PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: publicrelations@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

October 2, 2009

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ORLANDO , FL MISSION PARISH COMMUNITY BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CHURCH

At Groundbreaking Celebration, Primate Announces Generous Gift of the
Toufayan Family

Undeterred by humidity and rain, members of the Orlando, Fla., parish
gathered last Sunday to witness the groundbreaking and cornerstone-blessing
ceremony for the community’s soon-to-be built Armenian church.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), visited the parish to preside over the groundbreaking
ceremony and to bless the four cornerstones of the new church building.

At a banquet following the ceremony, the Primate announced that Mr. and Mrs.
Harry and Suzanne Toufayan and family had generously pledged $750,000 for
the church, which will be named St. Haroutiun Armenian Church in honor of
Harry Toufayan’s father.

Mr. Toufayan, the owner of Toufayan Bakery, is a well known benefactor of
the Eastern Diocese and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. He will be the
godfather of St. Haroutiun Armenian Church when it is consecrated next
spring.

Assisting the Primate in the September 27 groundbreaking were the Very Rev.
Fr. Nareg Berberian, pastor of St. David Armenian Church of Boca Raton,
Fla.; the Rev. Fr. Hovnan Demerjian, pastor of St. Hagop Armenian Church of
St. Petersburg, Fla.; and the altar servers and choir members of the St.
David and St. Hagop churches. Fr. Berberian has been visiting the Orlando
parish to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, in the absence of a permanent pastor
for the community.

"This is a great occasion, and the fruit of long effort," Archbishop
Barsamian said. "I am pleased to see the community coming together over this
task."

The Primate anointed each of the four cornerstones of the new church with
Holy Muron.

Some 120 parishioners then gathered at the Villas of Grand Cypress banquet
hall where the Primate announced that the Toufayan family of New Jersey had
pledged their generous donation to the church. The announcement was welcomed
by a standing ovation.

"Everybody was elated," said long-time parishioner and parish council
treasurer Lucine Mardirosian-Harvey.

During the banquet, Dr. Sam Mikaelian, coordinator of development at the
Diocese, spoke about the importance of giving and community life. A
"wish-list" with items needed for the interior of the church was
distributed, and a group of parishioners donated funds for a processional
cross in honor of Mrs. Mardirosian-Harvey.

"Although they are small in number, miraculously this community is now
building a church that the coming generations will cherish," said Fr.
Berberian.

The parish already has an ACYOA group, with plans to form other
organizations in the future.

Last Sunday’s celebration was the culmination of years of effort for members
of the Armenian community of Orlando.

Shortly after its establishment as a mission parish on May 7, 1985, by
then-Primate Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the community began considering
the construction of a church building.

Initial plans also called for an adjoining retirement center but in the
ensuing years the young parish found it difficult to realize that vision,
and efforts focused instead on erecting a new church.

A five-acre plot was purchased in 1993, and a smaller purchase followed
three years later. As property values rose, the parish council decided to
sell both parcels and purchase a third section of land on which to build the
new church. The sale, completed in 2005, helped the community raise money
for construction costs.

Last spring, the Orlando parish received the final permit needed to proceed
with the project. Coincidentally, the permit was issued on April 24: the
94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Construction began in August,
with plans to open and consecrate the new church on April 11, 2010.

"It’s been a difficult journey," said parish council member Richard
Bargamian. "But I am very happy to be a part of it."

Parishioners also note the contributions of Lucine Mardirosian-Harvey, who
has been involved with the project since its earliest days, attending
countless planning and zoning board meetings and helping gather support for
the undertaking.

"This church is really God’s miracle," she said. "No one person could have
accomplished something like this if it wasn’t God’s will."

Designed by the late Ramon H. Hovsepian of Worcester, Massachusetts, the new
church will feature a copper dome and elements of traditional Armenian
Church architecture. With the mortgage paid, the community will now focus on
furnishing the church.

Until St. Haroutiun Church is consecrated next spring, the community will
continue to celebrate the Divine Liturgy at a local Methodist church, which
the mission parish has been renting in the absence of a permanent place of
worship.

"It’s been a lot of work," said parish council chair Aram Nazarian. "A lot
of prayers have been answered. The community is very excited that we’re
going to have our own church in Orlando."

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Photos attached.

Photo 1: The Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian, pastor of St. David Armenian
Church of Boca Raton, Fla., with altar servers at the groundbreaking
ceremony of the soon-to-be built Armenian church in Orlando, Fla.

Photo 2: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), presides over the groundbreaking ceremony of
St. Haroutiun Armenian Church in Orlando, Fla. Assisting the Primate are the
Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian, pastor of St. David Armenian Church of Boca
Raton, Fla., and the Rev. Fr. Hovnan Demerjian, pastor of St. Hagop Armenian
Church of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Photos 3 and 4: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), anoints a cornerstone of the new
Orlando, Fla. church with Holy Muron.