NEW
YORK, NY—Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate, and the
Religious Council of the Eastern Prelacy have announced a
reception and dinner on Sunday, December 17, in honor of the
50th anniversary of the ordination of Archpriest Fr. Moushegh
Der Kaloustian. Der Moushegh served as pastor of St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral in New York City for more than thirty years. Now
retired, he continues to serve the church as an outreach priest
and travels to different communities on behalf of the Prelacy.
The celebration will take place at the Terrace on the Park
in Flushing Meadows, New York, at 3 pm. In the morning Der
Moushegh will officiate over the Divine Liturgy at St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New York City.
Yenovk Der Kaloustian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1932,
the son of Nishan and Satenig Der Kaloustian. He was ten years
old when the family relocated to the city of Jaffa in Palestine,
where he attended the St. Kelkhatir School. Prior to the start
of the Arab-Israeli war in 1947, the family resettled in Jerusalem,
living in the Monastery of St. Hagop. He was admitted to the
School of the Holy Translators, from where he graduated in
1949.
Born with a love for music, he would attend church with his
parents and join in the singing of the Liturgy. In 1950 he
began his studies at the Seminary in Jerusalem. In 1952 he
received the four stages of a tbir (acolyte) and the right
to wear the ourar (stole) from His Eminence Archbishop Yeghishe
Derderian, who later became Patriarch of Jerusalem. On the
advice of both the Patriarch and his parents, he began his
studies in the program for married priests in the Theological
Seminary of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon.
In 1955 he and Vartouhie Sarkissian, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Mourad Sarkissian, were married. He was ordained a married
priest by the then Prelate of Lebanon, Archbishop Khoren Paroyan.
In 1957 he was appointed assistant pastor of St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon. In 1959, upon
the invitation of the Executive Council of the Prelacy, he
came to the United States to assume pastoral responsibilities
in Racine, Wisconsin. Following five years of service to the
Racine community, Der Moushegh was appointed pastor of the
Holy Trinity Church in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1968 he
was appointed pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral
in New York City, where he served until his retirement in
2000.
Der Moushegh and Yeretzgeen Vartouhi have three children,
Garo, Shoghig, and Nareg. Relatives, friends, and many of
his clergy brothers will gather on December 17 to honor his
fifty years of service to the Armenian Church. For reservations
($100 per person) or information please contact the Prelacy
office at 212-689-7810.
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