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'A new church will soon rise up'

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  • 'A new church will soon rise up'

    Los Angeles Daily News
    June 5 2005

    'A new church will soon rise up'

    Armenian cleric visits, blesses building site

    By Lisa M. Sodders, Staff Writer

    BURBANK -- Nearly 1,000 people came Saturday to see the leader of the
    Armenian Apostolic Church bless the foundation stones for a planned
    $6 million cathedral in Burbank.

    His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All
    Armenians, anointed the dozen or so flat, rectangular stones with
    holy oil in a solemn yet joyful two-hour ceremony filled with song
    and prayer. He was assisted by Armenian priests and other church
    officials from all over Southern California.

    "Wherever our people settled, due to the difficult circumstances of
    the times, alongside the building of our homes, we built the houses
    of God, because we believe that our church is the birthplace of the
    Armenian soul," Karekin II said in Armenian.

    "A new church will soon rise up to the heights of heaven and will be
    a light between holy Etchmiadzin (the Holy See in Armenia) and all
    of our churches dispersed around the world."

    Karekin II, who arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday, will spend
    nearly three weeks traveling in California, Arizona and Nevada,
    blessing churches, holding youth rallies and visiting hospitals and
    schools. This is his second visit to the Western Diocese; the first
    was in 2001.

    He also will perform a service at 3 p.m. today at the Cathedral of
    Our Lady of Angels. On Monday, Karekin II will meet with Cardinal
    Roger Mahony, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles,
    and visit the Glendale Adventist Hospital and Glendale High School.

    Saturday's ceremony featured a solemn procession of deacons and church
    "godfathers" bearing shovels, along with a robed choir and gold-robed
    priests, followed by the catholicos, all under a purple canopy. He wore
    a diamond cross on his black veghar, a kind of hood or cowl, and smiled
    happily at the crowd as the scent of incense wafted through the air.

    "We're so proud today," said a beaming Edelina Chorbagian, 73, of
    Glendale. "He's so young! (Karekin II is 54.) But he's gorgeous!"

    Lorig Kalaydjian, 23, of Los Angeles said she got goose bumps just
    seeing Karekin II and hearing him speak.

    "The catholicos represents us as a people and our culture," she said.

    "The Armenian religion and our faith is part of our identity. And
    having our figurehead here is a momentous occasion."

    State Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, said it was a "great honor,"
    to have the catholicos visit.

    Armenia, a country of about 3 million that lies east of Turkey and
    is slightly smaller in area than the state of Maryland, has been a
    Christian country since 301 A.D. The catholicos is the head of the
    Armenian Apostolic Church -- related to the Oriental Orthodox Church,
    but separate. Karekin II, church leader since 1999, is the 142nd
    supreme patriarch and catholicos.
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