PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
August 28, 2006
ELEVATION OF BISHOP ANOUSHAVAN TANIELIAN
WILL BE CELEBRATED ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1
NEW YORK, NY-Two months ago V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General
of the Eastern Prelacy, received his Episcopal ordination and was elevated
to the rank of Bishop in the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in
Antelias, Lebanon, by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia.
Bishop Anhoushavan’s dedicated service to the Armenian Church spans many
decades, and it is this service and his recent elevation which will be
celebrated on Sunday, October 1, by the Armenian American community, with a
gala celebratory banquet at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows, New
York. The banquet, under the auspices of the Prelate, His Eminence
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, will begin at 3 pm. Prior to the banquet,
Bishop Anoushavan will officiate over the Divine Liturgy at St. Sarkis
Armenian Church, Douglaston, New York, where he served as parish priest for
more than a decade.
Bedros Givelekian, chairman of the committee organizing this tribute,
and the members of the committee, have been meeting during the summer months
to plan the event.
"Large numbers of the Faithful from the Mid-Atlantic area and beyond are
expected to attend and express personal congratulations, demonstrating the
high-esteem felt for him," said Mr. Givelekian . A commemorative booklet
will be published on this occasion and Bishop Anoushavan has requested that
all funds raised on this occasion benefit the Prelacy’s general fund for
Christian education.
Bishop Anoushavan was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1951. From an early
age he showed a calling to serve the Armenian Church. He attended the
Cilician Theological Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon, from 1963 to 1971. He
was ordained to the rank of Deacon in 1968 by Bishop Karekin Sarkissian, to
the rank of celibate priest by Archbishop Ardag Manougian in 1972. He was
bestowed with the Fourth Degree of Vartabed in 1974 by His Holiness
Catholicos Khoren I, and the Fourteenth Degree of Vartabed in 1988 by
Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian.
After graduation and ordination, he served in various capacities at the
Catholicosate , and later in the United States where during the past 22
years he has served as a Preacher at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in
Philadelphia, Sts. Vartanantz Church in New Jersey, and St. Sarkis Church in
New York. In 1991 he was appointed pastor of St. Sarkis Church where he
served with great distinction until last year when he was appointed full
time Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, and Ecumenical Officer in the
United States for the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. He was
the founder and continues to serve as the director of the St. Gregory of
Datev Institute, the popular and highly successful summer studies program
for high school and college-age students.
After many years of concentrated studies while serving as a full time
pastor, as well as part time Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, and
Chairman of the Prelacy’s Religious Council, His Grace was conferred with
the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from Columbia University in May
2003. He also holds degrees from the Near East School of Theology, and
Princeton Theological Seminary. His doctoral dissertation explored "Nerses
Lambronatzi’s Commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon." This pioneering work was
accepted unanimously "with distinction" by the examining committee which
placed him among a highly select group of Columbia scholars.
The banquet on October 1 will bring together many of Bishop Anoushavan’s
friends, colleagues and supporters. Professor Hratch Zadoian, Vice
President-Emeritus of Queens College, has agreed to serve as the Master of
Ceremonies for the event. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Rev. Fr.
Nerses Manoogian, pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in
Philadelphia, who was a classmate at the Theological Seminary in Antelias.
For reservations and/or information please contact the Eastern Prelacy,
[email protected] or 212-689-7810.