Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.armenianchurch.us
May 11, 2023
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ATTENTION EDITOR: Two photos attached with captions below. Additional photos can be downloaded here:
https://easterndiocese.smugmug.com/EasternDiocese/Diocesan-Assembly-Gala-Banquet-Dallas-TX-May-5-2023/
HEADLINE:
The 2023 Diocesan Assembly Awards Banquet, like the other events throughout the weekend, combined a warm “family reunion” feel with a forward-looking optimism for the future.
Gathering in the magnificent “Hall of Lights” of St. Sarkis Church of Dallas, TX, the banquet provided an elegant stage on which to honor church leaders for their contributions to the life of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.
Following a prayer service in the church sanctuary, and a social hour on its expansive outdoor pavilion, guests took their places in the beautifully appointed hall, whose West-facing glass wall framed a beautiful Texas sunset.
Diocesan Legate Archbishop Vicken Aykazian delivered the invocation. Warm words of welcome and encouragement were offered by master of ceremonies Jeff Andonian, parish council chair Arlen Haruthunian, and host parish executive committee co-chairs Sylva Dayian and Daron Bolat.
Among the artists performing for the evening were vocalists Sona Tashjian, Sarkis Altunian, and Lucy Grimes; pianists Hasmik Virabyan and Satenik Muradyan Raphael; and saxophonist Holy Lee.
Diocesan Council chair Fr. Krikor Sabounjian introduced the evening’s honorees, before Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan presented each award and invited the award winners to offer remarks.
“One has very few opportunities to work on a project like this,” said architect David Hotson as he received the “Friend of the Armenians” award. As the designer of Dallas’ St. Sarkis Church, he said that “the building has a deep respect for the remarkable history of the Armenian people—which is something Americans need to know about.”
In the year since the consecration, he said, “The church does seem to be raising awareness and recognition of Armenia, its story, and its tenacious people. Also, it is raising awareness of Armenia’s imperiled history, that is still going on.” He expressed sorrow that the church’s façade, which dramatically commemorates the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, “was being installed at the exact moment that the Genocide was being resumed in Artsakh.”
“If this building could contribute to bringing greater world attention to these things, I would be immensely gratified,” he concluded.
Elie Akilian, speaking on behalf of his wife Ela as the couple received the “Armenian Church Members of the Year” award, spoke passionately about the origins of the new Dallas edifice. “When we embarked on the project,” he recalled, “we wanted to create a place where people could come to pray, and children could come to play. A place where people could come together.”
“This church with its extensive campus of facilities embodies these goals,” he said.
Mr. Akilian credited the parish community for showing the will to move forward by undertaking the initial fundraising for the project. “It showed their commitment to building the new church,” he said, as he acknowledged a number of individuals who had supported the effort throughout the process.
With the new St. Sarkis Church now a vital and visible part of the Diocese and its surrounding city of Dallas, Elie Akilian said, “We want this place to be a model for the future—a model for what can be, for Armenian churches throughout the world.”
Parish pastor Fr. Ghevond Ajamian affirmed that the church had become a model in other ways, as well. “Since winning the World-Architects Best Building Award, St. Sarkis has become a place of pilgrimage for architects from around the world,” he said. “They visit to study the structure; but they leave studying the Armenian story.”
Fr. Ajamian applauded the honorees whose “collaboration has made this Armenian story known to greater numbers of people: people of influence in the larger world.”
Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, presiding over the Assembly Banquet for the first time as Primate, concluded the program with reflections of his own.
He thanked Dallas pastor Fr. Ghevond and Yeretzgin Hasmik Ajamian; the host parish co-chairs Sylva Dayian and Daron Bolat, and the committee they led; parish council chair Arlen Haruthunian, and the people of the Dallas community. “The hospitality and warmth, the commitment and dedication all of you have shown this weekend, has been remarkable,” he said.
He also thanked the chairmen and officers of the Clergy Conference, the Diocesan Assembly, and the Women’s Guild Assembly, before addressing the evening’s honored guests.
“Armenians hold architecture very close to our hearts,” he said with reference to honoree David Hotson. “It’s an important part of our identity. Of course, for many of the architects of our monuments, their names are lost to history. But those that we do know are precious to us, and inspire pride in our hearts. And now David is part of that tradition. He has joined that very elite company…. And I want him to know that not just this Armenian Church, but everyArmenian church, is now his home.”
Directing his thoughts to the Akilians, the Primate said: “Elie and Ela are not merely dreamers of a vision: they are practical, detail-oriented, hands-on workers—who know the effort it takes to realize a vision in the community. Their generosity to our church has been very impressive: St. Sarkis is a magnificent _expression_ of that. But their philanthropy has extended in many directions, embracing our Diocese, our homeland, and individual children in Armenia.”
He added: “Above all, their efforts always speak to the heart of the church: with confidence, imagination, and sense of unified purpose…. And in these troubling days, when the elder monuments of our history are in danger, are threatened with destruction, building a new church—and cherishing our existing ones—is one of the most powerful statements we can make, as a people.”
Click here to view photos of the Diocesan Assembly Award Banquet.
* Meet the 2023 Diocesan Award Winners
Every year the Eastern Diocese bestows its “Friend of the Armenians” and “Armenian Church Member of the Year” awards to express gratitude to people who have profoundly benefitted the church; to deepen existing relationships with important figures in the community; and to strengthen the honorees in their continuing efforts.
