NEW YORK, NY—Two months ago V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, received his Episcopal ordination and was elevated to the rank of Bishop in the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Antelias, Lebanon, by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

Bishop Anhoushavan’s dedicated service to the Armenian Church spans many decades, and it is this service and his recent elevation which will be celebrated on Sunday, October 1, by the Armenian American community, with a gala celebratory banquet at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows, New York. The banquet, under the auspices of the Prelate, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, will begin at 3 pm. Prior to the banquet, Bishop Anoushavan will officiate over the Divine Liturgy at St. Sarkis Armenian Church, Douglaston, New York, where he served as parish priest for more than a decade.

Bedros Givelekian, chairman of the committee organizing this tribute, and the members of the committee, have been meeting during the summer months to plan the event.

“Large numbers of the Faithful from the Mid-Atlantic area and beyond are expected to attend and express personal congratulations, demonstrating the high-esteem felt for him,” said Mr. Givelekian . A commemorative booklet will be published on this occasion and Bishop Anoushavan has requested that all funds raised on this occasion benefit the Prelacy’s general fund for Christian education.

Bishop Anoushavan was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1951. From an early age he showed a calling to serve the Armenian Church. He attended the Cilician Theological Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon, from 1963 to 1971. He was ordained to the rank of Deacon in 1968 by Bishop Karekin Sarkissian, to the rank of celibate priest by Archbishop Ardag Manougian in 1972. He was bestowed with the Fourth Degree of Vartabed in 1974 by His Holiness Catholicos Khoren I, and the Fourteenth Degree of Vartabed in 1988 by Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian.

After graduation and ordination, he served in various capacities at the Catholicosate , and later in the United States where during the past 22 years he has served as a Preacher at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, Sts. Vartanantz Church in New Jersey, and St. Sarkis Church in New York. In 1991 he was appointed pastor of St. Sarkis Church where he served with great distinction until last year when he was appointed full time Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, and Ecumenical Officer in the United States for the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. He was the founder and continues to serve as the director of the St. Gregory of Datev Institute, the popular and highly successful summer studies program for high school and college-age students.

After many years of concentrated studies while serving as a full time pastor, as well as part time Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy, and Chairman of the Prelacy’s Religious Council, His Grace was conferred with the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from Columbia University in May 2003. He also holds degrees from the Near East School of Theology, and Princeton Theological Seminary. His doctoral dissertation explored “Nerses Lambronatzi’s Commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon.” This pioneering work was accepted unanimously “with distinction” by the examining committee which placed him among a highly select group of Columbia scholars.

The banquet on October 1 will bring together many of Bishop Anoushavan’s friends, colleagues and supporters. Professor Hratch Zadoian, Vice President-Emeritus of Queens College, has agreed to serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, who was a classmate at the Theological Seminary in Antelias.

For reservations and/or information please contact the Eastern Prelacy, info@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7810.

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