Armenian Apostolic Church

Antranik Zorayan shakes his head when he speaks of the troubled history of his Armenian people, a race that has endured the loss of their native land, World War I atrocities and, more recently, natural disasters and violent civil strife. "Through it all, without our own government or rulers, we stuck to the church," the Irvine resident said. "That is the No. 1 factor, the reason we survive while the conquerors don't. That's why this day is so important."

Manuscript: An Op-Ed published July 19, 2010, about the Armenian Apostolic Church of America suing for the return of illuminated manuscript pages in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum indicated that seven pages were at issue. That number was specified in the original lawsuit, but the correct number is eight pages.

A leading Eastern Orthodox patriarch and world ecumenical leader said the time has come for churches to turn from seeking agreement on theological issues to trying to address the everyday concerns of people struggling for meaning in a hostile world.

A 23-year-old man who allegedly used a sledgehammer to smash a religious monument outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale has pleaded not guilty to felony vandalism, officials said. Victor Petrescu of Glendale appeared in court Thursday to answer charges that included felony vandalism of religious property with an enhancement for damages exceeding $50,000, a misdemeanor count of possessing a sledgehammer with the intent to commit vandalism and graffiti, and having a suspended and revoked driver's license, said Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

In another sign of growing concern about the content of Hollywood films, the spiritual leader of many of the world's Armenian Christians has called on filmmakers to turn from the depiction of violence, sex and moral permissiveness. On his fifth pontifical visit to the United States, His Holiness Karekin II of the Armenian Apostolic Church, headquartered in Beirut, said too many films distort the image of America overseas and encourage impressionable youths to copy what they see.

His Holiness Karekin II, spiritual leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Great House of Cilicia based in Lebanon, will consecrate the Forty Martyrs Church, 5315 W. McFadden Ave., Santa Ana, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The 2-year-old church serves 2,500 Armenian families in Orange County, according to Father Moushegh Mardirossian, the church's pastor. Two branches of the Armenian Apostolic Church serve the Armenian population in the United States.

Armenian church: An article and headline in Wednesday's California section about the consecration of a church altar described His Holiness Karekin II as "patriarch of the world's 10 million Armenians." He is head of the worldwide Armenian Apostolic Church.

Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Vazken I, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is scheduled to arrive in Southern California today for his first visit to the state in 20 years. The patriarch will stay in the area until Wednesday, then fly to San Francisco. In Southern California, which has the largest Armenian community outside Armenia, the patriarch will meet with religious leaders, community members and politicians.

Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, a longtime leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States and Canada, has died. He was 62. The archbishop, who served his church in the United States for almost two decades until his retirement in 1998, died of a heart attack Tuesday at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel, church officials said. At the time of his death, he was visiting New York City from his home in Armenia to attend a fund-raiser.

Members of the Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate Christmas on Saturday. "Armenians say, 'Happy New Year' and [then] 'Merry Christmas,' " said Sossi Kevorkian of Glendale. Armenian Christmas, or "Soorp Dznoont," celebrates the birth and baptism of Christ, said Father Sipan Mekhsian of the Burbank-based Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America. "It is a happy occasion," he said. "It's a celebration of divine liturgy and a feast day."

With the pouring of holy oil and the release of 50 white doves, the head of the worldwide Armenian Apostolic Church on Tuesday ended a tour of Southern California's Armenian American community, a trip highlighted by the groundbreaking for a cathedral and the consecration of a new church's altar. The consecration with muron, or holy oil, of the pink marble altar at St.

Members of the Armenian American community in Southern California are turning out in large numbers to welcome His Holiness Aram I, the spiritual head of one of the Armenian Apostolic Church's two branches, as the pontiff starts a two-week trip to the area. The visit of the Catholicos formally began Wednesday night in Little Armenia in Hollywood, where members of St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church rolled out a red carpet sprinkled with rose petals for his entrance.

Welcomed by faithful supporters, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the highest ranking official in the Armenian Apostolic Church, has begun a tour of California that will include visits to schools and hospitals and a special service Sunday at the Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Karekin's trip began Thursday with a procession at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa, where he was received by dozens of clergymen and enthusiastic parishioners.

The smell of incense permeated the church as Father Stepanos Dingilian, wearing a silver-and-blue robe, presided over the service. After the choir sang haunting hymns in Armenian, Dingilian, speaking English, gave a sermon about faith. The message seemed appropriate. After nearly 30 years of saving and start-and-stop efforts, the small congregation of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Desert is finally going to have a home of its own, Riverside County's only Armenian church.

One last flight of stone steps taunted me, the only obstacle between me and the ruins of Kobayr, a 12th century church complex. What were my medieval forefathers thinking, building churches atop soaring mountain peaks? Were they trying to get as close as they could to God, who rarely seemed to answer their prayers?

Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, a longtime leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States and Canada, has died. He was 62. The archbishop, who served his church in the United States for almost two decades until his retirement in 1998, died of a heart attack Tuesday at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel, church officials said. At the time of his death, he was visiting New York City from his home in Armenia to attend a fund-raiser.

Pope John Paul II ended a grueling six-day trip to Kazakhstan and Armenia on Thursday with a challenge to the modern world to make a choice between good and evil. "Particularly today, the complexities and challenges of the international situation require a choice between good and evil, darkness and light, humanity and inhumanity, truth and falsehood," the pope said in a joint statement with the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church before his departure for the Vatican.

After 32 years of leading the largest Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church diocese outside of Armenia, Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian steps down next week as primate in the western United States. On Monday, Hovsepian, 72, will formally be succeeded by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, 45. The new bishop, who served as primate of Canada for the last 13 years, will be installed as primate in a ceremony at St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church in Van Nuys.