In Memoriam: Fr. Ghevont Samoorian, 78, a well-loved priest
Published: Sunday January 27, 2013
Fr. Ghevont Samoorian.
Father Ghevont Samoorian, a well-known and well-spoken priest of the
Armenian Church and member of the Brotherhood of Jerusalem, passed
away on January 20.
A man of extraordinary talents…a man of extraordinary intellect…a
man of extraordinary passions and understanding has left us to join
the growing procession of gifted minds that have been almost Messianic
in their ability to nourish and enlighten new generations.
Father Ghevont Samoorian, Billerica, Massachusetts, has left us
unwillingly, defeated by the most insidious of infections. And, he
leaves to us the seeds of a burning passion with which to seek out and
discover the deep mystery of our Armenian existence. To those whom he
mentored, he has left a monumental responsibility….that, of
intensifying the truths and realities which he communicated to us
through the living fire in his heart and the unquenchable love of all
things Armenian in his soul.
To those of us whom he touched deeply…to those of us who shared his
love and his passions….to those of us who learned how to bear the
burden of pain that has befallen our race…mourning is inadequate.
Mourning does not articulate the tragedy of his death sufficiently to
console the soul.
Because…Hayr Soorp was not simply a man, but a phenomenon that
procreated and enabled minds to transcend superficiality and reach
into the deepest abyss of human understanding. Hayr Soorp loved life.
Life was the precipice upon which he stood and played his
philosophical lyre to a world that understood…to a world that did
not understand…to a world that is yet to be born.
His pen articulated well, the genius of his talent and his mind. His
heart was his shield of strength. I grieve not for Father
Ghevont….but for myself.
Biography of Fr. Ghevont Dz. Vartabed Samoorian (1934-2013)
Born in historic Cambridge, MA, on April 17, 1934, to Melkon and Mary
Samoorian, V. Rev. Fr. Ghevont Samoorian was baptized Diran. He later
became known as Richard or “Dick”. He attended public school in
Arlington and graduated from Lexington High School not too far from
the battle of Lexington and Concord. Richard or Dick led an active
youth, participated in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Episcopalian Church
activities. He participated in sports, staring on the high school
football team [using leather helmets] and excelled at art, and music.
At Lexington High School, Dick was also known as a ladies man and was
one of the most popular kids in the school. He was also a member of
the Lexington DeMolay. Even though he grew up very much an American,
his Armenian ethos was breathed into his soul by his late grandmother
who sang Armenian hymns to him while he was lad. The most notable
being “Der Voghormia” or “Lord Have Mercy”. As a lad, he received
numerous art awards; won a scholarship in 1951 to study mural painting
in Verona, Italy; and attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts
where he was acclaimed as bright young artist. When he turned 16, an
awareness of his Armenian heritage emerged, and he began attending the
Holy Trinity and then the St. James Churches in Boston and Watertown,
MA. Because of his musical interests he joined the several choirs,
including the Komitas Chorale; and then became a charter member of the
newly formed ACYOA Juniors in Watertown.
Fr. Ghevont majored in history and government at Boston University.
>From 1954 to 1956 he served in the U.S. Army’s military intelligence
operation where he a special assistant to a two star general. He
traveled Europe and the Middle East during his time in the armed
forces. He received an honorable discharge in 1956. He returned to
Boston University after having served his nation, where he studied
marketing, advertising, and graphic arts. During these years at BU, he
lived in a basement apartment next to Landsdown Street near Fenway
Park.
While he resumed his studies, Richard also became further acquainted
with Armenian organizations again and he rejoined the ACYOA and the
AYF. Richard also started an Armenian band, dubbed the “Orientales”
where he was a featured singer and keyboard player. Armenians came
>From far abound to listen to Richard’s beautiful voice and hear him
even sing Turkish numbers. He was also known as a vibrant dancer and
as a hell raiser during these days. During these years, Richard was
known to have driven a car that affectionately became known as
Aghavni. People would also love to hear him sing in the choir at St.
James Church in Watertown where he and Gary Garbedian were the only
two tenors.
It was in the late 1950s that Richard began expressing an interest in
the priesthood of the Armenian Church. He began working with Fr.
Papken Maksoudian at Holy Trinity Church in Boston [later Cambridge]
and even did some writing, editing and design work for the Church. Fr.
Papken asked Richard to paint a painting for the side altars of the
newly consecrated church [1960] and to this day, the painting of Sts
Sahag and Mesrob hangs in the sanctuary. In 1961, because of his
passion for the Armenian race, Richard decided to become a priest. The
Knights of Vartan became his sponsor and he left for the Holy City of
Jerusalem in 1962 to begin his studies.
