January 3, 1941—December 2, 2003
Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, who faithfully served the Armenian Church for half a century, including twenty years as the Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States and Canada, died Tuesday, December 2, 2003, in New York City, of a massive heart attack. His Eminence was 62 years old.
Since 1998, when he concluded his service in New York, Archbishop Ashjian lived in Armenia where he did extraordinary charitable work including the care of orphans, the elderly, the re-transmission of the faith to the people after 70 years of Communist rule, bringing back to life centuries-old monasteries and churches, and the publication of hundreds of historical and literary books. His Eminence was in the United States visiting his family and planned to return to Armenia on December 8.
The Wake Service will take place Friday, December 5, from 7 to 9 p.m., at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York City. The service of Final Unction will take place during the Divine Liturgy service at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral on Saturday, December 6, at 10 a.m. Officiating at the services will be the current Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.
Archbishop Ashjian’s final journey will be to his spiritual home in Antelias, Lebanon, where he will be placed in eternal rest in the Mausoleum of the Holy See of Cilicia, on Monday, December 8.
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Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on January 3, 1941, to Nercess and Martha Ashjian, and baptized with the name Hrair. His early schooling and religious training took place in Beirut where he attended the St. Nishan School. Among his teachers were: Yetvart Boyadjian, Yervant Daronian, Yervant Bedrossian, and a young priest, Karekin Sarkissian, who years later was to become Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians. An ardent churchgoer and enthusiastic singer in the choir of St. Nishan Church, he gained the attention of Bishop Khoren Paroyan, then the Prelate of Lebanon. He was ordained a deacon of the Armenian Church in June 1958. After completing theological and armenological studies at the Seminary, he was ordained a celibate monk on May 28, 1961, by Catholicos Zareh I, who named him Mesrob in honor of the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mesrob Mashdotz, the founder of the Armenian alphabet. In 1963 he received the rank of Vartabed (doctor) by Catholicos Khoren I; in 1977 he was elevated to the rank of Bishop and in 1983 to Archbishop by Catholicos Karekin II.
A man of keen intellect, with a life-long love for learning and books, Archbishop Ashjian furthered his studies at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, Switzerland; participated in the International Student Fellowship, a pilot project of the World Council of Churches and the United Presbyterian Church; and Princeton Theological Seminary where he received a Master of Theology in 1970. He had completed all of his course work for a doctorate when he received word of his election at the Prelate of the Diocese of the Armenians in Iran and India. He was elected to serve at the Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy in December 1977, and began his tenure in January 1978. In 1991, Princeton Theological Seminary awarded him a second Master’s Degree in recognition of the work he had completed toward the doctorate.
During his career as a teacher, he enthusiastically embraced the positions of Assistant Dean and Dean of the Cilician Seminary, a teacher and preacher at the Karen Jeppe College in Aleppo, Syria, and Principal of the Mardikian School in Antelias, Lebanon.
As a dedicated ecumenicalist, he participated in the International Student Fellowship, attended conferences in Lebanon, Jordan, France, Switzerland, Ghana, Finland, Egypt, and Odessa. He served as a member of the standing committee of the Conference of the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and was a delegate to the World Council of Churches’ Assembly in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as in Canberra, Australia. In 1991, His Eminence was appointed to serve on the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission. His travels have taken him to every corner of the world where he has lectured, preached, met with world leaders, and sought out Armenian historical sites.
Following the earthquake in Armenia in 1988 he spearheaded a campaign to provide immediate aid to the stricken people. He was also in the forefront of bringing international attention to the Karabagh struggle.
A prolific reader and writer, Archbishop Ashjian has written many articles and at least three dozen books in Armenian and English.
In 1995, His Holiness Karekin I, Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, appointed him as the Executive Director of the 1700th anniversary commemorating of Armenia’s official acceptance of Christianity as a state religion, which was to be marked worldwide in 2001. Archbishop Ashjian assumed this post while still serving as Prelate in the United States. In 1998 he moved to Armenia to devote all of his time to the commemorative events.
For the past three years, he has intensified his mission work in Armenia through a wide variety of activities, all of which directly benefited the people. A project that was particularly close to his heart was the renovation of the St. Gevorg of Moughni Monastery in Armenia, which was accomplished through generous donations by his friends on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of his ordination. Throughout his service he approached his duties with love and an enthusiasm that earned the love and respect of those around him.
He was an honorary member of the National Academy of Armenia, a member of the Writers Union of Armenia, and a founding member of the Land and Culture Organization, USA, as well as a director of Land and Culture International and the Foundation for the Safeguard of Armenian Historical Monuments.
The Archbishop’s immediate survivors include a brother, Hovhaness Ashjian, of Beirut, Lebanon; a sister, Hripsime, and her husband Mesrob Seropian, of New York; a nephew, Hrair Seropian of New York; and a niece Liza and her husband Bedros Yessaian of New York. A brother, Hagop, predeceased him.
The “Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian Fund for Publications” has been established at the Eastern Prelacy in his memory and in tribute to his life-long devotion to the written word. Donations to this fund may be made payable to the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, 138 E. 39th Street, New York, NY 10016.
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