THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR,

FIRST ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA.

The original Church was built in 1890 and consecrated on January 18, 1891 as "Soorp Purgich" (Holy Saviour).

Our current sanctuary was consecrated in 1952.

15th Annual Golf Tournament

Save the date September 9, 2008

Golfer Registration Form

Sponsor Registration Form

Once Every Seven Years

Etchmiadzin "Only Begotten descended"

The oldest standing Christian Cathedral in the World

31 August 2008

Fifteenth Day of Assumption of the Holy Mother of God

"Khatchkar"

While the concept of the khatchkar emerged in the 4-7th centuries, they begin to dominate the landscape with this renaissance period. A khatchkar (khatch - cross, kar - stone) is a monument, a mark of memory, a stele, a physical witness to faith - carved with intricately laced patterns most often centered on the cross. They can be found throughout Armenia in the tens upon tens of thousands, in a variety of sizes, usually as stand-alone pieces, but also carved into hillside or mountain stone. Scholars have marveled at the artistic expression, the craft, and significance in the culture and spirituality of Armenians that khatchkars have been placed. Such enthusiastic expression in stone has been paralleled to religious icons. Unlike symbols or signs that often simply inform on a subject, the iconic sign is in close relationship to the object symbolized pointing beyond the object to the divine. Some scholars suggest that the Armenian khatchkar is a true icon of the cross. In their visual representation, khatchkars do not merely demonstrate an artistic style or craft, nor do they symbolize something that no longer exists. Rather, they are witnesses to a presence. For the faithful, the khatchkar is the icon of salvation, which it proclaims in simple and immediate terms in the hardness of stone, in the transcendence of the carving itself, and in the unending faith and celebration of the resurrection of Christ.