Deacon Roland Telfeyan will be ordained to the holy priesthood of the Armenian Church this Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14, at St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston, New York. The ordination services will be celebrated by the Prelate, His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan. Deacon Roland’s sponsor is Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis Church. The Godfather of the ordination is Rev. Fr. Vahan Kouyoumdjian.
The process of ordination will begin Saturday afternoon with Vespers and the Order of Calling to the Priesthood. The candidate walks on his knees down the main aisle of the church as a sign of his humility and readiness to serve God. He is escorted by his sponsor and two priests. Through a series of questions the Prelate confirms the worthiness of the candidate and his willingness and ability to serve as a priest in the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The next morning, in the tradition of the Armenian Church, the ordination service will take place intertwined with the Divine Liturgy, as this is the liturgical context in which the priest will serve most visibly. The ordination will be livestreamed.
Deacon Roland Telfeyan was born and raised in New York and grew up in the Armenian Church.
He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics and music theory, with concentrations in computer science and church music, and worked as a senior research scientist in semiconductor manufacturing and as a senior trading strategist and quantitative financial mathematician on Wall Street.
In 2019, he was ordained deacon by Archbishop Anoushavan in New York. He has been studying with Archbishop Anoushavan and the brotherhood and scholars of the Armenian Prelacy and the Catholicosate of Cilicia.
He lives with his wife Maro and daughters Anahid and Hasmik in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they all serve as church school servants.