PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
August 14, 2009
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JACK ANTREASSIAN REMEMBERED IN A MEMORIAL SERVICE AT NEW YORK’S ST. VARTAN
CATHEDRAL
A large crowd of family, friends, and admirers of the late Jack Antreassian
gathered at New York’s St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on the afternoon of
Sunday, July 26, 2009, for a memorial tribute to the man who, in important
respects, defined the critical, formative years of the cathedral and
Diocesan Center.
As executive director of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America from 1968 to 1975, Mr. Antreassian worked with then-Primate
Archbishop Torkom Manoogian to realize an ambitious vision of the St. Vartan
Cathedral Complex-a vision which remains influential more than three decades
later.
For the July 26 memorial service, Mr. Antreassian-who passed away on July 4
of this year-was remembered as a writer, editor, and leader of such major
Armenian institutions as the Eastern Diocese and the AGBU.
Readings were done by his daughter, Elise Antreassian Bayizian, his
grandchildren Kohar and Vahan Bayizian, and nieces and nephews Ashod
Antreassian, Haigoohi Cefalu, Tony Moscato, and Susan DeLeo.
Also reading from Jack Antreassian’s writings were Michael Zeytoonian, Ed
Setrakian, and Nishan Parlakian. Musical selections were performed by Sahan
Arzruni and Julie Hoplamazian. Florence Avakian played the cathedral organ.
Presiding over the occasion was the Diocesan Primate, Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian. What follows is the text of the message delivered by Archbishop
Barsamian during the July 26 memorial service.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN.
The news of Jack Antreassian’s passing was a deeply sorrowful occasion-not
only for his family, but for the entire Armenian-American community. I am
grateful that we have gathered today-in this great cathedral that Jack
loved, and which will always be closely associated with him-to say a proper
goodbye, as a community, to this great and influential figure.
What can one say of a man who was the architect of so much that we hold
dear-so much of what we identify with, as Armenians in America?
It was not simply the case that he led our greatest institutions, most
notably the Diocese and the AGBU. Jack Antreassian actually set the pattern
by which they would be led, and set the standard for all subsequent
executives.
It was not simply the case that he enriched and built on the Armenian
inheritance. Jack Antreassian actually created whole forms of literature-and
our young writers of today are merely re-fashioning the forms Jack
Antreassian gave us. He was a man of many parts: Intellectual, publisher,
executive, impresario. Above all, I would say-as perhaps he, too, would have
insisted-a "man of letters." That describes his aspiration, and the range of
talents he brought to bear in pursuing it. It is common enough to call such
a person a "Renaissance man." Many people would fit that description, and
Jack was certainly among them. But there is a deeper truth to that phrase,
which Jack was virtually alone in embodying: the ideal of marrying different
kinds of human activities in a single individual: the life of contemplation
with the life of action; the habit of artistic detachment with the vocation
of passionate commitment. That was the deeper dream of the Renaissance. And
as I say, in our community, Jack Antreassian was without peer in fulfilling
it.
In 1968, at the request of Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, then the Primate of
our Diocese, Jack took the helm of the Diocesan Center. Starting on the eve
of the cathedral’s consecration, and continuing to 1975, Jack executed an
ambitious vision of this complex as a hub of constant activity. As the
center’s first executive director, Jack was a pioneer, and his tenure is
still regarded as a "golden age" of creativity and public service. The same
was true, it should be said, of Jack’s time as director of the AGBU.
The Diocese turned to Jack again in the days following the 1988 earthquake
in Armenia, when Archbishop Torkom asked him to oversee the Diocese’s relief
efforts. That effort was the core of what would eventually evolve into the
Fund for Armenian Relief.
I know that to his family, all of these distinctions seem beside the point,
at this moment. Jack was a husband, a father, a friend. Each of those roles
is deeply personal, and the way Jack joined his soul with those around him
was especially intimate.
I think of his sweet marriage to Alice, and his tender ministry to her these
past, difficult years.
I think of the heroic regard in which he held his parents, Vahan and
Satenig; his brothers Ardashes, Ashod and Antranig; and his sisters Anne and
Varsenig.
I think of the love and pride he felt for his children, Michael and
Elise-and his noble desire to regard them as peers, when they blossomed as
accomplished individuals in their own right.
I think of the way Jack celebrated the advent of his grandchildren, by
writing a book expressing his innermost thoughts to them.
To hereafter be separated from such a powerful, personal force is supremely
painful-like losing a part of one’s own self.
At the same time, one can understand that living in the orbit of such a man
demands certain sacrifices from his family members-no matter how dearly he
loves them and wishes to benefit them.
And yet I can only observe that the Antreassian family has always been a
model of love, mutual support, and quiet pride. That spirit has enfolded all
the generations, from parent to child. In their own ways-perhaps in ways
they do not yet realize-each member of the family has contributed to the
great project that Jack pursued all his life.
This fact is, perhaps, the most beautiful testimony to the goodness of his
life’s work.
For decades, his dear wife, Alice, was another constant force here at the
Diocese. She could always be found here, and even donated all the proceeds
of her famous book on Armenian cuisine to this center.
And of course, for more than thirty years now, Jack and Alice’s daughter,
Elise, has been a true leader on the Diocesan staff. Under her creative
inspiration, our Christian education programs have flourished, and thousands
of young Armenians have been brought closer to their heritage of faith.
As happens in the case of all truly great men, the news of Jack’s passing
brought a sensation of physical weight-as if the burdens of the world would
be that much heavier for the rest of us, now that he is gone. What we have
witnessed now is the passing of a great spirit, whose living presence
comforted and even magnified us.
Now he has gone to our Lord’s kingdom, and the magnitude of our task, as the
living, is gradually coming into focus. We cannot do better than to try to
live up to Jack’s ambition, embodied in an institution like St. Vartan
Cathedral: To portray the world in the fullness of its truth, and to shape
it under the aspect of love.
To his loved ones-to his surviving sister Varsenig; to his daughter Elise
and her husband Papken, and their children Kohar, Aris, and Vahan; to Jack’s
son Michael and his wife Brenda, and their son Adam; and especially to
Alice, who has lived these years under her own trials-I convey my deepest
sympathies and prayers. May God be with you, now and always. And may our
Almighty Creator keep Jack Antreassian in His holy presence, until we are
all re-united in God’s eternal Kingdom. Amen.
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