CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
A Message from Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, Primate
“It is the will of a mysterious Providence that our nation should live in exile, as settlers in foreign lands. Yet that same God has not forgotten the Armenians, or Armenia. He has protected our people wherever they live, granted them success, and has day by day multiplied their number….
My fatherly advice to you is this: Know who you are.”
Those words were penned in the summer of 1898, by the great Catholicos of All Armenians of that day: His Holiness Mkrtich Khrimian, known to the ages as “Khrimian Hayrig.” At the time, the Armenian Church in America was in its earliest infancy, with just a few parishes scattered across a vast continent.
But it was growing, and Khrimian Hayrig foresaw a great future for his children in the New World. So in an encyclical dated July 2, 1898, he officially established a “Diocese of America,” encompassing the continents of both North and South America.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of that momentous development, and our community has fully lived up to Khrimian Hayrig’s expectations—and more so. Today, seven diocesan jurisdictions serve the Armenian faithful of the Western Hemisphere: in the Eastern and Western U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, Bazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela—each with its own proud history of achievement.
But it all began here, in our own Diocese—and we will be celebrating the 125th anniversary year across our Diocese throughout the coming months, culminating in a grand event at the New York Botanical Garden in April of 2024.
I am happy to inform you that Bryan and Maria Stepanian, of our St. Gregory the Enlightener parish in White Plains, NY, have graciously agreed to chair the 125th Anniversary committee, and have been at work for several months now on the schedule of activities. These include liturgical and ecumenical services, concerts and cultural events, and charitable outreach activities, at the Diocesan Center in New York and among all of our local parish communities.
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To officially begin the celebration, all of our parishes will hold a special Divine Liturgy on Sunday, July 2—exactly 125 years since Khrimian Hayrig’s encyclical—which will culminate in a prayer service honoring the occasion. On the same day at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York, I will celebrate the badarak inaugurating the 125th anniversary year, and we welcome all who are able to attend the service and reception to follow.
His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has issued a congratulatory message marking the anniversary, which will also be read in every parish during the badarak on July 2.
Most of all, I hope this anniversary milestone will invigorate spiritual and cultural life across our Diocese. Khrimian Hayrig’s fatherly advice to the new Armenian Americans is still as vital as it was 125 years ago: “Know who you are.” The answer to that question is, first and foremost, that we Armenians are a people of God, devoted servants of His Son Jesus Christ, and inheritors of a great tradition of beauty and holiness that has allowed us to survive, and prosper, from ancient times into the modern age.
As the immortal Psalm expresses it: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Ps 126:3).
I sincerely look forward to sharing this celebration among all our faithful people, as we rejoice in that legacy together. May our Lord strengthen our efforts to draw closer to Him, today and always.
Prayerfully,
Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan
Primate
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