Making history
Litchfield Park family instrumental in establishing Armenian church
WestValleyView.com (Avondale, Arizona)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
By Beth Kristin Ott, Assistant Editor
Donna Sirounian wants to be certain her children understand their
heritage.
In doing so, she has helped create a religious and cultural gathering
place for Armenian families across the state.
Her dream will come to fruition Sept. 20, when the St. Apkar Armenian
Apostolic Church is consecrated. Armenians from across state have been
holding services in a hall for years and started fundraising for a
church in 2003.
"We’re on the road to making this dream a reality," she said. "For me,
it’s incredible. There’s such a difference between rolling out an
altar and setting up chairs and actually walking into a sanctuary."
A few Armenian families began meeting in Scottsdale in the 1950s. Now,
approximately 2,000 Armenian families are in Arizona, Sirounian said.
She and her husband, Greg, and their two children, 4 and 6 years old,
trek to the East Valley from Litchfield Park for services each
Sunday. Others travel from as far as Tucson and Sedona.
"I want our kids to grow up in an Armenian church here," she
said. "They are why I worked so hard."
She has planned, raised money and started teaching Sunday school for
the church.
The Sirounian children take Armenian lessons to learn the language. It
has its own complex alphabet.
Steeped in history
Armenia became a Christian nation in A.D. 301. For more than 1,700
years, the Armenian Apostolic Church has been the center of Armenian
life.
"Religiously speaking, you’ll find a lot of the same beliefs as the
Catholic, Episcopal and other churches," Sirounian said. "We are
Christian."
Services are about two hours long, always spoken in Armenian and the
church has its own pope. Women do not serve as clergy.
"It’s a very traditional church," she said.
Armenia has a troubled history. Armenians were victims of genocide at
the hands of the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1919. It is estimated tha
ad very few members of their family survive the genocide, they
said. Then Armenia was part of the Soviet Union for some years and the
religion was suppressed, they said.
"There’s been a bit of a rebirth now. The Soviet Union had a negative
influence on the church for many years," Greg Sirounian said.
The church has held the people together. It has maintained the culture
and language for people who migrated around the world.
"There are Armenian communities in most countries in the world," he
said. "The one thing that remains constant from place to place is the
church."
The appearance, service and language is always traditional. The church
is a place for Armenian families to celebrate their heritage.
The church is at 8849 E. Cholla St. in Scottsdale. A dance will be
celebrated at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 with authentic Armenian food and
music. The consecration ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 20. A lunch
will be served following service that day. Call 480-545-9089 for
information or to make reservations for the special events.
Donna and Greg Sirounian’s grandparents each helped found Armenian
churches in America when they immigrated. So, it was a natural step
for the Litchfield Park couple to take in Arizona, they said.
"It’s very exciting," Sirounian said. "There are a number of West
Valley families who will make the drive."
PHOTO CAPTION: INSTRUMENTAL IN BUILDING the Valley’s first Armenian
church are Greg and his wife, Donna Sirounian, pictured with their
children, Stephen, 6, and Isabell, 4, of Litchfield Park.
Beth Kristin Ott can be reached by e-mail at bott@westvalleyview.com.
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