ARMENIANS READY TO HOST CHURCH LEADER
By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press, MI
/20071021/NEWS05/710210590/0/NEWS06
Oct 21 2007
At Sunday school last week, the priest wagged his finger at the
children to remind them to attend a special evening service with
their top religious leader.
"We don’t need tricks this Halloween," the Rev. Garabed Kochakian,
pastor of St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, said he told the
kids. "We need treats, and the big treat is that our holy father is
here. We couldn’t ask for anything more. … There’s no excuse not to
attend. This happens once in your life. You can go trick-or-treating
next year."
Kochakian’s message underscored the importance to the local Armenian
community — one of the largest in the United States — of the
coming visit of the Catholicos Karekin II, the supreme patriarch of
7 million Armenian Christians worldwide. He is the 132nd leader in
a tradition that stretches back more than 1,700 years and is deeply
felt by thousands of Armenians in metro Detroit.
At least 14,000 Michiganders claim Armenian roots, according to 2005
U.S. census figures, though community leaders say there are twice
that number and more in metro Detroit alone.
Kochakian and a team of nearly 100 Armenians are putting in long
hours to make sure the patriarch’s visit — the last stop of an
18-city national tour — will be memorable. This is Karekin’s first
U.S. tour. He visited the Detroit area briefly in 2005.
"When he’s flying back, Detroit will be the place he’s thinking about,"
Kochakian said.
The visit, planned for months, comes at a time of close attention to
the history of Armenians, especially the deaths of up to 1.5 million
in the early 20th Century. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee
voted Oct. 10 to label the deaths as genocide caused by Turks, which
infuriated the Turkish government.
As it happens, Karekin was scheduled that day to open the U.S. House
session with a prayer. Introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
a strong supporter of the genocide resolution, Karekin said:
"Grant rest to the souls of all victims of crimes against humanity
and bestow peace and justice on their descendants. Give pause to
those who trample life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Later that day, the committee vote set off a fiery reaction from
Turkey. Since then, some backers of the resolution have had second
thoughts and indicated they would not support it in a vote of the
full House.
The White House has lobbied hard against the resolution, arguing
it would jeopardize the United States’ relationship with Turkey,
an ally needed for the Iraq war and other foreign policies.
For many Armenians, Karekin’s visit reinforces their commitment to
historical truth.
"Throughout our history, because of our beliefs as Christians,
Armenians have suffered," said Marty Shoushanian of Farmington Hills.
"That’s what makes this visit even more significant. All this time,
we have not lost our faith … but as a result we have been punished
throughout time."
Even if the resolution fails, the genocide issue has been pushed into
the U.S. public arena.
"The truth has been unleashed," Kochakian said. "The lid is off. I
have never seen the Armenian genocide so talked about than it has
over the past week … and that is good. … No matter what, we will
not stop to speak the truth until it is acknowledged."
Karekin started his tour Oct. 3 in New York and is making his way
across the country, from Boston to Florida to Dallas. Along the way,
his assistants are recording many of his appearances and posting them
online soon after at
In metro Detroit, St. John Church will be the main focus of Karekin’s
Oct. 30-Nov. 1 visit. With 3,000 members, St. John is the largest
parish in the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
which stretches east from the Rocky Mountains.
The patriarch wants to encourage worshippers to make home and their
families — not just bricks-and-mortar buildings — a focus for
their faith. To that end, priests in metro Detroit have been blessing
Armenian homes according to ancient rituals.
Churches are trying to encourage a new generation of Armenians to
sustain their ancient faith. Kochakian said he wants to make the
faith relevant to people’s lives so "it’s no longer just something
in a storybook."
Every year, St. John helps teenagers travel to Armenia to reconnect
with their traditions. The patriarch’s visit will help those who
can’t make it abroad.
"Not everyone can go to Armenia, but he has brought Armenia here,"
Kochakian said.