In this special video message, Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, announces a special milestone in the life of the Diocese.
July 2, 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the Diocese’s founding. On the same date in 1898, Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian—known to the ages as “Khrimian Hayrig”—issued the pontifical encyclical that officially established the very first Armenian Diocese in the New World.
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My Dear Friends in Christ:
Today marks a very special day in the history of our Diocese. It was 125 years ago that the Armenian Church established its “Diocese of America.” The great Khrimian Hayrig, Catholicos of All Armenians, proclaimed the creation of the Diocese in an encyclical—building a new community of faith, in a distant land.
He signed that document on July the Second, 1898: exactly 125 years ago.
No one knew it at the time, but it would prove to be one of the most significant actions in the history of our church.
The century and a quarter that followed would see the Armenian people confront the greatest of obstacles: the horror of Genocide; the tensions of the long Cold War; the heartbreaking struggles for freedom and independence in Artsakh.
But for our church in the New World, it was also a time of refuge. A time of growth. A time of hope.
Think of your own families: how they settled here, and built new lives. Think of the Armenian Churches built throughout the Western Hemisphere. Think of the grand achievement of building a spiritual home for all our people, in the heart of New York City: this beautiful St. Vartan Cathedral—where I am standing right now.
On this anniversary, we can look back on 125 years, and proclaim, in the words of the Bible: “The Lord has done great things for us—and we are filled with joy” [Psalm 126:3].
Indeed, with all our times of “great things,” let us never forget the mighty Hand responsible for guiding us, sustaining us, through it all: the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and God.
We depend on Him—and He has never let us down. He has never abandoned us. And He will always be leading us forward.
The Lord has truly done great things for us. And as the Bible says: “We are filled with joy.” But it is a joy that is not ours alone. Indeed, it is a joy that is meant to be shared; a joy that we cannot keep to ourselves—like the feeling you have when a child is born, and you want to shout your joy to the entire world!
That is the joy our Lord has given us. That is the joy we feel when we honor the accomplishments, struggles, and heroism of our ancestors. That is the joy we receive when we gather in our churches, before the Lord’s altar—together as a family of faith—to draw near to God.
My dear friends in Christ, today at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York, and in local parishes across our Diocese, we are launching our joyful 125th Anniversary celebration with a special badarak and prayer. Our celebration will continue throughout the coming months—with liturgical services, cultural events, and charitable outreach activities.
I extend my personal invitation to you and to all of our faithful people, to join us in grateful prayer and joyous celebration throughout the coming months.
For “the Lord has done great things for us—and we are filled with joy.”
God bless you, and may He strengthen our church, people, and nation, now and always. Amen.