25TH ORDINATION ANNIVERSARY OF FR. TATEOS ABDALIAN TO BE OBSERVED IN CAMBRIDGE, MASS., ON AUG. 23

newsid=1170&selmonth=8&selyear=2009
Tuesda y, August 4, 2009

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America

A special reception in Cambridge, Mass., will honor the Reverend
Fr. Tateos Abdalian on the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the
holy priesthood of the Armenian Church.

The reception and church services will take place on Sunday, August
23, 2009, at Cambridge’s Holy Trinity Armenian Church.

His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), will preside over the event,
which is going forward under the auspices of the Eastern Diocese.

Organizing the day is a committee from the Holy Trinity parish led
by its pastor, the Reverend Fr. Vasken Kouzouian. Also serving on
the committee are members of the St. James parish of Watertown-where
Fr. Abdalian was born and raised.

The day will begin the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, beginning
at 10:00 a.m. Fr. Tateos Abdalian will be the celebrant. Archbishop
Barsamian will deliver the homily.

Following church services, a celebratory reception will convene in the
parish’s Charles and Nevart Talanian Cultural Hall. The reception is
open to the public, and will be an opportunity for people in the Boston
area-where Fr. Abdalian was born and raised-to congratulate him on
his quarter-century of service to the Armenian Church. For information
on the Sunday, August 23 can contact the Holy Trinity Church at (617)
354-0632. The church is located at 145 Brattle Street, in Cambridge.

Fr. Tateos Abdalian

Fr. Tateos Abdalian was born in Watertown, Mass., the son of Manoog
and Virginia Abdalian, and baptized Richard Daniel. After working
in the banking sector and as administrative director of Watertown’s
St. James Armenian Church he entered St. Nersess Armenian Seminary
and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in 1977.

At the direction of then-Primate Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Richard
spent a year at the seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin, having first been
ordained a sub-deacon by Archbishop Manoogian under the sponsorship
of Fr. Papken Maksoudian. He continued theological studies towards
his Masters of Divinity at Boston’s Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary.

In 1981, and now a full deacon, he began work at Holy Trinity Church
in Cambridge, Mass., under the pastorship of Fr. Mampre Kouzouian,
as the parish youth director, Sunday School superintendent, and as
an assistant to the pastor. During this time, Dn. Richard was asked
by community members living on Cape Cod to conduct religious services
there, leading to the establishment of the Mission Church of Cape Cod.

He was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop Manoogian in June
1984 at Holy Trinity Church, on the Feast of Holy Etchmiadzin,
and given the priestly name of "Tateos." Serving as sponsor was
Fr. Mampre Kouzouian.

Fr. Tateos was assigned to the St. John the Baptist Church in
Greenfield, Wisc., in August 1984. Working with community members,
he oversaw the groundbreaking for a new sanctuary, leading to a
much-anticipated consecration in November 1986. Following the 1988
earthquake in Armenia, Fr. Tateos became the spokesman for the
Wisconsin Armenians, who worked with the state and National Guard
to coordinate cargo flights, the collection of tons of clothing,
and fundraising for earthquake relief.

In September 1989, Fr. Tateos was assigned to the St. Peter Church in
Watervliet, N.Y., and in 1993 he became the pastor of the St. George
Church in Hartford, Conn. While in Hartford he served as an on-call
chaplain at Hartford Hospital and as a member of its Pastoral Services
Advisory Committee.

In honor of his son David becoming a Los Angeles Police Officer,
Fr. Tateos began to serve as a police chaplain with the Hartford
Police Department.

Fr. Tateos also served terms as pastor of the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob
Church of Providence, R.I. (1999-2001) and of the Holy Trinity Church
of Cheltenham, Pa. (2003-2007). In the intervals he has served the
Diocesan Center in New York, in its youth ministry and mission parish
programs.

Since 2007, Fr. Tateos has been director of the Department
of Mission Parishes, by the appointment of Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian. Responsible for overseeing more than a dozen communities,
he has brought a new resurgence to the mission parishes, and new
opportunities for their material and spiritual growth.

Der Tateos has been married since 1969 to Yeretzgin Margaret Meranian
of Methuen, Mass. They have a son, David, a daughter, Alicia, and
two grandchildren.