In Memoriam: Fr. Ghevont Samoorian, 78, a well-loved priest

29/1/13

Father Ghevont Samoorian, a well-known and well-spoken priest of the Armenian Church and member of the Brotherhood of Jerusalem, passed away on January 20.

A man of extraordinary talents…a man of extraordinary intellect…a man of extraordinary passions and understanding has left us to join the growing procession of gifted minds that have been almost Messianic in their ability to nourish and enlighten new generations.
Father Ghevont Samoorian, Billerica, Massachusetts, has left us unwillingly, defeated by the most insidious of infections. And, he leaves to us the seeds of a burning passion with which to seek out and discover the deep mystery of our Armenian existence. To those whom he mentored, he has left a monumental responsibility….that, of intensifying the truths and realities which he communicated to us through the living fire in his heart and the unquenchable love of all things Armenian in his soul.

To those of us whom he touched deeply…to those of us who shared his love and his passions….to those of us who learned how to bear the burden of pain that has befallen our race…mourning is inadequate. Mourning does not articulate the tragedy of his death sufficiently to console the soul.
Because…Hayr Soorp was not simply a man, but a phenomenon that procreated and enabled minds to transcend superficiality and reach into the deepest abyss of human understanding. Hayr Soorp loved life. Life was the precipice upon which he stood and played his philosophical lyre to a world that understood…to a world that did not understand…to a world that is yet to be born.

His pen articulated well, the genius of his talent and his mind. His heart was his shield of strength. I grieve not for Father Ghevont….but for myself.

Biography of Fr. Ghevont Dz. Vartabed Samoorian (1934-2013)
Born in historic Cambridge, MA, on April 17, 1934, to Melkon and Mary Samoorian, V. Rev. Fr. Ghevont Samoorian was baptized Diran. He later became known as Richard or “Dick”. He attended public school in Arlington and graduated from Lexington High School not too far from the battle of Lexington and Concord. Richard or Dick led an active youth, participated in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Episcopalian Church activities. He participated in sports, staring on the high school football team [using leather helmets] and excelled at art, and music. At Lexington High School, Dick was also known as a ladies man and was one of the most popular kids in the school. He was also a member of the Lexington DeMolay. Even though he grew up very much an American, his Armenian ethos was breathed into his soul by his late grandmother who sang Armenian hymns to him while he was lad. The most notable being “Der Voghormia” or “Lord Have Mercy”. As a lad, he received numerous art awards; won a scholarship in 1951 to study mural painting in Verona, Italy; and attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts where he was acclaimed as bright young artist. When he turned 16, an awareness of his Armenian heritage emerged, and he began attending the Holy Trinity and then the St. James Churches in Boston and Watertown, MA. Because of his musical interests he joined the several choirs, including the Komitas Chorale; and then became a charter member of the newly formed ACYOA Juniors in Watertown.

Fr. Ghevont majored in history and government at Boston University. From 1954 to 1956 he served in the U.S. Army’s military intelligence operation where he a special assistant to a two star general. He traveled Europe and the Middle East during his time in the armed forces. He received an honorable discharge in 1956. He returned to Boston University after having served his nation, where he studied marketing, advertising, and graphic arts. During these years at BU, he lived in a basement apartment next to Landsdown Street near Fenway Park.

While he resumed his studies, Richard also became further acquainted with Armenian organizations again and he rejoined the ACYOA and the AYF. Richard also started an Armenian band, dubbed the “Orientales” where he was a featured singer and keyboard player. Armenians came from far abound to listen to Richard’s beautiful voice and hear him even sing Turkish numbers. He was also known as a vibrant dancer and as a hell raiser during these days. During these years, Richard was known to have driven a car that affectionately became known as Aghavni. People would also love to hear him sing in the choir at St. James Church in Watertown where he and Gary Garbedian were the only two tenors.

It was in the late 1950s that Richard began expressing an interest in the priesthood of the Armenian Church. He began working with Fr. Papken Maksoudian at Holy Trinity Church in Boston [later Cambridge] and even did some writing, editing and design work for the Church. Fr. Papken asked Richard to paint a painting for the side altars of the newly consecrated church [1960] and to this day, the painting of Sts Sahag and Mesrob hangs in the sanctuary. In 1961, because of his passion for the Armenian race, Richard decided to become a priest. The Knights of Vartan became his sponsor and he left for the Holy City of Jerusalem in 1962 to begin his studies.

