we need help. Whether one has a single hour to give or a thousand, everyone’s contributions are an invaluable resource to our Church and our community. We invite you to step forward and join our manpower resources and help us invite others as well.

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.