In 1962 Fr. Ghevont entered the Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem. Being a workaholic by nature with an insatiable desire
to learn, Richard quickly immersed himself in the liturgical splendor
of the Holy City and Sts. James Armenian Orthodox Monastery. The late
Patriarch Elishe quickly utilized his vast talents by commissioning
Richard to restore the priceless artwork of and treasures of the
monastery. He was also called upon to design the mosaic of the
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which hangs in the Tomb of the Holy
Selpuchre. It was here that Richard was discovered by the
world-renowned Armenian architect and artist Edouard Utujian and he
was asked by him to become a fellow at the highly acclaimed art school
at the Sorbornne in Paris, France. Because Richard was passionately in
love with the monastery and his desire to become a monastic of the
Armenian Church, he declined. Also, while in Jerusalem, Richard was
asked by the United States Government to become a member of the
Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. He declined and because he loved
the Armenian Monastery of Jerusalem with such passion, he continued
his studies at the monastery under the great Armenologist Archbishop
Norayr Bogharian and the Armenian teacher par excellence on Armenian
literature, Manual Keuseyan. It was under Manual’s tutelage that
Richard became a master of the Armenian language and idiom. Soon
thereafter in 1964, Richard was ordained a deacon by Patriarch Elishe
and now known as Diratsou Diran. He continued restoring artwork and
began writing articles for Sion, the chronicle of the Armenian
Patriarchate and other publications like the Armenian Observer for the
ACYOA. He was ordained a celibate priest [apegha] in 1965 by the late
Armenian Patriarch Elishe II in the tomb of the Holy Sepulchre on the
burial place of Jesus Christ and he was renamed Ghevont [Leontius].
His ordination was planned to coincide with a pilgrimage of Armenian
pilgrims from the diaspora. After his ordination, 40 days of seclusion
in the Tomb of the Holy Selpuchre and celebration of his first
liturgy, he was immediately named Dean of the Gulbenkian Library of
the Armenian Patriarchate and worked on graphics for the Patriarchate
periodical “Sion” and other publications.
During the Six-Day War in 1967, Fr. Ghevont was personally responsible
for the negotiated release of 12 young boys from various Israeli
prisons and concentration camps in the West Bank, occupied Palestine.
He was threatened by Israeli officials but never wavered to help his
Armenian brethren.
Fr. Ghevont returned to America in 1968 and attended St. Vladimir’s
Orthodox Seminary in Scarsdale, NY It was at St. Vladimir’s, studying
under the tutelage of world renowned Orthodox Theologians, Alexander
Schmemann and John Meyendorff, that Fr. Ghevont began to immerse
himself into theological perspectives of the Church and develop a
deeper understanding of Holy Scripture and ecclesiology. During this
time, the former primate of the Eastern Diocese, Archbishop Torkom
Manoogian quickly put Fr. Ghevont’s talents to work. First to assist
in the organization for the consecration of St. Vartan Armenian
Cathedral in New York City and then as a fundraiser for the Diocese
and editor for its Diocesan Chronicle, BEMA. During these early years,
Fr. Ghevont was asked to visit several parishes. Each parish he
visited was mesmerized by his dynamic oratory skills and his beautiful
voice. In fact, each parish that he visited demanded that he become
their pastor. St. John’s in Detroit even threatened the diocese that
it would not pay its diocesan dues if Fr. Ghevont was not assigned as
its pastor. Mr. Kavookjian in Bridgeport, Conn., pledged to donate the
entire amount necessary to build a church in the area if Fr. Ghevont
was assigned there. Because Fr. Ghevont was a faithful priest and
loyal to his primate, he himself refused all of these trappings and
chose instead to be obedient and be assigned by His Eminence Torkom
Mangoogian to the most abysmal and backward parish in North America,
Lowell, Massachusetts. This was a parish that had a history of trouble
and many priests did not last more than 3 years as pastor. Fr. Ghevont
would change that abysmal record and turn a last place team into a
contender virtually overnight. During his tenure at Sts. Vartanantz,
Fr. Ghevont was instrumental in acquiring 16 acres in nearby
Chelmsford, MA in order to build a new church. He was elevated to rank
of Vartabed [Doctor of Theology] of the Armenian Church by Archbishop
Manoogian in 1973. As its new pastor, Fr. Ghevont worked tirelessly
day and night, combing through baptismal records of families, visiting
them, drawing the youth to the church and building its liturgical and
spiritual life. By 1976, he had built the most vibrant ACYOA in the
diocese and laid host to its ACYOA Sports Weekend and Convention. This
was something that just 5 years prior would have been unthinkable.
