ST. GREGORY WELCOMES NEW REVEREND
By Jason Sibert

Granite City Press Record
/articles/2008/08/25/news/sj2tn20080823-0824gcj-pa stor.ii1.txt
Aug 25 2008
IL

The Rev. Stephan Baljian starts ministerial career

The first time the Rev. Stephan Baljian stepped into St. Gregory
Armenian Apostolic Church in Granite City, the church evoked feelings
of beauty and community.

"When you see the church sanctuary, the facility, because it’s so new,
and so well built, and on such a beautiful parcel of land, it really
is an impressive experience, the first time you see it," Baljian
said. "I was very impressed, but it was not just the building. In
knowing how small this community (Armenian) is, that’s what struck
me, in knowing how hard they had to work, and how great of job that
they’ve done. This is about the nicest Armenian church that I’ve seen
in this country, and I’ve been all around the East Coast."

Baljian officially started as pastor at St. Gregory four weeks
ago. Ordained in February, he delivered his first sermon as a guest
priest in April. After his ordination, Baljian travelled around
the country to Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Springfield, Mass.,
and Niagara Falls, N.Y., preaching in front of small congregations
that have no regular priest."It’s wonderful, we haven’t had a regular
pastor in about two years," said St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church
Head of Publicity and Member Susan Spataro. "We’re just so blessed
to have him."

When asked about the most difficult facet of being a new pastor in
a new community, Baljian talked about moving to a new state, as he
hails from the state of Massachusetts.

"When you come to a new community, there’s things you need to learn,"
he said. "It’s a strange balance. People understand you’re new and
learning. At the same time, when you start, you’re suppose to be the
pastor, the father and the leader, all of those things. Several times,
I’ve had to make calls to people I’ve never met. You have to say ‘Hi,
how are you?’ and make it like you’ve known who I am all along, and
I’m your priest. It’s a challenge for me. It’s human nature, when you
don’t know somebody, you stay back a little bit. In this profession,
you have to be very straightforward and very open."

While taking the reins and leading a church for the first time creates
challenges for a new priest, it also provides experiences which create
fond memories.

"You do realize it will never happen again," Baljian said. "You’ll
never have that feeling of your first church again. You’ll never have
this fresh outlook and all of these fresh ideas."

The congregation impressed the new priest with their work ethic and
ability to welcome a newcomer.

"This is a very hard-working congregation," he said. "They’re a very
welcoming group of people, and they’re like one big family."

The ancient Armenian State Church, where the Armenian Apostolic Church
traces its roots, started in 301 A.D. when the country, located in
Eurasia between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, adopted Christianity
as its state religion, according to Web sites.

"As an Armenian community, in some ways they’re very isolated from
the other Armenian communities in the country," Baljian said. "Back
in New England, you had all of the communities within an hour of each
other. It was easy to have a cultural exchange. Here, we’re small
and we’re isolated. The closest Armenian community to the St. Louis
Metro Area is Chicago. It’s difficult, and I think that it’s forced
this congregation to think outside the box, to come up with new and
fresh ideas and to boldly implement steps to keep this community and
this parish strong. It’s really commendable."

When asked what the congregation achieved to keep the church strong,
Baljian mentioned its meager beginning over 50 years ago.

"They had a very small church facility, but a very vibrant and active
parish," he said. "Even when the older generation passed on, the second
generation, and now the third generation, have taken over the reigns
of the church, carried on a lot of the traditions and a lot of the
everyday work that goes into making this parish a success. They were
able 30 years ago to purchase this land, build a cultural hall to make
that a sustainable source of income, and 12 years ago, they were able
to build this church facility. It’s a testament to their strength."

The current St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church, located at 1014
West Pontoon Road in Granite City, replaced the former church
on Maple Ave. in 1997. The church uses the St. Gregory Armenian
Community Center, located south of the current church, as a function
hall. Various community groups and organizations rent it for meetings
and functions. In addition, it’s also used for reunions, political
functions, parties and wedding receptions. Twice a week, on Wednesday
and Thursday, the church sponsors bingo, which Baljian said receives
a great deal of support for the community.

