November 7, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: info@westernprelacy.org <mailto:prelacy@aol.com>
Website: <;
PRELATE TO CELEBRATE DIVINE LITURGY ON THE 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE CRESCENTA
VALLEY PARISH
On Sunday, November 9th, the Armenian Apostolic Church of
Crescenta Valley will celebrate its 3rd anniversary. On this occasion, H.E.
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, will celebrate Divine Liturgy and
deliver the sermon. The Prelate will be assisted at the altar by parish
pastor Rev. Fr. Ardak Demirjian.
The service will begin at 1:00 p.m.
The annual banquet will take place on Friday, November 14th, at
8:30 p.m., at Brandview Collection in Glendale. The banquet is being held
under the auspices of the Prelate and is organized by the Pastor, Board of
Trustees, and Ladies Auxiliary.
NAME DAY CELEBRATION OF HOLY MARTYRS CHURCH
On Sunday, November 2nd, Holy Martyrs Church of Encino
celebrated its name day as well as its 45th anniversary with Divine Liturgy
celebrated by H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and the
blessing of madagh. The Prelate was assisted at the altar by Christian
Education Co-Director Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian and parish pastor Rev.
Fr. Razmig Khatchadourian.
The Prelate began his sermon by giving thanks and praise to
Almighty God for granting the opportunity to come together to celebrate the
name day of the church and the 45th anniversary of its establishment. The
Prelate’s sermon centered on the feast of All Saints’ Day, which was
celebrated the day before, in which he extolled the virtues of our saints,
reminding the congregation that our saints were regular human beings, just
like us, however they made our Lord Jesus Christ the central element of
their lives and lived faithfully, thus receiving the reward and glory of
being in the presence of God. He urged the faithful to learn from the
example of our saints by living as good, loving Christians so that we too
may one day be worthy of the heavenly Kingdom of our Lord.
In conclusion, and in honor of the 45th anniversary of the
parish, the Prelate praised the initiative of the founders who decades ago
had the vision and foresight to set the foundation for the establishment of
the church and the subsequent community. He congratulated the parish and
wished them prosperity in all their future undertakings.
Following his sermon, the Prelate bestowed upon acolytes
Toukhman Khatchadourian and Hovig Keushgerian the privilege of bearing a
stole in recognition and commendation for their devoted service to the
church.
At the conclusion of the services, the Prelate was led in a
procession to "Avedissian" Hall where he blessed the madagh and participated
in the cutting of the 45th anniversary cake along with the parish Pastor,
Board of Trustees Chairman, and Ladies Auxiliary Chairlady.
The celebration concluded with the Prelate’s benediction and the
collective singing of "Giligia".
4TH ANNUAL ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES
SUNDAY SCHOOL GATHERING
The 4th annual spiritual gathering of Oriental Orthodox Sunday
Schools took place on Saturday, November 1st, at St. Mary’s Church in
Glendale under the auspices of the Prelates of the Oriental Orthodox
Churches H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, H.E. Archbishop
Hovnan Derderian (Primate, Western Diocese), H.E. Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan
(Syriac Orthodox Church), and H.G. Bishop Serapion (Coptic Orthodox Church).
The day began with Divine Liturgy celebrated by Prelacy
Christian Education Department Co-Director Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian,
in which clergy and students from all the churches participated in their
respective languages. The welcoming sermon was offered by the Prelate who
commended the organizing of the annual gathering which brings together youth
from the Armenian, Coptic, and Syriac Churches to share in their common
faith and learn from one another. Given that the theme for the gathering
was "Christian Education: Home-Church Connection", the Prelate stressed the
individual roles of church leaders and parents in the educating of our youth
with our religious values.
Next, Bishop Serapion gave a sermon (Why We Are Sister Churches)
during which he stressed why cooperation and collaboration among the
churches is crucial. The final sermon was given by Archbishop Kaplan
(Christian Education: Building the Home-Church Connection) on the importance
of Christian Education in the lives of our youth.
After the offering of Holy Communion, on behalf of the
organizing committee Mrs. Patricia Allaf presented plaques to Archbishop
Mardirossian, Archbishop Kaplan, Bishop Serapion, and Very Rev. Fr. Dajad
Yardemian, who accepted the plaque on behalf of Archbishop Derderian, in
gratitude for their leadership and guidance.
Following the group photo and lunch, the students were placed
into workshop groups according to age. Each group later presented the
information they were taught to the rest of the participants.
The meeting concluded at 2:30 p.m. with the Lord’s Prayer and
the presenting of gifts.