On a busy block of East 27th Street in Manhattan, between Second and Third Avenues, a brick building with a modest facade and an unmistakable Armenian cross over its entrance has been the spiritual home of New York's Armenian community for more than a century. St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, known to generations of parishioners as Mayr Yegeghetsi (the Mother Church), has stood at 221 East 27th Street since 1921 and has served as a Plymouth Rock of sorts for Armenians arriving in America after the Genocide of 1915. Today it is one of the oldest and most historic Armenian churches in the United States, a cathedral of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church under the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia, and a center of religious, cultural, and charitable life for Armenians in the New York tri-state area and well beyond.
A century on 27th Street
The story of St. Illuminator's is bound up with the founding of the modern Armenian-American community. Refugees from the late nineteenth-century Hamidian massacres and the Genocide that began in 1915 arrived in New York needing their own church, school, and gathering place. Before there was a building, there were services: Armenian families first worshipped at a nearby Episcopal church, then organized choirs, a Ladies' Guild, and an Armenian school whose enrollment reached sixty pupils by January 1913.
The parish was formally incorporated in 1915 under the name St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Church. In October 1914, a parish board led by Rev. Fr. Matteos Manigian put down the first five hundred dollars toward buying a building. After delays caused by the war in the old country, the parish acquired the former Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal Church at 221 East 27th Street on October 11, 1920, and consecrated the cathedral on April 17, 1921. The first Divine Liturgy in the new building was celebrated by the Very Rev. Fr. Yeghishe Tourian, who later became Patriarch of Jerusalem. A fire damaged the original altar on November 29, 1921, and the noted Armenian artist Arshag Fetfajian was commissioned to build a new altar, modeled on the one at Bardizag, and to paint the Madonna and Child that still adorns it.
Through the twentieth century, Mayr Yegeghetsi served as the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Diocese in the United States and as a staging ground for some of the most consequential moments in Armenian-American life. Volunteers organized here during World War I helped raise funds for the Gamavor Legion, the unit of Armenian-American volunteers who served with the French Foreign Legion. During the Great Depression, when Armenians were reluctant to accept outside relief, the parish functioned as an employment clearinghouse and mutual-aid society. After 1945, the cathedral's hall became the processing center for waves of refugees arriving through ANCHA (the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians), fed and clothed at the church before being resettled around the country.
In 1957, after years of political upheaval between the two ancient Catholicates of the Armenian Church, the National Representative Assembly meeting at St. Illuminator's voted to seek the protection of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. In October of that year His Holiness Zareh I extended the jurisdiction of the Holy See of Cilicia over the diocese, and Archbishop Khoren Paroyan was sent as nuncio to the United States. The reorganized body became the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, and St. Illuminator's has been its Mother Church ever since.
The resurrection of the cathedral
By the time the current pastor arrived in 2006, the cathedral was ninety years old and showing every bit of it. Floors had worn through in places, the building had outlived its previous major repairs, and finances were stretched to the point that the parish often had only a nominal balance in its accounts. On April 1, 2008, Mayr Yegeghetsi closed its doors for a full renovation that lasted eighteen months. While the work was underway, services were held at the former Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens, where clergy set up and took down a movable altar each Sunday. Candles were not permitted and sacraments could not be performed. The parish raised more than a million dollars, completed the renovation, and was reconsecrated on September 19, 2009. Lofty rafters and chandeliers replaced the balcony; the walls were raised to new heights; a Silver Dove from Holy Etchmiadzin, presented by His Holiness Vasken I during a 1989 visit, was returned to its place at the Baptismal Altar.
A six-story apartment building next door, at 217-219 East 27th Street, came with the original purchase in 1920 and was lost during the Depression. A new generation of stewards reacquired the building in 1974 and today it remains the cathedral's principal single source of income, paying much of the way toward annual operating expenses.
Soorp Badarak on Sunday
The central act of worship at St. Illuminator's is the Soorp Badarak, the Armenian Apostolic Divine Liturgy celebrated each Sunday on the renovated Altar designed by Arshag Fetfajian. The service follows the centuries-old Armenian rite, with the congregation joining in the singing of sharagans (hymns) and the chanting of psalms and prayers from the Liturgy Book. The Divine Liturgy is offered in the classical Armenian liturgical tradition, with readings in Armenian and English, and the Badarak is the weekly gathering point of parish life.
At a particular moment within the Badarak, the Kiss of Peace is exchanged. Following an ancient Christian custom, the deacon brings the greeting from the altar with the words Krisdos i mech mer haydnetsav (Christ is revealed among us), and the congregation answers, Orhnyal eh haydnootyoonun Krisdosi (Blessed is the revelation of Christ). The hymn sung at this moment proclaims: Christ is revealed among us; he who is God is here seated. The voice of peace has resounded, the holy greeting is commanded. The Church has become one soul, the kiss is given for a full bond. Enmity has been removed, and love is spread among us all.
