IN MEMORIAM – BISHOP MEGHRIG PARIKIAN

IN MEMORIAM
BISHOP MEGHRIG PARIKIAN
(1968-2021)

Archbishop Anoushavan and the Religious and Lay Council have learned with great sorrow that His Grace, Bishop Meghrig Parikian, member of the Congregation of the Great House of Cilicia and dean of the Seminary, passed away on Saturday, January 16, 2021.

Bishop Meghrig’s funeral was held on Sunday, January 17, 2021, at the St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral of the monastery of Antelias, following which his body was laid to rest in the mausoleum of the Congregation.

His Grace, Bishop Meghrig Parikian was born with the given name Garabed in Beirut, Lebanon, on January 3, 1968. He received his primary education at the “Aksor Kasardjian” and “Mihran Karageozian” elementary schools and in 1982 he entered the Zarehian Seminary of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia.

He was ordained a Deacon by His Eminence Archbishop Datev Sarkissian on May 6, 1985, and after completing his education at the seminary, he was ordained as a celibate priest by His Grace Bishop Zareh Aznavourian on May 28, 1988, taking the name of Fr. Meghrig.

In July 1994, he was given the title of Very Reverend – Vartabed, by His Eminence Archbishop Ardag Manougian, Prelate of the Tehran Prelacy, after presenting his thesis, the Modern Armenian translation and critical study of “Letters of Nerses, Catholicos of the Armenians, Written in Different Times to Various Persons.” His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, bestowed upon Parikian the right to wear a pectoral cross in January 1996. On May 26, 2002, he was given the title of Right Reverend by His Eminence, Archbishop Zareh Aznavourian.

He served in several capacities throughout his monastic career:

Between 1988 and 1995 he served the Seminary as a monitor and choir master, while directing the Catholicosate’s “Shenorhali” choir. In 1995, he was appointed Great Sacristan at the Catholicosate. In 1999-2002, he served as director of the “Birds’ Nest” Armenian Orphanage in Jbeil.

Along with his monastic duties, he also attended the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Switzerland, where he followed the “Overcome Violence” educational program. As a Deacon, Parikian had begun studying the piano under the direction of Setrag Setragian, and continued his piano studies during his service in Lebanon. In 1997, he moved to New York to attend Mannes College, The New School for Music, and was instructed by Peter Bellino until his departure in 1999.

In 2002, he was appointed as the parish priest for the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Toronto, Canada, and served the local Armenian community for 12 years.

In 2010, he was named as the Rector of the province of Ontario, and on December 19, 2013, he was appointed Vicar General of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada.

On April 27, 2014, His Holiness Aram I ordained Father Parikian as a Bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church. His Grace was then elected as Prelate of Canada by the Canadian Armenian National Assembly Representatives in 2014. After serving as Prelate for two years, Bishop Meghrig resigned as Prelate for personal reasons and returned to Antelias.

At the Catholicosate, he became the director of the Christian Education Department of the Holy See of Cilicia. In 2017, he founded the Naregatsi children’s choir of the Catholicosate. In 2018-2019, he served as Vicar General of the Prelacy of Tehran (Iran). Back to the Catholicosate, he was once again the director of the Birds’ Nest Orphanage in 2019-2020. Last year, he had been appointed Rector of the Seminary.

Bishop Meghrig has authored several musical pieces and compositions. He has also edited volumes on music.

May God grant him eternal rest.