Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan visited the Armenian Church of Cape Cod (MA) on Saturday, August 1, to celebrate badarak and ordain subdeacon Michael Kasparian to the diaconate.
The Primate was assisted throughout by the mission parish’s regular visiting pastor, Fr. Khachatur Kesablyan (of Sts. Vartanantz Church in Chelmsford, MA).
Clergy from Armenian and sister churches taking part in the ceremonies included Diocesan Vicar Fr. Simeon Odabashian, Fr. Krikor Sabounjian, Fr. Sevak Gabrielyan, Fr. Tadeos Barsheghyan, Fr. Ghazar Bedrossian, Rev. Deborah Warner, and Rev. Beth Grundy, Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, in Osterville, where the service was held.
The Cape Cod congregation, clergy, family, and friends gathered to witness the historic first-ever ordination of a deacon in the mission parish’s 46-year history. Fellow deacons from Chelmsford and Worcester, MA; Providence, RI; and Bayside and White Plains, NY, served at the altar, with the choir led by organist Paul Ketchoyian.
“It was a joyful day,” said Bishop Mesrop, “not only for Deacon Michael and his family, but for the entire Cape Cod mission community and our Eastern Diocese. His ordination is a beautiful sign that the light of Christ continues to shine, and that the ministry of our church continues to grow on Cape Cod. My heartfelt congratulations to Deacon Michael, his wife Daria, their daughters, and the entire family. May God strengthen him as he begins this sacred ministry of service.”
The Primate also presented a gift to Rev. Beth Grundy, to thank St. Peter’s Episcopal Church for allowing the Diocese’s Cape Cod mission parish to use its beautiful sanctuary for the past 40 years.
After the service, some 200 faithful gathered for a fellowship hour. A celebratory banquet was held later in the afternoon.