PONTIFF PRAISES CHURCH, AMERICA
By Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer

St. Petersburg Times, FL
Oct 15 2007

Armenian Apostolic Christians celebrate church’s completion.

PINELLAS PARK – In a more than three-hour service Sunday, the leader
of the world’s 7-million Armenian Apostolic Christians consecrated
a new church and celebrated Divine Liturgy in the standing-room-only
sanctuary.

As a gift, he presented the church with a communion chalice made in
Armenia by an Armenian jeweler.

During his visit to the Tampa Bay area, His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, also touched on
a delicate diplomatic matter, Armenians’ almost 100-year belief that
they were victims of genocide.

They say more than 1.5-million Armenians were massacred, starved to
death and persecuted between 1914 and 1922 by the Ottoman Turks. They
describe the attempted annihilation as genocide. The Turks strongly
disagree.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution
recognizing the deaths as genocide. The pontiff praised the committee’s
action. President George W. Bush, however, warned the action would
complicate foreign policy.

"It was greatly consoling to us that the voice of justice and
righteousness resounded louder than political and military interests
in this case," the pontiff said in an interview after Sunday’s service.

"More than 22 different countries and states have already recognized
and condemned the Armenian genocide and we are hopeful that not in the
too distant future Turkey as well will recognize it, which will benefit
the normalization of the relations between our two countries," he said.

"And we believe that the condemnation of the genocide of the Armenians
will greatly benefit the prevention of similar crimes against
humanity in the world in the future. And no tyrant shall ever again
say the words that Hitler said, ‘Who, after all, today remembers the
extermination of the Armenians?’ "

Sunday, though, was for St. Hagop’s, a congregation that struggled for
decades to build the 250-seat church off Belcher Road in Pinellas
Park. Countless chicken dinners, aluminum can drives and other
fundraisers are the foundation of the $2-million sanctuary whose
stucco will be covered with a pink stone mined in Armenia.

As rainbows created by the church’s enormous shimmering chandelier
danced on the congregation’s clothing, the red carpet and newly
painted walls, the faithful excitedly greeted old friends.

They had traveled from far and near. Nanzy Kazarian and her husband
had come from Naples. The self-described snowbirds from Racine, Wis.,
couldn’t be in that state when the pontiff visits later this month,
Kazarian said, so they drove to Pinellas Park.

"He’s our pope," she said. "We also wanted to support this new church,
because they struggled for many years to build it."

Armenian military based at MacDill Air Force Base also joined the
celebration. Lt. Col. Mesrop Nazaryan was accompanied by other military
personnel from countries including Singapore, Mongolia and Ukraine.

Some of those who helped make the new sanctuary a reality were honored
Sunday. Steeped in ritual, the service began with Catholicos Karekin
consecrating the bare altar with holy oil from Etchmiadzin, Armenia,
the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church.

A highlight of the morning’s ceremony was the blessing of 16 crosses,
each representing a saint. In keeping with tradition, a godparent
was appointed for each cross. As with a godparent, that person is
expected to play a continuing role in supporting the church.

Leon Sarkisian, whose sister Louise Yardumian and late parents, Edward
and Priscilla Sarkisian, played a key role in organizing and helping
to build the church from the beginning, was named the godfather of
the doors of the new building.

"We are very happy that this day has come," Sarkisian said, adding
that the only thing that makes him sad is that his parents and others
like them did not live to see it.

The pontiff bestowed his highest honor on Gregory H. Ekizian and
his wife, Alysia – a relative of the famous writer William Saroyan –
for their work at St. Hagop’s and charities in Armenia. The couple
received St. Gregory the Illuminator medals, in honor of the man who
was responsible for making Armenia a Christian state in 301 A.D.

After the service, Catholicos Karekin said he is proud of the
contributions Armenian-Americans continue to make to this country. He
also spoke about his hopes for the Armenian church.

"It is our desire and our aspiration that the commandment and the
message of Jesus Christ take their deep roots within the souls of
our people and they continue to live by the rich tradition and rich
culture of their Christian faith and with the sacred faith of their
forefathers," he said.

"We believe that the diversity of ethnicities and religions and faith
in the United States is the richness of this country. May God bless
the United States and all its people."