South Florida Armenians prepare for a pontifical visit
Boca church gets rare chance to host leader
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 6, 2007
By Lois K. Solomon
He may be the spiritual leader of the world’s 7 million Armenian
Christians, but he also loves pizza.
His Holiness Karekin II, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
will visit St. David Armenian Church in Boca Raton on Oct. 15. Among his
scheduled activities: "Pizza Party With the Pontiff" for the
congregation’s youth.
On Oct. 16 he will travel to St. Mary Armenian Church in Cooper City,
where he will participate in the Blessing of the Crosses and a welcoming
service.
The South Florida stops are part of a 17-city tour of the Eastern and
Midwestern United States. Karekin was appointed in 1999 and lives in
Etchmiadzin, a holy city near Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
"He is the equivalent of the pope for Catholics," said Dr. Rosemary
Mencia, a Fort Lauderdale dentist and St. David parish council member.
"This is a very huge event."
Mencia met the pontiff two years ago when she and other St. David
members visited Etchmiadzin.
"Immediately I could tell how compassionate and down-to-earth he was,"
Mencia said. "He does so much to help the Armenian people."
There are an estimated 15,000 Armenians in South Florida and 25,000 in
the state, said Michael O’Hurley-Pitts, communications director for the
Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in America, which includes
Florida. While some are recent immigrants, most are second-, third- and
fourth-generation Americans whose relatives fled the Armenian genocide
by the Turks from 1915 to 1917. More than 1.5 million Armenians are
estimated to have been killed.
Rose Kazanjian of Boca Raton said her mother’s first husband, daughter
and sister were among those murdered. Kazanjian, 82, was raised in
Philadelphia, where she said the Armenian church was the center of her
family’s life.
"The church is not only the religious center but also the social
center," Kazanjian said. She helped found St. David in 1988.
There are about 1 million Armenian-Americans, with Boston and Los
Angeles having some of the biggest communities. Armenian churches follow
a liturgy that dates to the fourth century, when the Armenian people
converted to Christianity. The rites, although recited in classical
Armenian, resemble those of Roman, Anglican and Greek churches, with
incense, priestly vestments and icons of saints such as Mary at the altar.
The church has a hierarchy similar to the Catholic Church, with priests,
bishops and archbishops. Priests are allowed to marry, but bishops and
their superiors are not, O’Hurley-Pitts said.
Religion has kept the Armenian people together through many tragic
episodes in their history. In addition to several massacres by the
Turks, the Soviet Union occupied the country from 1920 to 1990 and
closed more than 1,000 churches.
Armenian pontiffs became a beacon of hope during these hard times,
O’Hurley-Pitts said.
"They never took on a political role. They carried on the identity," he
said.
Armenians in the diaspora also work to carry on their religion and
culture. Seta Balgadian of Boca Raton, who was born in Lebanon, said
most of her friends are Armenian. They speak Armenian and socialize,
attend church and travel together.
Balgadian is in charge of the pontiff’s South Florida visit. She said
Karekin II showed his humility even before his arrival.
"He didn’t want a big banquet," Balgadian said. "He said he will eat
whatever the kids are eating."
Anna Kazazian of Fort Lauderdale, who was born in Egypt, said she hopes
the pontiff makes an impression on the children.
"It’s very seldom we get a pontiff to visit South Florida," said
Kazazian, who attends St. Mary Church. "This is something they’ll
remember for a long time."
Lois Solomon can be reached at [email protected] or 561-243-6536.
For more information
See or call 561-994-2335 in Boca Raton or
954-450-5578 in Cooper City
each/sfl-flparmenian1003pnoct06,0,3401303.story