When Fr. Ghevont arrived in 1969, the parish had few members, mostly
elderly and was on the verge of closing its doors. Its edifice in
Lowell, MA, a converted building, was also in a very poor
neighborhood. Finally, in 1978, his dreams were realized when the new
church was consecrated. A beautiful edifice in traditional Armenian
architectural style. For its beauty and resemblance to the great
churches in Anatolia, it was branded with the name “Little Ani” after
the great cathedral in Ani. Fr. Ghevont had done the impossible
against all odds. He turned the ashes into paradise. He was elevated
to the title of supreme doctor [Dzarakouyn Vartabed] of the Armenian
Church by Patriarch Elishe of Jerusalem in 1978. In the years
following the consecration, Fr. Ghevont continued to beautify the
church complex and in 1986, he completed muralizing the entire
sanctuary with Armenian iconography in the tradition of M’ren and
other Armenian churches in Anatolia. He also renovated the remainder
of the complex, equipping it with a beautiful banquet style pavilion,
lecture halls, museum, and classrooms. During his tenure, he also
prepared liturgical texts on all of the services and holy feasts so
that he could communicate the full breath of Armenian Orthodoxy to the
faithful. He served as Sts. Vartanantz’s pastor from 1969 to 1994.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Fr. Ghevont raised millions of
dollars for the diocese of the Armenian Church and was told by Alex
Manoogian and all of the old heavyweight donors that they would only
give to the Armenian Church for Fr. Ghevont. He transformed the
diocesan monthly newsletter into a dynamic chronicle filled with
relevant articles that made the Armenian Church intelligible to the
layperson. He led a trip of ACYOA members to Armenia in 1978 in what
was said by many to be the most memorable trip of all time.
In 1992, Fr. Ghevont was appointed as the Vicar General of the New
England Regional Jurisdiction by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate
of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church. In the late 1980s, Fr.
Ghevont had been the architect for laying the groundwork to expand the
diocesan structure into a more localized system like the Greek
Orthodox or Roman Catholic Churches and establish a set of
sub-dioceses in New England, the Midwest, and the South under the
jurisdiction of the Eastern Diocese. During his tenure as Vicar, he
began organizing ministries and developing programs designed to
propagate the faith. He is most noted for organizing the New England
Synod of the Diaconate, organizing seminars and monthly worship
services for them. The deacons began to be enlightened and taught
about the true meaning of the diaconate. Unfortunately, the diocese
asked Fr. Ghevont to stop this effort. Nothing like it has ever
happened again.
In 1994, Fr. Ghevont was asked by His Eminence Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese to assume the pastorship of
Ss. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church in Providence, RI. Fr. Ghevont
was asked to assist the parish in meeting its goal of completing its
renovation projects. Fr. Ghevont quickly developed key relationships
with the Egavian Family – the family instrumental in building the
church’s first cultural pavilion in the 1960s. Utilizing his
architectural background that won him a scholarship to the Sorbonne in
Paris, Fr. Ghevont drew up and designed the initial plans for a new
cathedral style church, which would be made of white marble and
complement the majestic Providence, RI State House across the highway.
Unfortunately, church leaders were not as visionary and decided to
maintain an aged and non-Armenian architectural style building rather
than build a spectacular new edifice. Fr. Ghevont was successful in
cleaning the revamping the Sunday School hall.
During his tenure in Providence, RI, people would come from near and
far to listen to his magnificent homilies and expositions of Holy
Scripture and celebrate in his spell-binding Jerusalem styled
liturgies. On Easter Sunday 1995, the sanctuary of Ss. Sahag and
Mesrob Armenian Church in Providence could not contain the throngs of
worshippers who came to participate in the liturgy. Many worshipers
lined the stairway and vestibules listening. For the first time in
over 60 years, the parish council chairman of the Prelacy Armenian
Church in Providence, Ss. Vartanantz, attended Easter Sunday Divine
Liturgy at Ss. Sahag and Mesrob, to see Fr. Ghevont. Unfortunately,
Hayr Soorp’s visions and dreams for Providence were never realized and
he decided to resign in November of 1997.
For the next ten years, Fr. Ghevont visited many parishes and
mesmerized thousands of the faithful with his golden tongue and
masterful sermons. Many remember Fr. Ghevont sitting in a throne in
the chancel, providing precise commentary on Holy Scripture and the
meaning the Gospel. In 2000, with a cadre of young savants, he founded
the Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, a theological
consortium created to research and communicate the magnificence of the
Armenian Orthodox Tradition. It was this vehicle that Fr. Ghevont
believed would breath “espirit de corps” back into the Armenian
Church. This institute published two books – the DOMAR – the
liturgical calendar of the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Burial
Rites According to the Armenian Orthodox Church [forthcoming]. In
addition, he crafted many masterful theological and Armenological
articles, short stories and vignettes that will soon be published by a
new Institute in his memory.
While visiting parishes in 2009, Fr. Ghevont suffered a terrible car
accident and injured his back. He ended up in a wheel chair and fought
sickness for the next two years. He fell asleep in the Lord on January
20, 2013. Fr. Ghevont was one of the most learned and talented
Armenian priests of his generation and the last living priest ordained
on the tomb of Christ. The Armenian Church never realized his genius.
He will be missed by many.
May God enlighten his soul.
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