Seminary Heralds Future with Groundbreaking for New Catholicos Karekin I Theological Center

They arrived at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary from Philadelphia and New Hampshire, and everywhere in between – even from London, California, and Canada. The crowd of more than 150 included senior leaders of the Armenian community and energetic toddlers. They came to the seminary to honor the past by building for the future.

On June 12, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, who is President of the Board of St. Nersess Seminary, presided over a service blessing the ground and cornerstones of the seminary’s future His Holiness Karekin I Theological Center and St. Hagop Chapel.

“This is truly an extraordinary day in the life of the Armenian Church. It is a day of new beginnings. A day of dreams reaching their fulfillment. A day for setting our sights high, to a beautiful, promising vision of the future,” said Archbishop Barsamian. “Clearly, it is a day of transforming significance for St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. It is also a day — I deeply feel — which will have great and fruitful consequences for the Armenian Church as a whole. Without a doubt, this monumental new center is our doorway to a bright, glorious future”

MIND AND SPIRIT

The new Catholicos Karekin I Theological Center, skillfully designed by architect Armand P. Avakian, will feature a two-story complex with a library that will house the Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan Library book collection, a high-tech lecture hall, seminar facilities and offices.

The St. Hagop Chapel adjacent to the new academic center will serve as a proper place of worship for the seminarians.

“I am convinced the Armenian Church has two pillars upon which our identity rests, and our future rests,” said Fr. Daniel Findikyan, dean of St. Nersess Seminary. “Our future rests upon our faith, which is experienced in prayer. Secondly, it rests upon learning and studying the glorious faith and traditions of our parents, grandparents, and ancestors. The only road ahead for the Armenian Church in America is a road to a church that has in its midst a spiritual and an academic center.”

The new space is needed at the seminary, which began this September with 12 students, including eight studying full-time as they prepare to enter the priesthood.

“We are reaching a new level in the vision of His Holiness Karekin I, of blessed memory, the late Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. His vision, though, remains our challenge: To raise knowledgeable, able, and faithful clergy to lead our church,” Fr. Findikyan said. “We have already begun to produce a generation of clergy in whom we can be proud, a generation which will inspire people throughout the world with their faith.”

HONORING A FRIEND

Haig and Elza Didizian, whose ties with Catholicos Karekin I go back more than 40 years, personally tended to the Catholicos during the illness that would ultimately claim his life. It was during that time that Haig Didizian promised to fulfill Vehapar’s wish for a theological center of higher education that would benefit all Armenian clergy.

The Karekin I Theological Center is being funded by Haig and Elza Didizian, who donated $1.6 million in honor of their late friend the Vehapar.

“The Armenian Church has always been the strongest force in bringing and keeping the Armenian community together,” said Mr. Didizian during the ground blessing ceremony. “This center is a necessity, not a luxury, for coming generations. Ensuring that Vehapar’s wish would become a reality is an honor and an act of love."

Furthermore, Haig and Elza Didizian, their children Marly, Hagop and Donna, Chris and Caroline, and Haig’s late brother Setrak Didizian’s fund, will be joined by Haig’s siblings Mr. and Mrs. Albert and Dikranouhi Margossian, Mr. and Mrs. John and Mary Aslanian, Dr. and Mrs. Ara Ankine Dakessian, and Dr. and Mrs. Noubar and Elizabeth Didizian, in donating $800,000 to build the St. Hagop Chapel in memory of their father and grandfather, Mr. Hagop Didizian, founder of the family company, established in 1923, and their mother and grandmother, Mrs. Khengaper Didizian.

The completion of the St. Hagop Chapel and the His Holiness Karekin I Thelogical Center is scheduled for the later part of 2005.

Haig and Elza are also the sponsors of the publication of the complete works of the late Catholicos Karekin I. Three of those volumes have already been published.

About 100 community leaders attended a dinner hosted by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian at the Diocesan Center in New York City on Friday, June 11 — organized by Vicki Hovanessian and emceed by her husband, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian, a member of the St. Nersess Board who served as master of ceremonies during the ground blessing service — to pay tribute to the Didizians. During the dinner, several friends spoke of the love and generosity of Haig and Elza Didizian.

“Haig proved he was really a friend of Vehapar, because he has been doing everything humanly possible to make sure people don’t forget him,” Mr. Kevork Hovnanian said. “We both believe the church has been our anchor for 1,700 years, and it is important to have a strong church. And to have a strong church, you have to have able clergy, which was Vehapar’s dream. I hope that dream will be accomplished when we see graduates from St. Nersess who have studied at this library and prayed at this chapel.”

“When Haig and Elza love somebody their love is limitless,” said Dr. Haroutune Mekhjian. “Their love to Vehapar was legendary. During his illness, they moved their home and business from London to New York City to be with him. Every detail was taken care of. I remember how tenderly Haig took the glasses of the Vehapar in his hands and gently cleaned them. It is not surprising Haig and Elza decided to immortalize our dear Vehapar by being benefactors of this theological center.”

The friends praising the Didizians’ generosity and love towards the Vehapar, also detailed the immense need for the seminary’s expansion.

“The preparation of Armenian clergy with American backgrounds is essential for the future of the Armenian Church,” said Mr. Hagop Kouyoumdjian. “This princely donation is a way to achieve that. I hope it will become an example for other benefactors.”

During the dinner held in honor of the Didizians, the Primate presented the pair with the St. Vartan Award for their ongoing generosity and devotion to the Armenian Church.

“This gift is truly an extraordinary example of the love and respect of the Didizians,” Archbishop Barsamian said during a special dinner honoring the Didizians at the Diocesan Center on Friday, June 11. “They are true models of the virtues and blessings of the Armenian Christian way of life. Their love for each other and their family, as well as for the Armenian Church is beautiful to behold.”