The Sunday Divine Liturgy is livestreamed on the cathedral's Facebook page every week, allowing elderly or homebound parishioners to take part remotely. Communion is offered to all who wish to receive the sacrament.
The choir, the organ, and the khoong
Music is central to worship at Mayr Yegeghetsi. The cathedral's choir, directed by Anahit Zakaryan, sings the sharagans that have shaped Armenian liturgical life for centuries. Ara Dinkjian serves as organist. The khoong (incense) used throughout the service is part of what makes the Armenian Badarak recognizable to anyone who has been raised in the tradition. As one longtime parishioner has recalled, going to a non-Armenian church for a feast like Epiphany and coming home without inhaling the aroma of the khoong made plain what the cathedral gives: the sense of being carried from the pew to the altar.
The pastor: Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian
The pastor of St. Illuminator's is the Very Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, the twenty-seventh pastor of the cathedral, who began his service on March 1, 2006. A native of Anjar, Lebanon, and a graduate of the Zarehian Armenian Theological Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia at Bikfaya, Der Mesrob came to the United States in the early 1990s at the invitation of the late Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian. He worked at the Prelacy's Manhattan bookstore, taught Armenian history, language, and religion at St. Illuminator's Day School and St. Sarkis' Saturday School, served three years as principal of the Prelacy's Siamanto Academy, and spent fifteen years as a deacon on the cathedral's Altar before his ordination to the priesthood on November 20, 2005, by His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.
He chose the name Mesrob in honor of St. Mesrob Mashdots, inventor of the Armenian alphabet; of his patron, the late Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian; and of his own love for Armenian letters. Since assuming the pastorate, Der Mesrob has overseen the cathedral's reconstruction, the development of its educational and charitable outreach, and the steady growth of its Sunday and Armenian schools. He is assisted in the daily work of the parish by Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian, who also serves as the Prelacy's Director of Christian Education; Deacons Sarkis Apelian and Dickran Kabarajian; Sub-deacon Armen Morian, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Trustees; and a wider circle of clergy, board members, and volunteers.
The cathedral falls under the pastoral and canonical oversight of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led by His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, who is himself a son of St. Illuminator's, having served on the cathedral's Altar for many years before being elevated to the episcopate. Above the Prelacy stands His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia, seated at the Catholicate in Antelias, Lebanon.
The Sunday and Armenian schools
The education of Armenian children has been at the center of Mayr Yegeghetsi's ministry since before the cathedral was formally incorporated. The first Armenian school in the parish was founded in 1909, three years before the building on 27th Street was even purchased, and within a few years was meeting three days a week. Over the decades the parish also supported the Levonian Varjaran, the Aharonian Varjaran in Washington Heights, the Aramian School in the Bronx, and (from 1977 to 2012) the St. Illuminator's Armenian Day School at the Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens.
Today the Sunday School meets each Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 12 noon, from September through June. The curriculum, prepared by the Prelacy's Armenian Religious Education Committee (ANEC), uses the Bible, the Church Liturgy Book, and a range of texts and crafts to give children a foundation in Orthodox Christianity, Armenian Church history and traditions, the sharagans, the Soorp Badarak, and the saints. Classes vary by age and are taught by Louise Kanian and teaching assistant Rita Tomassian. Children of all ages are welcome, including drop-in visitors. Pupils regularly attend Badarak and some serve on the Altar in the minor orders or sing in the choir.
The Armenian (Saturday) School teaches Armenian language, history, and culture, with sessions now held on Sundays at the cathedral itself. Maria Ebrimian is the teacher. Registration forms are available from the Sunday School office, and the program is open to all parish families and friends.
For more than a decade the cathedral has also co-sponsored a popular Bible Study program with the Prelacy's Department of Christian Education, conducted by Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian. Seminars on topics such as the Scriptural origins of the Soorp Badarak draw participants from across the region.
The Martyrs Altar and the genocide
On April 24, 2000, on the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the cathedral consecrated a new altar of black marble dedicated to the martyrs of 1915. Designed and built by architects Dikran Tenguerian and Vache Aslanian, with a painting by Kevork Mourad, the altar is crowned by a glass case containing relics believed to belong to a teenaged girl who perished in the Syrian desert at Deir el Zor. The relics were brought back to the United States by Dr. Herand Markarian in 1998. The altar was sponsored by Carl and Emma Sogoian of Detroit, Michigan.
The Martyrs Altar is now a pilgrimage site within the cathedral, where Armenians and friends come to pray and to renew their sense of Armenian identity. On the wall hang consecrated icons of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, painted by Rudik Petrosyan, copies of which are distributed to every parish of the Eastern Prelacy. April 24th is observed each year at St. Illuminator's with a solemn Divine Liturgy at the Martyrs Altar.
