Catholicos to preside over 40th anniversary celebration of Saint Vartan Cathedral

Published: Saturday September 27, 2008

St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, rising above 34th Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, was consecrated in April 1968.?.

New York - Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, on October 12 will preside over the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the consecration of Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, the Diocese of the Armenian Church announced.

"We are truly honored and blessed to know that our beloved Catholicos will be present and participating in this most significant of celebrations in our Diocese," said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). The archbishop characterized the consecration of Saint Vartan in 1968 as "one of the most important events ever to have taken place in the Armenian community in the United States."

On October 12, the archbishop will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral. The catholicos will bestow his blessings and good wishes upon the Armenian community of America. A requiem service also will be offered for the deceased founders of the Cathedral followed by a commemorative luncheon and tribute.

"Knowing that His Holiness will be celebrating this momentous anniversary with our faithful links our Diocese, once again, to our sacred Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin," Archbishop Barsamian said.
During services on October 12, vessels containing newly blessed Holy Chrism, known as Holy Muron in Armenian, will be distributed to youth representatives of every parish in the Eastern Diocese.

The recipients will deliver the Muron to their home parishes, where it will be used for consecrations, baptisms, and ordinations.

"Just as our parents and grandparents gave us the gift of this beautiful Cathedral and inspired us with their unwavering faith, we must now share our rich legacy with a new generation of Armenian Christians," the Primate said.

The Holy Muron - a substance prepared with olive oil and other plant extracts in a tradition that dates back to the Apostles of Christ - is blessed at Holy Etchmiadzin once every seven years. The Catholicos of All Armenians will preside over the ceremony on September 28; he will be joined by high-ranking clergy - including Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy, who will be part of a delegation representing the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. During this special ceremony, the Catholicos of All Armenians will mix a portion of the existing oil with the newly made Muron.

Pilgrims from the Eastern Diocese will visit Holy Etchmiadzin to witness the service and to bring back the Muron to the cathedral in New York.

Consecrated in April 1968, Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral was built by a generation of Armenian Genocide survivors who were determined to preserve their faith in the New World. In its 40-year history, the cathedral has been home to countless spiritual and cultural events, and today continues to serve as the spiritual center of the Eastern Diocese.

The October 12 program is part of a yearlong celebration of the cathedral's anniversary that began this summer with an art exhibition and concert featuring established and emerging Armenian-American artists. Crowning the exhibition, which drew a capacity crowd on opening night, was Arshile Gorky's "The Artist and His Mother," loaned to the Diocese by the Whitney Museum of American Art.

"This exhibition was a great success," said Lynn Beylerian, co-chair of the 40th Anniversary Committee. "We hope to see our faithful join us again in October as we continue the celebration of our cathedral's history with our spiritual leader, His Holiness Karekin II."

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