The Icons of Sts. Vartanantz Day

Two heroic-scale icon paintings dominated the sanctuary of New York’s St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, during its Sts. Vartanantz Day celebration on Thursday, February 27.

Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan presided over the occasion, which began with the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, pastor of Holy Martyrs Church of Bayside, NY.

Diocesan Vicar Fr, Simeon Odabashian and Cathedral Vicar Fr. Davit Karamyan also participated in the service, as did a large retinue of deacons from the region. Maestro Khoren Mekanejian conducted the St. Vartan Cathedral Choir, augmented by singers from area choirs, with Kris Kalfayan accompanying on the organ.

A unique feature of the service was the consecration of the two new icons, depicting the cathedral’s namesake St. Vartan, and his daughter St. Shushan. Both were generously donated by Adrienne Alexanian and the Edward and Grace Alexanian Fund. The Alexanian family has had a long and honored history of serving the Armenian Church and the Diocesan cathedral in particular.

After blessing the two icons, Bishop Mesrop shared his blessing with the faithful in attendance. While Vartan is the “patron saint” of the cathedral, and a well-known personage in Armenian spirituality, it is rare to have him figure as the subject of a holy icon—and rarer still to have his sainted daughter Shushan in that role.

The two new icons are the work of Armenian artist M. Hovanessian, and are painted in accordance with the religious stipulations that dictate how saintly subjects should be portrayed to make them suitable for veneration. Each icon measures over eight feet in height, and will henceforth adorn the narthex of the cathedral, flanking the entry portal on its southern wall, above the votive candle array. (Click here to learn more about the meaning of holy icons.)

Following the service, a dinner was hosted in the Diocesan Center’s Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium, sponsored by the Knights and Daughters of Vartan. The program featured guest speaker Dr. Khatchig Mouradian of Columbia University, who described the efforts of the Armenian people to survive and thrive at various points of history, and told how these embodied the fierce spirit of St. Vartan the Warrior.

The Eastern Diocese welcomed Ara Kasparian, Master of Ceremonies, to give the Call to Order while Remarks were provided by Dr. Edward Sanossian and Silva Sanossian.

Renowned pianist Karen Hakobyan and cellist Sergey Antonov provided a beautiful musical program for the occasion.

To view a gallery of photos from Vartanantz Day at St. Vartan Cathedral, by photographer Harout Barsoumian, click here.

New Icons Continue a Family Legacy

Even before the construction of St. Vartan Cathedral, Adrienne Alexanian’s family had always been involved with the Armenian Church and the Eastern Diocese. Her father Edward served as the chair of the Bronx Cathedral committee, and her mother Grace was the head of the Ladies Auxiliary.

Inspired by her parents, Adrienne continued the family tradition of being involved with the church. At the age of 13, she enrolled in the Holy Cross Church’s ACYOA Juniors program, where she studied the faith into her 20s.

It was around that time that Adrienne was officially invited to work as a volunteer for the Diocese.

Since then, the vast majority of her volunteer and benevolent work has been devoted to the betterment of the Eastern Diocese. Some examples include the iron guards protecting the memorial trees around the cathedral, planted in honor of the Genocide; donating more 400 Divine Liturgy Books to the cathedral; refurbishing the sidewalk; and most notably the Golden Armenian Alphabet display mounted above the grand staircase approaching Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium, installed in the 1980s in her late father’s memory.

Her most recent, and perhaps most significant, benefaction are the two new icons of St. Vartan and St. Shushan that will henceforth hang prominently in the cathedral sanctuary. Every year, the Edward and Grace Alexanian Trust Fund donates some of its interest to a Diocesan project, and last year Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan suggested the idea of donating two icons, one of the cathedral’s namesake St. Vartan, and the other of his daughter St. Shushan.

In a gesture that held great personal meaning for her, Adrienne allocated her parents’ fund to completely underwrite the costs of the painting of St. Vartan, while she personally undertook the costs of the St. Shushan icon. As her parents before her devoted their efforts to the church, now she does the same for the patron saint’s daughter.

Due to their beauty and their adherence to the rules of Christian iconography, Bishop Mesrop has designated the new paintings of Vartan and Shushan as the official religious images of the two saints, suitable for display and veneration in church sanctuaries.

“I learned by watching my parents that it was my responsibility and privilege to give back to my people,” reflected Adrienne Alexanian after the icon consecrations on February 27. “I’ve always felt that when I am honored for my contributions, it is my parents’ legacy that is being honored, for which I am profoundly grateful.”

She added: “Going forward, you can be sure that there will be more opportunities for my parents’ fund and myself to contribute to the needs of our Diocese.”

For an additional gallery of photos and videos from Vartanantz Day, click here.