Rich Faith of an Ancient Culture Waves of Immigration Build a Church Armenia sits at the intersection of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 301 AD, it was the first sovereign nation to accept Christianity as a state religion. Christianity was suppressed in Armenia for more than 600 years under the Ottoman authority. More recently, Armenia gained its sovereignty after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991. “Being Christian kept us Armenian,” Bishop Mouradian says. Since the faith was widely adopted early in the modern history of Armenia it became deeply rooted in cultural identity. Bishop Mouradian Armenian Catholics began arriving in the celebrates Mass at By Beth Griffin United States in the late nineteenth century, Our Lady of Nareg following the first in a heart-breaking series Parish on Easter. eing Armenian and being of massacres and genocides in their home- Christian are like two wings of land. They settled on the East Coast and “Bthe same bird. The bird can’t asked Patriarch Stepan-Bedros X Azarian to fly with only one wing,” says Bishop Mikael send a priest from Armenia to serve them. Antoine Mouradian, leader of the Armenian Bishop Mouradian says the first wave of Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg. Armenian immigrants concluded with sur- “My first priority is to keep my people in the vivors of the 1915 genocide that killed more Catholic faith with the growing challenges in than 1.5 million people. A second wave of the United States and Canada. Second is to immigrants came after the Second World War, keep them as Armenians, because for us, to and the most recent wave began after imper- be Christian and to be Armenian is one thing. iled minority Christians fled civil wars in the We can’t imagine an Armenian who is not 1970s in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Christian,” he says. The Christian faith is inex- and Iran. Because of the Armenian diaspora, tricably intertwined with Armenian culture and today’s Armenian Catholic immigrants gener- national identity because Armenia has been a ally arrive in North America after a generation Christian country for more than 1,700 years. or two in the Middle East. As a result, new- Bishop Mouradian’s diocese serves the entire comers may speak Arabic, French, English, Armenian Catholic population of 45,000 in and/or Armenian. the two countries. It receives grant support The Armenian Catholic Church is one of from Catholic Home Missions. twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches that …continued on page 2 WINTER 2017 A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM MISSION AMERICA …continued from page 1 FROM THE non-Catholic Armenian Christians to attend services. “Whoever comes is welcome. We bring the Good News to CHAIRMAN everybody, but we do not proselytize Dear Brothers and other denominations; we just assist with Sisters in Christ, their spiritual needs,” he explains. I recently moved to Alaska to serve Huge Diocese, Small Staff, as archbishop of Dynamic Community Anchorage. Moving Third-graders from the Armenian Sisters Academy gather with their teachers after Bishop Mouradian is the only full-time so far from the mainland was an celebrating their First Holy Communion. employee of the eparchy. From his base adjustment, especially regarding the enjoy the same dignity, rights, and obli- in Glendale, he travels by plane, train, change in the amount of daylight. gations as the Latin Church and is in and automobile to minister to his peo- Throughout winter, our daylight is full communion with the Holy Father. short here, as brief as 6 hours! The ple spread across eight million square Eastern Catholic Churches have dis- night is very long. miles. His predecessor was ill for seven tinctive liturgical and legal systems that years before he retired. Because of this, For many people, winter can be reflect the national or ethnic character some of the parishioners had never hard. The lack of sunlight and the of their region of origin. For example, met an Armenian Catholic bishop colder weather can remind us of the Armenian Catholic liturgy is cele- before Bishop Mouradian was installed the darkness in our world. But just brated in the Old Armenian language. in 2011 and toured his new diocese. as the season of winter turns to St. John Paul II created the Bishop Mouradian, a Lebanese hopeful spring, we know that the Armenian Catholic Exarchate in 1981 native, recalls, “I had never been to the gloom of our world is transformed to organize the parishes under a single United States and my English wasn’t by Christ. geographic diocese. The eparchy was too good. Everything was new!” established in 2005 as the number of In this issue, you will read about our He was determined to establish a parishioners grew. Eparchies in the Armenian Catholic brothers and central office for the diocese, closest to Eastern Churches