A spirit of gratitude and celebration filled the Diocesan Center on Saturday evening, March 21, as clergy, family, and friends gathered to honor the 60th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Fr. Arshen Ayvazian.
The evening, hosted under the auspices of Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, paid tribute to a lifetime of devoted ministry. In welcoming the assembled guests, Bishop Mesrop reflected on the significance of the occasion, noting that it was “a joyful and heartfelt evening, giving thanks for six decades of devoted service, faithful pastoral care, and spiritual leadership.” Over the years, he observed, Der Arshen’s ministry “has touched countless lives with wisdom, compassion, and deep love for our Armenian Church.”
The program opened with a welcome and a reading of Fr. Arshen’s biography by Diocesan Vicar Fr. Simeon Odabashian, who offered a portrait of a priestly vocation shaped by faith and perseverance. A highlight of the evening came as Fr. Kevork Arakelyan, visiting from the Western Diocese, shared personal memories of Fr. Arshen—who had served as Fr. Kevork’s sponsoring priest at his ordination and guided his 40-day retreat—speaking warmly of his mentor’s lasting influence.
Music added a moving dimension to the celebration, as Maestro Kris Kalfayan led the Gomidas Choir of the Diocese in a selection of hymns, including one of Der Arshen’s cherished favorites, “Nayats Sirov.”
The honoree himself then addressed the gathering at length, reflecting on the blessings of his priesthood and recounting moments from six decades of service. In his remarks, he offered special thanks for the steadfast support of his wife, Yeretzgin Sirarpi, and their children and grandchildren.
Concluding the program, Bishop Mesrop offered words of congratulations, expressing particular appreciation for Fr. Arshen’s abiding love for the liturgical life of the Armenian Church. He also extended thanks to the evening’s organizers and participants, whose efforts made the celebration possible.
“Thank you to all who were with us and helped make the evening so special,” the Primate said, summing up a gathering marked by warmth, reverence, and deep appreciation for a life faithfully lived in service to the church.
Click here to view photos by Harout Barsoumian. Scroll down to read more about Fr. Arshen’s ministry.
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Biography of Fr. Arshen Aivazian
Father Arshen Aivazian was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He attended the Apkarian Parochial Elementary School, and upon graduation in 1956 was admitted to the Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He was ordained a celibate priest on August 1, 1965, and received his degree of “Vartabed” in 1968. He served in various positions in the Brotherhood of St. James including Dean of the Basilica of the Tomb of the Holy Mother of God in Gethsemane and director of the St. James Printing Press. In 1969, while serving as Assistant Dean of the Seminary, he was sent to Turkey on a six-month mission to recruit students for the Seminary. Of the fifty plus students he recruited, many have embraced the call to priesthood and are now serving all over the world from the Middle East to Europe and South America. A few are serving in various hierarchical positions.
Fr. Arshen accompanied the late Patriarch of Constantinople, His Beatitude Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian as his staff bearer. At the conclusion of a four-month fundraising tour to Europe, South America, Canada and the United States, he started his graduate studies at St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, graduating in 1974 with a Master of Divinity degree.
After serving nine years as the Pastor of Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Cheltenham, PA, he was appointed Dean of St. Nersess Armenian Theological Seminary in 1982 where he served in that capacity for two years. In 1984 His Holiness, the late Catholicos Vasken I, granted his petition to be relieved of his vows of celibacy and continue his service as a married priest. In 1984 Fr. Arshen married Sirarpi Feredjian. Der Hayr and Yeretzgin have two children, Macrina and Timothy and two grandchildren Noah and Ani.
Father Arshen completed his doctoral course work in liturgical studies at Fordham University and in 1985 he was appointed Pastor of St. Leon Armenian Church of Fair Lawn, New Jersey. In 1992 he was appointed Pastor of St. Mary Armenian Church of Livingston, New Jersey and as an instructor in Liturgical Theology at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. In 2000 Fr. Arshen transferred to the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church and served at St. Paul Armenian Church in Fresno until his retirement in 2014.
Besides his pastoral responsibilities Fr. Arshen has pursued his academic interests by participating in various seminars and has published scholarly articles in academic journals. He contributes regularly to the ecclesiastical and Armenian press on historical and current issues. He has translated many special liturgies into English and Modern Armenian. He has published Echoes of Faith, in Armenian and English, a collection of homilies and spiritual literature by victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In 2021 he published the Lectionary of the Armenian Church, and in 2015 he published Introduction to the Canonical Tradition of the Armenian Church. His accomplishment of note is the translation into English and Modern Armenian of the complete text of the Divine Liturgy with the propers and variables for the entire liturgical year, a commentary of the history and theology of the Divine Liturgy, and much more. The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church is in the process of publication by the Eastern Diocese.
Upon his retirement in 2014 Fr. Arshen and Yeritsoohie Sirarpi returned to the East Coast and live in Fair Lawn, NJ. He serves as a visiting priest in the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church.