The 2023 honorees are people of extraordinary creative vision and determination, motivated by a belief in something greater, and a responsibility to share the fruits of their accomplishment with others.
“Friend of the Armenians” David Hotson is a celebrated architect, whose work has been featured in every major publication and forum in the field, and has received international honor and recognition.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Colorado and Ontario, after receiving a Masters Degree in Architecture from Yale University, David established his own architectural firm in 1991, based in New York. His office has produced many award-winning projects, including one that received a “Design of the Decade” award from Interior Design Magazine.
David is also the architect of St. Sarkis Armenian Church of Dallas—also an award winner, thanks in part to the enthusiastic voting of Armenians around the world. In a field of 40 nominated structures, St. Sarkis received an amazing 64 percent of the votes cast, to become named as the “2022 U.S. Building of the Year” by the prestigious World-Architects forum.
But David Hotson’s involvement with Armenia goes back nearly 20 years, when he was tapped by the late philanthropist Gerald Cafesjian, of Minnesota, to work in Yerevan on the renovation of Tamanyan Park and the unforgettable Cascade, culminating in the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
Armenia is a land of architectural wonders; and its spirit clearly entered into David when he was engaged to work on the design of St. Sarkis Church and Community Center, working with patron Elie Akilian and fellow architect Stepan Terzyan. One can recognize in its design the harmonious lines of Armenia’s great St. Hripsime cathedral—a “family resemblance” that St. Sarkis shares with the Diocesan cathedral of St. Vartan.
Also like St. Vartan Cathedral, the Dallas church stands as a memorial to the Genocide, with 1.5 million unique engravings etched into the façade of St. Sarkis: a remarkable testimony to the Armenian martyrs who perished more than a century ago. The Dallas Morning News called the effect “the most emotionally moving work of architecture produced in North Texas in a generation.”
Creating an emotional impact was part of David Hotson’s intention in designing the church. And he has brought the same sense of moral responsibility to his advocacy for Genocide recognition and, more recently, for the plight of Armenia and Artsakh.
In naming David Hotson as the 2023 “Friend of the Armenians” the Eastern Diocese honors a man of great artistic vision and deep moral conviction.
* * *
“Armenian Church Members of the Year” Mr. and Mrs. Elie and Ela Akilian are a married couple beloved at St. Sarkis Church, and admired throughout the Diocese.
Their story is an international one. It began in Beirut, where Elie Akilian was born and raised. In 1975, while still a teenager, he moved to the United States, to study electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. After graduating he started his career in Dallas, working in the defense industry. But he had dreams of striking out on his own, and building his own business ventures.
On a trip to Poland, Elie met the person who would become his partner and inspiration in every undertaking of life: his wife, Ela. Eventually they were married in Warsaw, and the Akilians returned to Texas to start a family. The local Armenian church was in its earliest phase at the time, with Elie and Ela an active part of its life from the very beginning. Their children Natalie and Michael—now adults—grew up in the community, and Michael has the distinction of receiving the first baptism in the old sanctuary.
Elie’s career took a vital turn in 1989, when he became co-founder of Inet Technologies. As the computer age took off, the company attracted customers from around the globe, and after a decade Elie took the Inet public. He sold it in 2005, and started a new company producing video games, including the successful Wizard-101. Having sold that company in 2020, Elie now leads his third start-up, this time in the emerging field of virtual reality gaming.
Even as the Akilians’ success grew, they remained deeply committee to the Armenian community that had been their home, a source of strength, and the stage for many loving friendships. Elie and Ela had joined the parish when it was small, and they had seen it grow, and contributed to that growth. They dreamed of giving something to the community that would match its vitality, and inspire further expansion.
Their dream started to become a reality when Elie and Ela decided to become the main benefactors for a new church. They envisioned a distinctively Armenian structure, supported by a complete complex to serve the community’s needs. They sought out a brilliant architect who could give shape to this vision. They rallied the community, alongside pastor Fr. Ghevond Ajamian and other bold parish leaders. They made their personal generosity an example for others to emulate, and to give confidence to the Armenian community—not just in Dallas, but across the Diocese.
Elie has spent the last seven years intimately involved with the construction project—and not even a worldwide pandemic could divert him from seeing it to completion. The church was consecrated on April 24, 2022, in the name of St. Sarkis the Brave by the hands of two former Primates—Bishop Daniel Findikyan and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian—as well as Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian: all great friends of the Dallas community, with deep connections to its people.
As the Eastern Diocese’s 2023 “Armenian Church Members of the Year,” Elie and Ela Akilian embody not only the high aspirations of the Armenian-American community, but also its tender values of faith and family.
—5/11/23
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PHOTO CAPTION 1:
Diocesan Primate Fr Mesrop Parsamyan with Mr. and Mrs. Elie and Ela Akilian, of Dallas, TX, honored as the “Armenian Church Members of the Year” for 2023, at the Diocese Assembly Gala Banquet on May 5, at St. Sarkis Church in Dallas.
PHOTO CAPTION 2:
This year’s “Friend of the Armenians” honoree, award-winning architect David Hotson, with (left) Diocesan Council chair Fr. Krikor Sabounjian, and (right) Diocesan Primate Fr Mesrop Parsamyan, during the Diocese Assembly Gala Banquet on May 5, at St. Sarkis Church in Dallas, TX.
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