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FOR ARMENIANS IN LAS VEGAS, A CHURCH TO CALL THEIR OWN
Las Vegas Sun, NV
April 10 2013
An exterior view of St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church of Las Vegas
on East Desert Inn Road, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. The stained glass
windows by artist Yamile Gaez show the birth of Christ, his entrance
to Jerusalem, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.
By Tovin Lapan
In 1994, a group of Armenian Orthodox Christians - some of whom had
moved to the Las Vegas Valley from Southern California after the
Northridge earthquake - began meeting in one of the congregant's homes
for services.
In 1998, when the Orthodox Armenian community in Las Vegas consisted
of 30 to 40 families, the congregants officially established a parish.
As their ranks grew and years passed, they were a nomadic
congregation, renting different churches in which to conduct their
services through the years. For a while they met at Lakes Lutheran
Church.
This weekend, the congregation, which now counts more than 100
families, will celebrate the consecration of its own church, St.
Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church.
"I'm happy that there will be a sanctuary for the community," said the
Rev. Avedis Torossian, leader of the parish.
"Some 3,000 Armenian churches were destroyed in 1915, and it's
important to have these places where church records, history and
culture is kept and lives on," he said referring to persecution of
Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.
The Las Vegas project started in 2009, when the congregation purchased
a half-acre parcel on Desert Inn Road near Eastern Avenue. The
existing office building was converted into a temporary home for the
members and staff while the church was being constructed on another
portion of the property. His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia, primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, blessed
the land in October 2011. The laying of the foundation began in
September 2012.
"This is a very happy milestone, to finally have a religious
establishment in Las Vegas," said Andy Armenian, parish council
president. "While we realize this is not the building of Notre Dame or
the Sistine Chapel, we have worked hard to follow all of the Armenian
church traditions. At the same time, we are adding modern touches like
videocameras for recording services and baptisms."
The church project cost approximately $1.5 million. Donations came
from the Las Vegas community and from Armenian Christians as far away
as Tennessee and California.
Larry Barnes donated a significant portion of the funds for purchasing
the land and constructing the church in honor of his late wife, Seda
Der Garabedian-Barnes, whose parents survived the Armenian genocide
carried out by the Ottoman government from 1915 to 1923.
Garabedian-Barnes worked until her death toward bringing the parish a
church of its own.
St. Garabed is the Armenian name for St. John the Baptist, and the
church is named for both Garabedian-Barnes and the St. Garabed
Monastery that was destroyed during the genocide.
After the genocide, Armenians scattered around Eastern Europe, and the
Las Vegas parish has members from 12 to 15 countries, including Syria,
Lebanon, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Jordan.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the oldest Christian
communities. Services are performed in Armenian and English, and the
prayer books have four versions of each passage: Ancient Armenian,
Modern Armenian, Armenian phonetically spelled out in the Roman
alphabet and an English translation.
The church, designed by Levon Gulbenkian, follows the traditional
Armenian Apostolic design, with the base structure in the shape of
cross and a dome topping the building at the intersection of the two
sections. The entrance to Armenian churches must be from the west, and
the altar faces to the east.
"There is an Armenian poem that, roughly translated, says, 'The dome
of an Armenian church is the closest connection to heaven,'" Armenian
said.
For now, there will be one Sunday service, but Armenian said the
church may expand its offerings as the congregation continues to grow.
The church, which has limited parking, has made arrangements to use
their neighbors' parking lots on Sundays.
On Tuesday, workers were putting the finishing touches on the church,
installing painted panels of the 12 apostles, installing the equipment
for video and audio recording and putting in the last of the 15
different stained glass windows adorning the church.
"It's gorgeous, simply gorgeous," stained glass artist Yamile Gaez
said about the church as she supervised the installation of one of her
windows.