In 1962 Fr. Ghevont entered the Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Being a workaholic by nature with an insatiable desire to learn, Richard quickly immersed himself in the liturgical splendor of the Holy City and Sts. James Armenian Orthodox Monastery. The late Patriarch Elishe quickly utilized his vast talents by commissioning Richard to restore the priceless artwork of and treasures of the monastery. He was also called upon to design the mosaic of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which hangs in the Tomb of the Holy Selpuchre. It was here that Richard was discovered by the world-renowned Armenian architect and artist Edouard Utujian and he was asked by him to become a fellow at the highly acclaimed art school at the Sorbornne in Paris, France. Because Richard was passionately in love with the monastery and his desire to become a monastic of the Armenian Church, he declined. Also, while in Jerusalem, Richard was asked by the United States Government to become a member of the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. He declined and because he loved the Armenian Monastery of Jerusalem with such passion, he continued his studies at the monastery under the great Armenologist Archbishop Norayr Bogharian and the Armenian teacher par excellence on Armenian literature, Manual Keuseyan. It was under Manual’s tutelage that Richard became a master of the Armenian language and idiom. Soon thereafter in 1964, Richard was ordained a deacon by Patriarch Elishe and now known as Diratsou Diran. He continued restoring artwork and began writing articles for Sion, the chronicle of the Armenian Patriarchate and other publications like the Armenian Observer for the ACYOA. He was ordained a celibate priest [apegha] in 1965 by the late Armenian Patriarch Elishe II in the tomb of the Holy Sepulchre on the burial place of Jesus Christ and he was renamed Ghevont [Leontius]. His ordination was planned to coincide with a pilgrimage of Armenian pilgrims from the diaspora. After his ordination, 40 days of seclusion in the Tomb of the Holy Selpuchre and celebration of his first liturgy, he was immediately named Dean of the Gulbenkian Library of the Armenian Patriarchate and worked on graphics for the Patriarchate periodical “Sion” and other publications.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Fr. Ghevont was personally responsible for the negotiated release of 12 young boys from various Israeli prisons and concentration camps in the West Bank, occupied Palestine. He was threatened by Israeli officials but never wavered to help his Armenian brethren.

Fr. Ghevont returned to America in 1968 and attended St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in Scarsdale, NY It was at St. Vladimir’s, studying under the tutelage of world renowned Orthodox Theologians, Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff, that Fr. Ghevont began to immerse himself into theological perspectives of the Church and develop a deeper understanding of Holy Scripture and ecclesiology. During this time, the former primate of the Eastern Diocese, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian quickly put Fr. Ghevont’s talents to work. First to assist in the organization for the consecration of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City and then as a fundraiser for the Diocese and editor for its Diocesan Chronicle, BEMA. During these early years, Fr. Ghevont was asked to visit several parishes. Each parish he visited was mesmerized by his dynamic oratory skills and his beautiful voice. In fact, each parish that he visited demanded that he become their pastor. St. John’s in Detroit even threatened the diocese that it would not pay its diocesan dues if Fr. Ghevont was not assigned as its pastor. Mr. Kavookjian in Bridgeport, Conn., pledged to donate the entire amount necessary to build a church in the area if Fr. Ghevont was assigned there. Because Fr. Ghevont was a faithful priest and loyal to his primate, he himself refused all of these trappings and chose instead to be obedient and be assigned by His Eminence Torkom Mangoogian to the most abysmal and backward parish in North America, Lowell, Massachusetts. This was a parish that had a history of trouble and many priests did not last more than 3 years as pastor. Fr. Ghevont would change that abysmal record and turn a last place team into a contender virtually overnight. During his tenure at Sts. Vartanantz, Fr. Ghevont was instrumental in acquiring 16 acres in nearby Chelmsford, MA in order to build a new church. He was elevated to rank of Vartabed [Doctor of Theology] of the Armenian Church by Archbishop Manoogian in 1973. As its new pastor, Fr. Ghevont worked tirelessly day and night, combing through baptismal records of families, visiting them, drawing the youth to the church and building its liturgical and spiritual life. By 1976, he had built the most vibrant ACYOA in the diocese and laid host to its ACYOA Sports Weekend and Convention. This was something that just 5 years prior would have been unthinkable. When Fr. Ghevont arrived in 1969, the parish had few members, mostly elderly and was on the verge of closing its doors. Its edifice in Lowell, MA, a converted building, was also in a very poor neighborhood. Finally, in 1978, his dreams were realized when the new church was consecrated. A beautiful edifice in traditional Armenian architectural style. For its beauty and resemblance to the great churches in Anatolia, it was branded with the name “Little Ani” after the great cathedral in Ani. Fr. Ghevont had done the impossible against all odds. He turned the ashes into paradise. He was elevated to the title of supreme doctor [Dzarakouyn Vartabed] of the Armenian Church by Patriarch Elishe of Jerusalem in 1978. In the years following the consecration, Fr. Ghevont continued to beautify the church complex and in 1986, he completed muralizing the entire sanctuary with Armenian iconography in the tradition of M’ren and other Armenian churches in Anatolia. He also renovated the remainder of the complex, equipping it with a beautiful banquet style pavilion, lecture halls, museum, and classrooms. During his tenure, he also prepared liturgical texts on all of the services and holy feasts so that he could communicate the full breath of Armenian Orthodoxy to the faithful. He served as Sts. Vartanantz’s pastor from 1969 to 1994.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Fr. Ghevont raised millions of dollars for the diocese of the Armenian Church and was told by Alex Manoogian and all of the old heavyweight donors that they would only give to the Armenian Church for Fr. Ghevont. He transformed the diocesan monthly newsletter into a dynamic chronicle filled with relevant articles that made the Armenian Church intelligible to the layperson. He led a trip of ACYOA members to Armenia in 1978 in what was said by many to be the most memorable trip of all time.

