PRELACY ANNOUNCES FUNERAL SERVICES FOR ARCHBISHOP SUMBAT LAPAJIAN
asbarez
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
LA CRESCENTA-The Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
announced that funeral services for the late Archbishop Sumbat
Lapajian, who passed away on July 17, will take place Monday, July
26 at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Montebello.
Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian will celebrate Divine
Liturgy at 10:30 a.m., and will conduct the Extreme Unction at 11 a.m.
By the authority of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilcia, and per the wishes of the late Archbishop, the burial will
take place in the courtyard of Holy Cross Cathedral.
The viewing will be held on Sunday, July 25, from 5 to 9 p.m., with
the wake service set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
An ad hoc memorial committee has been formed to oversee the details
and arrangements of the funeral. The committee is headed by the
Prelate and includes Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian, Very Rev. Muron
Aznikian, Rev. Ashod Kambourian, Khajag Dikijian, Levon Kirakosian,
and Dr. Hagop Dikranian.
In memory of the late Archbishop, the “Holy Cross Archbishop Sumbat
Lapajian Memorial Fund” will be established, proceeds of which will be
allocated to the new clergy preparation program of the Western Prelacy.
On the morning of July 17, one of the eldest members of the
Catholicosate Brotherhood and the first Western Prelate Archbishop
Sumbat Lapajian passed away at Ararat Home in Mission Hills. The
Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Western Prelacy mourn the loss of
Archbishop Lapajian, who leaves behind a legacy of over four decades
of devoted service within the Western prelacy.
Archbishop Lapajian was born in Beirut in 1927 with the baptismal
name Setrag. Having lost his parents at a very early age, he was
sent to the Danish “Birds’ Nest” orphanage under the directorship
of Maria Jacobson, who cared for him as a nurturing mother and for
whom he had deep admiration and respect. From early adulthood on,
Archbishop Lapajian’s life was one of service. He belonged to the
first generation of post-Genocide youth for whom orphanhood and
self-education were the way of life.
In 1941, he graduated from Junior High. During the Second World War,
at the age of 14, he was forced to work to earn a living. He worked
with the British Army in Lebanon for almost six years as a typist
and telephone operator, and at the same time devoted himself to
self-education.
In 1948, he was accepted into the Seminary of the Armenian
Catholicossate in Antelias by His Holiness Karekin I (Hovsepiantz). He
studied there until 1952, and in 1953 he served as a deacon in the
Armenian section of the Holy Sepulcher Cathedral in Jerusalem.
>>From 1954 to 1958, he held teaching posts in Armenian schools in
Jordan and Lebanon. In 1956, along with his teaching, he entered
Haigazian University as a full-time student and graduated from the
sophomore class in 1958.
Also in 1958, during the tenure of His Holiness Catholicos Zareh I,
he was ordained a celibate priest by Archbishop Ardak Manougian at St.
Gregory the Illuminator Mother Cathedral in Antelias, Lebanon on July
13, the Feast of Transfiguration.
Father Lapajian continued his studies in theology and philosophy
through a combined curriculum at Haigazian University and the Near
East School of Theology, and graduated from Haigazian in 1960 with
a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. In Antelias, Father Lapajian
resumed the duties as Dean of the Seminary, and became the Secretary
to the Catholicos.
In January 1961 he was appointed pastor of the Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church of Los Angeles, a position he held until the time of
his election as Prelate of the Western United States on June 2, 1973.
In March of 1961, he was ordained a Vartabed by Archbishop Hrant
Khatchadourian. His academic thesis was “The Spiritual Life in Armenia
During the First Five Centuries”, a thorough study of the religious
life of that era.
>>From mid-1961 to 1963, he also assumed the pastorate of Holy Martyrs
Church in Encino, during which time he played an important role in
the building of the new church.
In May of 1963, he participated in the election of Caltholicos Khoren
I as a representative from the United States.
During the academic year 1963-1964, he taught classical and modern
Armenian in the Department of Armenian studies at UCLA. He also
established a bilingual Radio Sermon Hour which aired on Sundays
from 1963 to 1968, and which was widely received by the Los Angeles
Armenian community.
In 1965, he blessed the groundbreaking of Armenian Mesrobian School
in Pico Rivera, and actively participated in the educational and
administrative progress of the school.
In 1965 he was ordained Supreme Vartabed by H.H. Catholicos Khoren I in
Antelias, and in 1966 he was appointed Assistant Prelate of California.
On June 2, 1973, the first Representatives Assembly of the Western
Prelacy elected him Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America.
On June 2, 1974, the Feast of Pentecost, he was ordained a bishop
by H.H. Catholicos Khoren I at St. Gregory the Illuminator Mother
Cathedral in Antelias, Lebanon.
During his tenure as Prelate of the Western States (June 1973 –
September 1977), St. Mary’s parish and day school were established
in Glendale (later the day school was named after its benefactors
Mr. & Mrs. Vahan & Anoush Chamlian), the parish in Orange County was
established (later named Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church),
and he consecrated the foundation of what became St. Garabed Church
in Hollywood. The building of the church was almost completed during
his tenure. Today, these three churches are flourishing parishes in
Southern California. Again, during this period, the Armenian community
of California generously contributed half a million dollars to help
the victims of Lebanon’s civil war.
On April 4, 1981, Catholicos Khoren I honored him with the title
of Archbishop.
>>From 1978-1985, he was the instructor of Religion and Ethics at
Mesrobian and Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian Schools, as well as Pastor
at Holy Cross and St. Garabed Churches.
>>From 1986-1990, he was the Chairman of the Religious Council of
the Western Prelacy.
In 1985, he assumed the duties of Dean at Holy Cross Cathedral in
Montebello, a position he held until 1994.
In January 1994, he officially retired from administrative duties but
continued his voluntary ministry, especially to the parish community
of Holy Cross Cathedral.
In recent years his health began to deteriorate, however he continued
to serve to the best of his ability. In 1998, the 40th anniversary
of his service within the Western Prelacy was celebrated, and the
commemorative book published on this occasion serves as a beautiful
reminder of his remarkable life of service.
From: A. Papazian