On Saturday, during evening service, the church will observe the
"Opening of the Portals" ceremony and the consecration of the
baptismal font will take place. The church and altar will be
consecrated on Sunday during Holy High Mass. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, prelate for the Western United States, will be on hand
for the consecration.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/apr/10/armenians-las-vegas-church-call-their-own/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Las Vegas Sun, NV
April 10 2013
An exterior view of St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church of Las Vegas
on East Desert Inn Road, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. The stained glass
windows by artist Yamile Gaez show the birth of Christ, his entrance
to Jerusalem, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.
By Tovin Lapan
In 1994, a group of Armenian Orthodox Christians - some of whom had
moved to the Las Vegas Valley from Southern California after the
Northridge earthquake - began meeting in one of the congregant's homes
for services.
In 1998, when the Orthodox Armenian community in Las Vegas consisted
of 30 to 40 families, the congregants officially established a parish.
As their ranks grew and years passed, they were a nomadic
congregation, renting different churches in which to conduct their
services through the years. For a while they met at Lakes Lutheran
Church.
This weekend, the congregation, which now counts more than 100
families, will celebrate the consecration of its own church, St.
Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church.
"I'm happy that there will be a sanctuary for the community," said the
Rev. Avedis Torossian, leader of the parish.
"Some 3,000 Armenian churches were destroyed in 1915, and it's
important to have these places where church records, history and
culture is kept and lives on," he said referring to persecution of
Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.
The Las Vegas project started in 2009, when the congregation purchased
a half-acre parcel on Desert Inn Road near Eastern Avenue. The
existing office building was converted into a temporary home for the
members and staff while the church was being constructed on another
portion of the property. His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia, primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, blessed
the land in October 2011. The laying of the foundation began in
September 2012.
"This is a very happy milestone, to finally have a religious
establishment in Las Vegas," said Andy Armenian, parish council
president. "While we realize this is not the building of Notre Dame or
the Sistine Chapel, we have worked hard to follow all of the Armenian
church traditions. At the same time, we are adding modern touches like
videocameras for recording services and baptisms."
The church project cost approximately $1.5 million. Donations came
from the Las Vegas community and from Armenian Christians as far away
as Tennessee and California.
Larry Barnes donated a significant portion of the funds for purchasing
the land and constructing the church in honor of his late wife, Seda
Der Garabedian-Barnes, whose parents survived the Armenian genocide
carried out by the Ottoman government from 1915 to 1923.
Garabedian-Barnes worked until her death toward bringing the parish a
church of its own.
St. Garabed is the Armenian name for St. John the Baptist, and the
church is named for both Garabedian-Barnes and the St. Garabed
Monastery that was destroyed during the genocide.
After the genocide, Armenians scattered around Eastern Europe, and the
Las Vegas parish has members from 12 to 15 countries, including Syria,
Lebanon, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Jordan.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the oldest Christian
communities. Services are performed in Armenian and English, and the
prayer books have four versions of each passage: Ancient Armenian,
Modern Armenian, Armenian phonetically spelled out in the Roman
alphabet and an English translation.
The church, designed by Levon Gulbenkian, follows the traditional
Armenian Apostolic design, with the base structure in the shape of
cross and a dome topping the building at the intersection of the two
sections. The entrance to Armenian churches must be from the west, and
the altar faces to the east.
"There is an Armenian poem that, roughly translated, says, 'The dome
of an Armenian church is the closest connection to heaven,'" Armenian
said.
For now, there will be one Sunday service, but Armenian said the
church may expand its offerings as the congregation continues to grow.
The church, which has limited parking, has made arrangements to use
their neighbors' parking lots on Sundays.
On Tuesday, workers were putting the finishing touches on the church,
installing painted panels of the 12 apostles, installing the equipment
for video and audio recording and putting in the last of the 15
different stained glass windows adorning the church.
"It's gorgeous, simply gorgeous," stained glass artist Yamile Gaez
said about the church as she supervised the installation of one of her
windows.
On Saturday, during evening service, the church will observe the
"Opening of the Portals" ceremony and the consecration of the
baptismal font will take place. The church and altar will be
consecrated on Sunday during Holy High Mass. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, prelate for the Western United States, will be on hand
for the consecration.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/apr/10/armenians-las-vegas-church-call-their-own/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress