PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
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. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
February 7, 2007
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ST. VARTAN CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK CITY TO HOST SERVICE OF EVELEVATION
On Sunday, February 11, 2007, Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical
officer of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), will be
elevated to the rank of Archbishop. The honor is conferred upon him by His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
The service will be at 5 p.m. in New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral, 630
Second Ave. at 34th St. in Manhattan. It will be followed by a reception in
Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium.
Along with serving the Diocese, Bishop Aykazian is a leader of the
ecumenical movement. He serves as president-elect of the National Council
of Churches (NCC) and on the executive committee of the World Council of
Churches. He is also a member of the international board of Habitat for
Humanity.
Bishop Aykazian was born in Siirt, Turkey, in 1951 and studied at the
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He was ordained a deacon in 1968, and
then as a celibate priest in 1971. In 1992, His Holiness Vasken I,
Catholicos of All Armenians, ordained him a bishop at Holy Etchmiadzin.
Bishop Aykazian’s diverse assignments have included director of the Fund for
Armenian Relief’s Yerevan office; primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of Switzerland; preacher at the Armenian churches in Istanbul and
assistant to Archbishop Shnork Kaloustyan, Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople.
Bishop Aykazian received his doctorate degree in history from the Armenian
Academy of Sciences in 1999. He completed the course requirements for a
doctorate degree at Fribourg Catholic University in Switzerland, received a
bachelor’s of divinity degree from Kings College in London, studied pastoral
theology at St. Augustine’s College in Canterbury, and attended the Armenian
Theological Seminary in Jerusalem along with the Holy Cross Armenian
Seminary in Istanbul.
DAY OF CELEBRATION
Earlier that day, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern
Diocese, will ordain Jason Demerjian as a deacon. A recent graduate of the
St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, NY, Demerjian served for two
years as the Diocese’s college ministry facilitator.
Before joining the Diocese, he lived in Armenia as a U.S. Peace Corps
volunteer before starting and running the Armenia Volunteer Corps. He has a
master’s degree from the Harvard Divinity School.
"It is exciting to see a young Armenian, such as Jason, who is dedicated to
his heritage and passionate about his Christianity," Archbishop Barsamian
said. "I am pleased to see him take this next step in his journey of faith
and service. He and his wife Anna are true gifts to the Armenian Church
family."
— 2/7/07
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