In 1992, Fr. Ghevont was appointed as the Vicar General of the New England Regional Jurisdiction by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church. In the late 1980s, Fr. Ghevont had been the architect for laying the groundwork to expand the diocesan structure into a more localized system like the Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic Churches and establish a set of sub-dioceses in New England, the Midwest, and the South under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Diocese. During his tenure as Vicar, he began organizing ministries and developing programs designed to propagate the faith. He is most noted for organizing the New England Synod of the Diaconate, organizing seminars and monthly worship services for them. The deacons began to be enlightened and taught about the true meaning of the diaconate. Unfortunately, the diocese asked Fr. Ghevont to stop this effort. Nothing like it has ever happened again.

In 1994, Fr. Ghevont was asked by His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese to assume the pastorship of Ss. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church in Providence, RI. Fr. Ghevont was asked to assist the parish in meeting its goal of completing its renovation projects. Fr. Ghevont quickly developed key relationships with the Egavian Family – the family instrumental in building the church’s first cultural pavilion in the 1960s. Utilizing his architectural background that won him a scholarship to the Sorbonne in Paris, Fr. Ghevont drew up and designed the initial plans for a new cathedral style church, which would be made of white marble and complement the majestic Providence, RI State House across the highway. Unfortunately, church leaders were not as visionary and decided to maintain an aged and non-Armenian architectural style building rather than build a spectacular new edifice. Fr. Ghevont was successful in cleaning the revamping the Sunday School hall.

During his tenure in Providence, RI, people would come from near and far to listen to his magnificent homilies and expositions of Holy Scripture and celebrate in his spell-binding Jerusalem styled liturgies. On Easter Sunday 1995, the sanctuary of Ss. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church in Providence could not contain the throngs of worshippers who came to participate in the liturgy. Many worshipers lined the stairway and vestibules listening. For the first time in over 60 years, the parish council chairman of the Prelacy Armenian Church in Providence, Ss. Vartanantz, attended Easter Sunday Divine Liturgy at Ss. Sahag and Mesrob, to see Fr. Ghevont. Unfortunately, Hayr Soorp’s visions and dreams for Providence were never realized and he decided to resign in November of 1997.

For the next ten years, Fr. Ghevont visited many parishes and mesmerized thousands of the faithful with his golden tongue and masterful sermons. Many remember Fr. Ghevont sitting in a throne in the chancel, providing precise commentary on Holy Scripture and the meaning the Gospel. In 2000, with a cadre of young savants, he founded the Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, a theological consortium created to research and communicate the magnificence of the Armenian Orthodox Tradition. It was this vehicle that Fr. Ghevont believed would breath “espirit de corps” back into the Armenian Church. This institute published two books – the DOMAR – the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Burial Rites According to the Armenian Orthodox Church [forthcoming]. In addition, he crafted many masterful theological and Armenological articles, short stories and vignettes that will soon be published by a new Institute in his memory.
While visiting parishes in 2009, Fr. Ghevont suffered a terrible car accident and injured his back. He ended up in a wheel chair and fought sickness for the next two years. He fell asleep in the Lord on January 20, 2013. Fr. Ghevont was one of the most learned and talented Armenian priests of his generation and the last living priest ordained on the tomb of Christ. The Armenian Church never realized his genius. He will be missed by many.

May God enlighten his soul.

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