are akin to dioceses sisters. They have darkness in their the largest number of parishioners, and in the Latin Church. The Eparchy of past and continue to face chal- to make personal contact with each par- Our Lady of Nareg is headquartered lenges, but the light of Christ shines ish in the diocese. The headquarters was in Glendale, California. Its eight par- brightly in their diocese. Take a look relocated from New York to California. ishes and three missions are located in in this issue at how they strengthen While his small cadre of diocesan California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, their faith and share the bright light clergy met once a year, the bishop Massachusetts, Michigan, Quebec, of hope. found that parishioners did not see and Ontario. The largest parish is in For the Armenian Catholic Eparchy themselves as part of a larger church Glendale, with 1,800 families. The of Our Lady of Nareg, and for so community. He extended membership smallest is in Detroit and the fastest many dioceses in the United States, in his advisory council, the Armenian growing is in Montreal, where Syrian sharing this hope is possible because Catholic General Association, to immigrants arrive in large numbers. of your support to the Catholic representative lay leaders from each Armenian Catholics are “a minority Home Missions Appeal. Your gen- parish. Their interactions at annual within a minority,” according to Bishop erosity means so much. summer meetings inspired programs Mouradian. “We are all part of the and widespread communication efforts. Thank you for your support! Let us Armenian nation, but we’re spread “The laity was astonished to find there continue to pray for one another as all over the world because of the were other active Armenian Catholic we share the light of Christ. genocides,” he says. “Armenians are a communities,” Bishop Mouradian says. minority in every country where they In the Heart of Christ, Young adult groups throughout are; Catholics are about 10 percent of the diocese developed a website and all Armenians, so we are a minority email database and are now connected among minorities.” through a Facebook page. Catholic Because of their small numbers and Home Missions supports the epar- the close connection among Armenian chy’s youth and young adult ministry, Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne, DD, STL Christians, Bishop Mouradian says religious education, evangelization, and Archbishop of Anchorage Armenian Catholic parishes welcome PAGE 2 | WINTER 2017 lay ministry training programs. finding vocations in the United States DID YOU KNOW? Local parishes have liturgy, devotions, and responds with faith. “Do you • The Armenian Catholic Eparchy sacramental preparation, religious believe in miracles? The Lord said, of Our Lady of Nareg covers instruction, and youth and social out- ‘Ask and you will be given.’ I prayed 8,000,000 square miles and reach. They concentrate on caring for for vocations and I ask at each parish the spiritual and material needs of the I visit.” encompasses all of the United people in their community. The diocese Seminarians study at the Armenian States and Canada. focuses its ministries on families and Pontifical College in Rome, where the • The eparchy has eight parishes tries to tailor them to reflect the rich bishop was formerly the rector. The and three missions, served by ten and diverse background of its mem- eparchy uses Catholic Home Missions active priests, two permanent bers. “We’ve had five generations since funds to support its seminarians. deacons, and nine women the 1915 genocide and some groups The Armenian Catholic Church is religious. It operates four have been here longer than others. It’s an expression of the universality of the elementary schools and one a challenge to understand and respond Catholic Church, Bishop Mouradian high school. to the different places and situations says. “There is both unity and diversity people have experienced,” Bishop in the Church. When Roman Catholics • Worldwide, there are Mouradian says. imagine the Middle East, they may approximately 800,000 “At St. Gregory the Illuminator think all Arabs are Muslim, which is not Armenian Catholics. The Cathedral, for example, we celebrate the case. Those who don’t have contact Armenian Catholic Eparchy of the liturgy in classical Armenian, but with Armenian Catholics don’t know Our Lady of Nareg includes use Modern Armenian and English we exist.” 45,000 parishioners. in an instructive dialogue within the “We bring the Word of God to the service,” he explains. faithful, but in an Armenian way,” • Our Lady of Nareg is a portrait he says. of the Blessed Mother believed Catholic Home Missions supports to have been touched to her the efforts of the Armenian Catholic face. The portrait was brought Church to keep its people close to to Armenia by the Apostle the intertwined faith and culture.