Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan expressed humble gratitude, appreciation for his predecessors, and optimism for the road ahead in his first message to the people, following his election as the 13th Primate of the Eastern Diocese.
On Saturday, following Transfiguration, the Armenian Church commemorates Saint Thaddeus, one of two apostles who preached in Armenia, and Saint Sandukht, daughter of King Sanadrouk, and the first martyr saint of the Armenian Church. It is not an exaggeration to say that these two—Thaddeus and Sandukht—were pioneer in bringing Christianity to Armenia in the first century. Princess Sandukht was converted to Christianity by Thaddeus, and she in turn converted many others.
Our hearts are heavy as we watch the flames spread across the Greater Los Angeles area. Many of you are living through this nightmare – watching your homes, your communities, and even your dreams face the threat of destruction. Friends, we are praying for you. We’re praying for God’s protection over you, your families, and the brave firefighters working tirelessly to save lives and property.
I know it’s hard to see hope when the sky is filled with smoke and the fire seems unrelenting. But I want to remind you today of a powerful truth: even in the midst of the fire, God is still with you. Our God is a God of restoration, a God who turns mourning into joy, despair into praise, and ashes into beauty.
In 1915, the population of Adana was deported and the Bedelian family reached Aleppo. One of Vahan Bedelian’s friends, who by then was a good violin teacher, arranged a job for him as music and violin teacher at the Aleppo School of Art. With this job, he managed, after considerable difficulties, to obtain a permit from the chief of police to stay in Aleppo with the eleven members of his family.
They stayed there until the end of World War I and returned to Adana when French forces were stationed in Cilicia. Bedelian gave his first concert in 1920. When the French evacuated Cilicia in 1921, he went to Cyprus, where he devoted himself to music and teaching. In 1932 he replaced famous composer and conductor Parsegh Ganachian