The feast days and the life of the year
The Armenian Church calendar marks the rhythm of parish life at St. Illuminator's. Among the major feasts observed are the Feast of Vartanantz in early February, commemorating the Battle of Avarayr in 451 and the spiritual descendants of Vartan Mamigonian, whose troops swore the famous oath to die rather than deny the faith; the Feast of the Transfiguration in summer, when Madagh (traditional Armenian meat offerings) and a parish barbecue bring the community together; the Blessing of the Grapes on the Feast of the Assumption; and Christmas, celebrated on January 6 with the Divine Liturgy and the blessing of the baptismal font. Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the Feast of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide on April 24 round out the year.
The Ladies Guild organizes annual Thanksgiving and Mothers' Day luncheons, bake sales, and table fellowships throughout the year. Armenian cultural programs are a regular feature of parish life, including choral concerts, recitations, and musical performances in Pashalian Hall.
The Ladies Guild and the auxiliaries
For more than 110 years, the women of St. Illuminator's have sustained the life of the parish through the Ladies Guild (Dignants Miyootyoon). The Guild organized a formal auxiliary as early as 1913, before the cathedral was officially incorporated, and has been at the heart of parish fellowship ever since. Today the Ladies Guild organizes fundraisers, prepares table fellowships during Lent and at major services, supports Madagh and Fellowship Hours, and raises substantial funds each year for the cathedral's ministry. Past members are honored at the annual Founders' Day observance.
The Men's Club, the Mr. and Mrs. Club, the Seniors' Group, and the parish basketball team once rounded out parish life at St. Illuminator's, and the cathedral has expressed an interest in reviving or re-creating auxiliaries suited to a new generation of parishioners. A weekly newsletter, Mayr Yegeghetsi, has been published in various forms since 1912-13; today it goes out electronically every Friday, and a weekly e-newsletter keeps parishioners and friends connected to the cathedral's life.
Charitable giving and outreach
St. Illuminator's has always been outward-facing. During the twentieth century the parish helped care for Genocide orphans, supported refugees from Europe through ANCHA, raised relief funds after the December 1988 earthquake in Armenia, and provided a hub for first-responders. In recent years the parish has delivered nearly half a million dollars in charitable aid through the Catholicosate at Antelias, the Prelacy's charitable office in Armenia, and Mayr Yegeghetsi's own channels, supporting Armenians in need in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon, Syria, and beyond. The cathedral's benevolent fund, established through the generosity of the late Mrs. Azadouhi Zarukian and other donors, has secured the parish's finances and enabled this giving to continue.
Online donations are accepted through PayPal.
Weddings, funerals, and parish life
Weddings at St. Illuminator's are a particular tradition. In the years after the Genocide, Mayr Yegeghetsi arranged marriages between young Armenian women in orphanages and homes in Syria and Lebanon and young Armenian men working in the industrial Northeast and Midwest of the United States. The men sent photographs, which were forwarded to the Forty Martyrs Armenian Church in Aleppo; the women made their choices, correspondence was arranged, and successful matches were married at St. Illuminator's on Sundays before sailing or traveling on to begin new lives in American cities. The cathedral kept a wardrobe of wedding dresses for the brides. Funerals and memorial services are held at the cathedral for members and for prominent figures in Armenian-American life.
The Prelacy, the Catholicosate, and the Armenian tradition
The Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church is affiliated with and under the jurisdiction of the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia, located in Antelias, Lebanon. His Holiness Aram I is the Catholicos of the See of Cilicia. The Prelacy office was re-established in New York in 1958 and now extends across the eastern half of North America. The Prelate and the Executive and Religious Councils implement the policies of the National Representative Assembly, which meets annually.
Armenia's Christian roots reach back to A.D. 301, when the Armenians accepted Christianity as the state religion, making Armenia the world's first Christian nation. The Armenian Church is part of the family of non-Chalcedonian churches, alongside the Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. The invention of the Armenian alphabet in 405 by St. Mesrob Mashdots, and the translation of the Bible into Armenian completed in 433, are at the foundation of Armenian letters and identity.
What to know before you come
St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Cathedral is at 221 East 27th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan. The Divine Liturgy (Soorp Badarak) is celebrated each Sunday, and the Sunday School meets from 10:30 a.m. until noon from September through June. The Sunday Divine Liturgy is livestreamed on the cathedral's Facebook page for those who wish to take part remotely. Communion is open to all who wish to receive it.
The Sunday Liturgy is offered in the Armenian Apostolic tradition, with English used alongside Armenian in readings and prayers. Congregants are asked to follow the cathedral's posted attendance guidelines on arrival. The parish office can be reached at (212) 689-5880 or office@stilluminators.org, and the Sunday School at sundayschool@stilluminators.org. The cathedral is also active on Facebook at facebook.com/stilluminators and on Instagram at stilluminatorscathedral. Online giving is available through the cathedral's PayPal link.
More than a century after a small group of Armenian refugees gathered at 221 East 27th Street to purchase their own church, Mayr Yegeghetsi continues to serve as a home-away-from-home for generations of Armenians and a touchstone of the Armenian Christian tradition in the heart of New York City.