Not willing to dwell on past accomplishments, the new priest feels the
church has the potential to continue to make an impact, even though
the ethnic flavored congregation swims against the tide of the now
large and popular mega-churches.

"I see a lot of potential in this community," he said. "It’s not the
type of potential spread out amongst myriads of people. It’s not
that kind of church. It never has been, and more likely than not,
it never will be. But that’s OK because you don’t have a diffusion of
responsibility. When you have a mega congregation with 15,000 people,
90 percent of the people feel like a number and the other 10 percent
feel like they’re doing everything or doing too much. Here there is a
nice balance of responsibility. They really step up and work hard. The
biggest amount of potential, and one of the biggest challenges the
church faces, is handing down that sense of responsibility to the
next generation."

When asked what the Armenian faith offers to those not familiar with
its tradition, Baljian talked of the church’s ancient roots.

"We go way back, right up there with the Roman Catholic Church and the
Byzantine Orthodox Church," he said. "We’re just as old and just as
valuable a tradition. Our liturgy is very inspiring, very beautiful,
it’s mostly chanted. We have a rich tradition, but we don’t go too
overboard. Our tradition doesn’t go out of Rome or Constantinople,
the imperial cities with the patriach or the emperor and all of the
pomp and circumstance. We were a much more quiet and more monastically
run society. Out of that, sprang a very balanced church. A balance
of beauty and inspiration but with a sober asceticism to it."

Baljian said younger people are growing up in a society "which is
increasingly more secular." He also said the importance of "faith,
church and community life is eroding away."

"I’m not talking about just religious community, but community life
in general," he said. "I think that will be the biggest challenge is
getting across the importance of why we are here, what we’re doing
and why we continue to do it."

Baljian, 29, hopes his age will help him reach young people.

"I don’t think I’m your average 20-something person. I’ve been
through a different experience than your average American kid has,"
he said. "I try to encourage them as much as I can. I think they
appreciate it when they realize I’m not too far ahead and I’m kind
of the same age. I look at it this way, people have a lot to learn
from me, and I have just as much to learn from them."

Being a priest runs in the family, as Baljian’s father, Antranig
Baljian, also served as an Armenian Apostolic Church Priest. He spent
a portions of his childhood and youth adult life in Springfield,
Mass., and Boston, Mass. Baljian graduated from the University of
Massachusetts in Amherst in 2001 with a music degree in theory and
composition. The priest doesn’t see much which separates his musical
and religious interests.

"Music was a great love for me, and it still is," he said. "Growing
up in the church, in the choir and serving the liturgy, music for
me, a big part of that had to do with church. It wasn’t like I was
rocking out on my guitar or anything, that was where my love of music
really flourished. My whole family is musical: my sister, my mother
and father, we all love to sing and dance. As my faith grew, I began
to examine where I was called to serve in the church, and before I
knew it, I realized I was a protege of my father. I knew so much of
what he knew, and I really had that same inclination to do what he
did. I realized I could be in the ministry and pursue my active love
of music as well."

Classical music fans will become acquainted with Baljian’s musical
talents shortly, as he’ll join the St. Louis Symphony Chorus this
fall. In the past, he’s performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,
the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Newton Choral Society.

Baljian attended the Theological Seminary of the Great House of
Cilicia, Antelias in Beirut, Lebanon, for two years, leaving in
2003. He graduated from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in
Crestwood, NY., in 2006 with a Master’s Degree in divinity. Baljian
then served as his father’s assistant at a church in Watertown,
Mass. When asked about becoming educated in the ways of the priesthood
through his father, Stephan said the influence of his father’s ministry
runs strong, but that he also wants to carve out a style of his own.

"Like any good son, you take a good look at your dad and you say
‘I’m going to do things different,’" Stephan said. "And then there
are certain things, when you look at dad, and you look at his strong
points, you say ‘I’d like to be just like him.’"

Baljian said both he and his wife Alice are looking forward to spending
time in Granite City.