“Antranig Badarak” for Two New Priests

Having completed their 40-day periods of retreat and prayer, the two newest priests of the Eastern Diocese took up their first pastoral assignments earlier this month.

The Rev. Fr. Armash Bagdasarian and the Rev. Fr. Avedis Kalayjian were ordained by the hand of Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian in late July, in a splendid ceremony at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York (click here to watch the service as it was broadcast live on July 24). Their canonical period of seclusion throughout August was spent at the new St. Nersess Seminary campus in Armonk, NY.

Since then, the two priests and their families have been received with warm enthusiasm by their respective parishes. Each celebrated his inaugural Divine Liturgy—or Antranig Badarak—in the opening weeks of September: Fr. Bagdasarian on September 4 at the Soorp Haroutiun Church of Orlando, FL, and Fr. Kalayjian on September 11 at the St. Mesrob Church of Racine, WI.

Click on the following links to view photo galleries of Fr. Armash Bagdasarian, Fr. Avedis Kalayjian, and their respective parishioners during the Antranig Badarak celebrations in Orlando and Racine.