The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
October 25, 2007 Thursday
All Editions

Church leader sees kids as path to hope;
Fair Lawn to host Armenian cleric

By JOHN CHADWICK, STAFF WRITER, North Jersey Media Group

With his black robe, black hood and gold icon, the spiritual leader
for Armenian Christians personifies a solemn, Old World tradition.

But on Saturday, he’ll arrive at a Fair Lawn church to chat with a
younger generation.

His Holiness Karekin II, visiting from Armenia, will conduct a
worship service and eat lunch with nearly 500 children ages 5 to 17
at St. Leon Armenian Church – part of his effort to push this ancient
Christian denomination into the 21st century.

"His Holiness feels very strongly that the youth are not only the
future of the church, but the present," said the Rev. Diran Bohajian,
pastor of St. Leon. "He wants to have a real relationship with them
and show them the importance of our church in our everyday life."

Karekin, supreme patriarch for the Armenian Apostolic Church, has
been hailed for rebuilding his country’s church after decades of
oppression under the Soviet Union. He has been spiritual leader for
most of the world’s 8 million Armenians since 1999.

Making a rare, monthlong tour of the United States, he’s now getting
acquainted with an established, successful Armenian-American
community whose challenge isn’t fighting communism but resisting the
lure of assimilation in a prosperous, multi-ethnic nation.

Anticipation for his North Jersey appearance is high. Young people
from 14 churches and day schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut and New York are expected to attend.

"He has a wonderful way of relating to children," said Dennis
Papazian of Woodcliff Lake, who has two daughters attending the
event. "He has a simple way of showing his love and God’s love."

Armenians trace their church to the year 301, when Armenia became the
first country to adopt Christianity as its national religion. The
country has had a turbulent history – including mass killings by the
Ottoman Turks during what’s commonly called the Armenian genocide
from 1915 to 1923.

Armenians began coming to North Jersey in the late 19th century, with
the major waves coming in the years immediately after the
persecution. A small but tight network of churches is still
flourishing. And at a private Armenian-run day school in New Milford,
students still learn the Armenian language and recite prayers in
class.

But like other churches built around national origin, the Armenian
community faces a challenge in keeping a younger generation of
Americans invested in the tradition.

St. Leon’s, for example, has recently come up with a way to keep
people from getting lost in a prayer book that has sections in
English, modern Armenian, classical Armenian and the English
transliteration.

The church has purchased an electronic page reminder to help people
keep their place during the service, which is completely in Armenian
and lasts more than two hours.

"Not everyone speaks Armenian and some people have difficulty
following our liturgy," Bohajian said. "We’re doing whatever we can
to help people grow in their faith."

Meanwhile, Karekin’s U.S. appearances have had a decidedly upbeat,
energetic tone similar to the barnstorm evangelizing of the late
Roman Catholic leader Pope John Paul II. He has held interfaith
meetings, helped paint a house in Katrina-devastated New Orleans and
ventured far beyond the Armenian enclaves on the coasts to visit
small churches in the South and Midwest.

He has also encouraged younger Armenians to retain their heritage and
use their faith to improve their own country.

"Be faithful Americans and never forget your Armenian Christian
identity, bringing it home as part of your daily lives," he said in a
meeting with young professionals in Boston.