PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
November 25, 2009
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PRIMATE ORDAINS DEACON AT ST. PETER CHURCH OF WATERVLIET, NY
Community Marks Parish’s 110th Anniversary, 95th Anniversary of Women’s
Guild
Growing up at St. Peter Armenian Church in Watervliet, N.Y., Yervant
Kutchukian learned important lessons about service – lessons he would take
with him to Washington, D.C., New Rochelle, N.Y., and Oxford, England.
After spending years away from his home parish, Kutchukian returned to the
St. Peter Church, where last month he was ordained to the diaconate by
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern). The October 18 ordination coincided with the
celebration of the 110th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, and the
95th anniversary of its Women’s Guild.
"One of the oldest parishes in our Diocese, St. Peter Church is very active
and deeply involved in the life of the Albany area community," Archbishop
Barsamian said. "The passage of more than 100 years has not slowed the
parish’s activity – it has only made it more lively."
Serves with humility and love
A native of New York State’s Capital District, Kutchukian attended Armenian
School at St. Peter Church as a boy. In college, he studied International
Relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he also
attended the city’s St. Mary Armenian Church.
Kutchukian was baptized at St. Mary Church in 2001, and the following year,
he began graduate work at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle,
N.Y., where he studied Armenian language in the context of faith. By the
time he received his master’s degree in 2005, Kutchukian had earned the
ranks of acolyte and sub-deacon.
He followed his passion for languages to Oxford, England, where he spent a
year studying Syriac. Upon his return to the U.S., Kutchukian settled again
in the Albany area, where he is now in his second year of Clinical Pastoral
Education residency at Albany Medical Center. He spends the workweek
ministering to patients in the psychiatric and prison wards. On Sundays, he
serves on the altar at St. Peter Church.
"He always serves with humility and love, and has given back to the church
community a hundredfold," said the Rev. Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian, director
of Youth and Vocations at St. Nersess Seminary, and the former pastor of St.
Peter Church, who attended Kutchukian’s ordination last month.
Reflecting on the ordination, Kutchukian said he was stirred at the point in
the service when the bishop asks the congregation if the candidate is worthy
of the rank to be bestowed on him. "That was a really moving moment,"
Kutchukian said, "and also a moment of recognition of people’s expectations
and people’s trust in me, and in the ways I can contribute to the church."
He said he was encouraged by the faces of family and friends attending the
day’s events, and by the many letters of support he had received in the
mail. At the banquet following services, Kutchukian spoke about the
inspiration he drew from the warm community at St. Peter Church.
"The vocation of the diaconate is a vocation of service," he said. "Some of
my best examples of service were in that room." From Armenian School
teachers to parish council and Women’s Guild members, Kutchukian said,
"everyone in that parish has a role to play in building up the church."
Backbone of the community
The October 18 service and banquet were part of this fall’s celebration of
the 110th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, and the 95th
anniversary of its Women’s Guild.
At the banquet, Armenian School students performed songs and recited a poem.
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian spoke about the accomplishments of the upstate
New York parish. He thanked Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian and the Rev Fr. Garen
Gdanian, pastor emeritus of St. Peter Church, for their contributions.
Fr. Gdanian, who served as pastor of St. Peter Church from 1970 until his
retirement in 1989, was honored at the church last spring on the occasion of
the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. During the October
18 banquet, parish council chair Richard Hartunian presented the beloved
priest with a framed print of Christ on the cross, again expressing the
parish’s gratitude for Fr. Gdanian’s dedication and guidance.
On Saturday, October 24, the St. Peter Church community continued its
celebration with a dinner-dance. The following Sunday included a requiem
service for deceased benefactors of the church.
Established as a parish on January 2, 1899, St. Peter Church purchased its
first building in Green Island, N.Y., in 1913. The new house of worship was
consecrated on July 30, 1916, and served the community for two decades,
until the relocation of the church to Troy, N.Y., in the spring of 1928.
The present sanctuary in Watervliet was built in 1970, and consecrated on
September 19, 1971. Last fall the parish completed an expansion project,
which saw the addition of office and storage space, as well as the
installation of an elevator.
"St. Peter Armenian Church offers hope, love, faith, and community to all
Armenians in the Capital District, and to those who continue to move to the
area," Fr. Doudoukjian said.
The parish Women’s Guild was established on May 4, 1914. Today the
organization has 50 members, who organize the parish’s annual Christmas
party, Mother’s Day lunch, and Holy Thursday Communion breakfast. The
Women’s Guild also prepares memorial meals traditionally served after
requiem services, runs the bakery at the church’s yearly festival in June,
and assists with other activities.
"They’re an extremely important component of our parish," Hartunian said.
"Without them, I don’t know where we’d be."
Women’s Guild members were recognized for their contributions throughout
last month’s anniversary events. Even then, Hartunian said, they were busy
making sure that the programs ran smoothly.
"The women are the backbone of the community, as in many of our parishes,"
Fr. Doudoukjian said. "The women of St. Peter Church have endless energy,
endless love for their church, and endless love for each other."
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Photos attached.
Photo 1: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), ordains Yervant Kutchukian to the diaconate at
St. Peter Armenian Church in Watervliet, N.Y.
Photo 2: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Rev. Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian, the
Rev.Fr. Garen Gdanian, Yervant Kutchukian, altar servers at St. Peter
Church, and St. Nersess seminarians pose for a group photo following
services on October 18.
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