V. Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Melkonian was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1949. His parents, Byron and Virginia Melkonian, baptized their eldest son "Byron" (which was Armenicized to Barouyr); the Melkonian family included a brother, Michael, and two sisters, Jacqueline and Patricia.

Young Byron graduated from the local St. John Church School, where he later served as a teacher, worship director, and acolyte training program instructor. He also taught Armenian language and folk dancing at St. John's Calouste Gulbenkian Armenian School. An active member of the ACYOA Juniors and Seniors, he held various positions in the local chapter and the national ACYOA organization. He also served as a teacher and counselor at the AGBU's Camp Ararat.

Fr. Melkonian earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Wayne State University, and for two years taught high school in the Detroit Public School system.

His calling as a priest at first took him to the Seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin. After a year of study there, in 1974 he traveled to Jerusalem to enter the St. James Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate. While studying for the priesthood in Jerusalem, he taught English and geography at the seminary, and prepared bilingual text for his pupils.

He was ordained to the priesthood on June 13, 1976, becoming a member of the St. James Brotherhood of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In the spring of 1978, Fr. Haigazoun was elevated to the rank of Vartabed, or Doctor of the Church.

Fr. Haigazoun entered the Eastern Diocese in October 1978, taking on duties of pastor at the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

In January 1984, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian appointed him as pastor of the Holy Trinity Church of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, where he served for 15 years. He received the rank of Dzayrakouyn Vartabed on September 14, 1991, by the hand of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian.

In December 1998, Archbishop Barsamian appointed Fr. Melkonian as pastor of the Church of the Holy Martyrs in Bayside, Queens.

He was first elected to the Diocesan Council in 1995, elected again to a second term.

A fine writer and translator, Fr. Melkonian was able to convey the often complex teachings of the Church with clarity and authority. He wrote "The Acolyte Training Program of the Armenian Apostolic Church," which was published under the auspices of the Diocese. He translated and edited "Saints and Feasts of the Armenian Church," which was printed in 1990 by the Diocese.

He passed away suddenly on May 9, 2000.