Kerashnor Srpazan Anoushavan Tanielian, Arjanabadiv Der Nareg Terterian,
Members of the St. Sarkis Board of Trustees, Respected Guests, Friends and Family.
Welcome to the St. Sarkis name day celebration. It is a privilege to have the distinct honor of Emceeing this event on this special day that my son Raffi and nephew Avedis were ordained acolytes, and I was ordained a Deacon, on the same holy altar where I have served for decades.
I would like to congratulate all the Altar servers who were ordained Acolytes and Sub-deacons today, as well as their families. This is a big step in your lives and in your spiritual journeys, and I pray that God continues to bless you all with the faith, love and strength needed to continue your path according to God’s will and blessings. I would like to also congratulate all Sarkis’ and Mardiros’ on their name day.
As many of you may know, St. Sarkis (our Church’s patron saint) was a brave general who used his position of power for spiritual growth, going from town to town, teaching the gospel and building churches where pagan temples once stood. As one of the most beloved Armenian saints, St. Sarkis is the Armenian patron saint of love and youth.
As I look at the young and inspiring faces serving on our Church’s altar, I see many Saint Sarkis’ and future generals which will be beacons of strength for our Armenian church, culture and faith. Through this journey, you will strengthen your own faith in God, while spreading spiritual growth and God’s blessings to your friends, families and loved ones. When we serve on the altar together, we become closer than family, as we embrace God’s image in our hearts.
As I see your youthful energy and your love for serving on the altar, it makes me reminisce about my own youth and the wonderful memories, friendships and brotherhoods which were initiated on our holy altar. I would like to share my Spiritual journey with all of you and hope that my unique journey may be a source of inspiration and direction for our youth.
I was blessed to have been introduced to St. Sarkis Church and God’s teachings as a young boy at approximately 5 years old. I fondly recall my grandparents bringing me to the old St. Sarkis Church by Bell Blvd in Bayside. I remember attending church and St. Sarkis Saturday school at the church we temporarily rented in Bayside, while our new church was being built.
Some of the most memorable and inspiring years of my life encompassed the years when my mother, Haigouhi Megerian, served as our church organist, while my brothers (Paul, Mark, Daniel) and I served as acolytes and sub-deacons on the altar almost every Sunday. Through these years the bond between myself, my brothers, our Mom and God grew tremendously and continues to serve as a source of strength every day of our lives. I would like to thank my Mom for always being a beacon of light and positivity in our lives and for helping to strengthen our relationship with God and our Church. She used to always tell us boys, that “If God is with you, no one can be against you”. As a young boy growing up sometimes it was difficult to grasp the importance of this quote. However, as the years went on and the challenges increased, I found myself relying on my most important tool to overcome adversity and hardship. This tool was my Faith and my growing Relationship and confidence in God. Just as any Professional must attend specialized schools to gain tools to assist others within their professions, we as Armenians and children of God must attend church and grow our strength, faith and confidence in God, while sharing our spiritual journey with the next generation.
When you have a problem in life, whether it's school, relationships, health issues or negative influences, your Faith and your relationship with God will be the strongest tool to assist you in overcoming difficulties, while staying true to who you are. As a child, I never understood the meaning of the teaching that- “God is more important than your own parents”. However, now as a proud father and husband, I truly understand the truth and importance of these words and try to teach them to my own children.
The lessons which I learned through my spiritual journey, have helped me become the Man, Father, Husband, Friend and Family member I am today. I am eternally thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to grow my faith through every challenge. I am grateful to all family members and friends who helped bring me closer to our Church and God (notably my Mother Haigouhi, and my deceased grandparents Anna and Minas Hovsepian, and Noemi and Hovhannes Megerian). I hope their souls are content in heaven seeing their great grandchildren serving on the altar and starting their own spiritual journeys.
The blessings which I have received from God through St. Sarkis Church have been nothing short of miraculous in my life. I am ever thankful to God for bestowing His blessings upon me through the years, and now as an adult, I realize it is now my turn to help further the work of God and teach my children and the youth of our church the importance of having a strong relationship with God in your life.
When I see the vibrant and caring youth on our altar, it reminds me of the beginning of my journey. We also had a large group of young boys who would serve on the altar every Sunday. We would be excited to hang out on Saturday night by going to a café like Oasis and we would tend to sleep over at my cousin Bedros’ house after. I can close my eyes and remember Bedros singing the badarak in the shower at 8:30 AM while we awaited Hayr Soorp (now Srpazan Anoushavan) to pick us up from Bedros’ house in his Honda civic. Srpazan, you were an important leader and spiritual father through my teenage years, and I thank you for your efforts in guiding me down God’s righteous path. Through our experiences serving on the altar, we all bonded in God’s love, while being bestowed teachings from our clergy, deacons and church leaders, which was an immense blessing to us all.
I gained a new brother while serving on the altar - and God in His mysterious ways blessed me with my wife and children through St. Sarkis church. The name of this individual is Serop Terterian, who you all know as Father Nareg Terterian. Approximately 25 years ago, when Der Hayr came to New York as Deacon Serop to assist at the Prelacy and serve on the St. Sarkis altar, we became good friends. Through our friendship (and of course because of Yeretsgin Annie), I met my wife Salpi, and we have been blessed with four beautiful children. Now, Der Hayr and I are two blessed Brothers, we share our families, our children and our lives together as true brothers of God.
When Salpi and I married and started having children, life was so chaotic as new parents, that we didn’t prioritize attending church most Sundays. As my sons (Raffi and Michael) grew older, I began bringing them more often to Church to serve on the altar, and through this experience I had another spiritual re-awakening. My daughter AnnaMarie also attends services and sits next to my mother while she plays the organ, and hopefully she or our baby daughter Angela can continue this legacy one day. The car rides to and from church, where my children would ask me questions about God and Jesus’s teachings that they learned through Church programs, made me feel like God was speaking to me directly through my kids. When my children started asking me if we could go to church on Sundays without my extra encouragement, I felt that God wanted me to come back and continue my journey.
He wanted me to instill in my children and in our church’s youth the lessons which I learned through my journey of faith. I am proud to say that today, more than ever, I rely on my Faith in God, to help me overcome all adversities in life. If we ask, He will help us. I’ve needed God’s strength through college, law school, relationships, family difficulties and life’s ups and downs. If you pray and you believe, God will always be there for you. It may not be the fairytale that you always imagined, but God knows what is best for you and will always help direct you on your journey to becoming a better person living in God’s image.
To all our youth serving on our altar, in the choir, and who participate in church activities such as Saturday School and Salt and Light, I want you all to know that you can rely on us to assist you through your journey. Our spiritual journeys are woven together to create the fabric of God’s Love. One day you will be the Generals like St. Sarkis who will lead our children and grandchildren through their spiritual journeys. Always pray, even when life is good, and always strengthen your bond and faith in God. These spiritual tools will empower you and enrich your souls in every step of your life.