Archbishop Anoushavan will celebrate the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, April 3, at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, PA, and will introduce Rev. Fr. Torkom Chorbajian, the parish’s recently appointed assistant pastor, and his family to the community.
Rev. Fr. Torkom Chorbajian (baptismal name Mourad) was born in Aleppo in 1990 and baptized at the local St. Gregory the Illuminator Church. He grew up in Aleppo serving from an early age at the church as an altar boy, acolyte, choir member, and later as sub-deacon and deacon. He was admitted to the Theological Seminary of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, where he completed a seven-year program studying Church History, Old and New Testaments, Liturgy, Pastoral Theology, Church Music, and other subjects. During this time, he also completed graduate courses in Biblical and pastoral studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut. Following his graduation from the Theological Seminary in 2013, he was married to Shogher Proudian. In the same year, he was ordained to priesthood by Archbishop Nareg Alemezian at the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Antelias, Lebanon, and named Torkom.
In 2014 Der Torkom and Yeretzgin Shogher were called to serve in the United States at St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Granite City, Illinois, where they raised their family amongst the small but vibrant community for the next five years. In 2019 Rev. Fr. Chorbajian was assigned to Holy Trinity Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he led competently the parish throughout the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemics. Last weekend, he bid farewell to the Holy Trinity parish and moved with his family to Philadelphia, his new home.