PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

June 6, 2006
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YOUNG LOUISIANA COMMUNITY SEES CHURCH AS WAY TO CONNECT GENERATIONS

By Jake Goshert

Vasken and Higo Kaltakdjian feel pride when they see their children, Serop
and Niree, 21 and 17, taking part in church services at the newly
consecrated St. Garabed Church of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Serop is an
altar boy and his sister often reads from the Bible during the badarak. For
Mr. Kaltakdjian, the parish council chairman, the involvement of his
children is a connection to generations past.

And when Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), consecrated the mission parish’s sanctuary on
May 14, 2006, it signaled to Vasken Kaltakdjian the continuation of the
Armenian faith for generations to come.

“Our church is something we have to continue,” he said. “It is not
something we can let go. And having our own church building will help our
children feel this is something to be proud of. And they’ve seen us working
hard, and know it is not something that just happens.”

SMALL, YOUNG COMMUNITY

The state of Louisiana has about 60 families and during monthly badarak
celebrations, about 80 people fill the church: a former furniture store
marvelously renovated into a distinctly Armenian-flavored sanctuary.

Kaltakdjian said most of the members are immigrants from Syria or Lebanon,
with strong family ties to the Armenian Church. Kaltakdjian, for example,
came to the United States at 19, after serving as an altar boy in the St.
Sarkis Church in Damascus, Syria, where his grandfather was a parish council
member.

“We all played parts in our churches over there and we want to continue the
traditions our fathers and grandfathers taught us. We learned the church is
very important to the Armenian community,” he said. “So even though we’re a
small community, the church has kept us together. It protects our
nationality, our language, our faith. We thought it was important to have a
church here.”

The mission parish first began to form in the mid-1980s, but the new
immigrants were unable to fund a building. As they found success in the
opportunities of America, they raised enough money to buy and renovate their
church.

The community has many young families with children, and parish leaders see
the newly consecrated church as a way to energize parishioners, who consider
the church to be necessary for their children’s education.

“It was so wonderful, all the community came out to see the service,” said
Boghos Moutafian, the former parish council chairman. “This was our dream.
And the consecration definitely made our community stronger. People are
coming together, the kids are starting to talk Armenian, and they love our
religion. They’re singing and serving at the church.”

Archbishop Barsamian was joined during the badarak by the parish’s visiting
pastor Fr. Nerses Jebejian, Fr. Aren Jebejian from Chicago, Fr. Ararat
Kaltakjian of Canada, and Maestro Khoren Mekanejian, coordinator of music
ministry for the Diocese.

The Primate said that the parish was an example of parents passing the flame
of the Armenian Christian heritage to the next generation.

“Throughout the centuries, Armenians have heard the message of St. Gregory:
‘Come, let us build an altar of light,’ and they have acted on that
message,” the Primate said. “And here in Baton Rouge, they have come
together and built a community based on our faith.”

During a banquet following the consecration, the Primate presented Moutafian
with a pontifical encyclical from His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch
and Catholicos of All Armenians. Kaltakdjian was presented with an
encyclical and the St. Gregory Medal.

“These men learned from their fathers, mothers, and grandparents. They
learned the importance and power of Christianity,” the Primate said. “More
important, they then passed that love for our church on to their children
and into their communities. They are truly passing the flame of our faith
forward to the next generation.”

— 6/06/06

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Parishioners fill the St. Garabed Church of Baton Rouge,
LA, as Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, leads the consecration service
on May 14, 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): As parishioners look on, the Primate blesses a cross
during the consecration of the St. Garabed Church of Baton Rouge, LA, on May
14, 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): The Primate blesses a cross on the altar of the St.
Garabed Church of Baton Rouge, LA, during its consecration on May 14, 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): The Primate performs the “Opening of Doors” ceremony on
May 13, 2006, the night before the consecration of the St. Garabed Church of
Baton Rouge, LA.

PHOTO CAPTION (5): The Primate, other priests, altar servers, choir
members, and parishioners walk towards the St. Garabed Church of Baton
Rouge, LA, as a prelude to the “Opening of Doors” ceremony, on the first of
a two-day consecration of the church May 13 and 14, 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (6): The Primate presents a pontifical encyclical and the St.
Gregory medal to Vasken Kaltakdjian and his family on behalf of His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, during a
banquet following the consecration of the St. Garabed Church of Baton Rouge,
LA, on May 14, 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION (7): The Primate presents a pontifical encyclical to Boghos
Moutafian, a founding leader of the St. Garabed Church in Baton Rouge, LA.

PHOTO CAPTION (8): The newly consecrated St. Garabed Church of Baton Rouge,
LA.