TRADITION AND FAITH—At left, Deacon Razmig Krumian uses incense during a Sunday service for the Armenian Apostolic Church of Ventura County on Oct. 8 at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Thousand Oaks. Above, The Rev. Arshag Khatchadourian gets the altar table ready. In addition to Sunday services, the church offers Armenian language classes and cultural education.
For the past decade, local Armenians have gathered to worship in the Conejo Valley. The Armenian Apostolic Church of Ventura County holds services on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Thousand Oaks.
In addition to Sunday services, the church offers Armenian language classes and cultural education.
After 10 years at St. Patrick’s, the congregation is looking to build their own place of worship. To help raise funds toward that goal, the church is hosting a 10th anniversary celebration Sun., Oct. 22 at North Ranch Country Club. The gala, sponsored by the church’s Ladies’ Society, will feature a live band, dinner and a silent auction.
The Rev. Arshag Khachadoorian said the church is on a mission to keep Armenian culture alive after the Turkish genocide in the early 20th century left 1.5 million Armenians dead and millions more scattered across the globe as political refugees.
“ Many times the enemy thought by eliminating the nation, they would eliminate the church. They were wrong,” he said. “We don’t raise our children with hatred, but we educate them to remember what happened to pass it on to future generations.”
Nora Sahagian, the co-chair of the Ladies’ Society, said it doesn’t matter where or when one prays to God. For her, praying alongside other Armenians has special significance.
“After the genocide, our families were evacuated from their homes and they resettled in foreign countries,” she said. “Armenians have a desire to be together.”
Sahagian said the congregation includes 350 families from West Hills to Santa Barbara.
“There are more Armenian families, but we are still looking to find them,” she said.
Without the church in Thousand Oaks, Sahagian said, area Armenians would have to travel to the San Fernando Valley or Glendale, where there is a large Armenian population, to attend services.
“It’s nice to get together and visit with each other,” she said. “It forms a home for us.”
Arlene Saryan Alexander is vice chair of the Ladies’ Society. She credited the church with helping her two sons grow deeper roots in their culture.
“Thanks to the church, my two boys grew up exposed to their Armenian religious traditions, culture, language and heritage,” she said. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to raise them in an Armenian church community close to home.”
For Khachadoorian, it is only the beginning for the decades old congregation.
“We are very proud of our younger generation and the older generation who keep the fire, the cultural fire, going,” he said.
Tickets to the anniversary celebration, which will take place at 5 p.m. Sun., Oct. 22 at North Ranch Country Club are available for a $75 donation for children under 14 and a $100 donation for all others. For reservations or information, email Saryan Alexander at .