ARCHBISHOP ANOUSHAVAN TO INSTALL REV. FR. VACHE BALEKJIAN AS PASTOR OF STS. VARTANANTZ CHURCH IN RIDGEFIELD, NEW JERSEY

On Sunday, February 23, His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate, will formally install the Very Rev. Fr. Vache Balekjian as the pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey. On this occasion, Fr. Vache will celebrate his inaugural Divine Liturgy and deliver the sermon. 

Fr. Vache was born on September 4, 1993, in Aleppo. His theological education began at the Armenian Theological Seminary of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, where he studied from 2007 to 2013. He continued his theological training at the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Lebanon, completing his studies in 2015. 

Fr. Vache was ordained a deacon in 2011 and entered the celibate priesthood in 2013. Three years later, in 2016, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite (vardapet). From 2013 to 2016, he preached in various churches across Lebanon and was an active member of the Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. He also served as the General Director of Armenian Sunday Schools from 2015 to 2016. 

Between 2013 and 2017, Fr. Vache served as personal secretary to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I. Concurrently, he was assistant dean at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary and took on administrative and teaching responsibilities for Sunday school students. 

In 2017, Fr. Vache was designated  visiting preacher in Armenian churches across California. The following year, he was appointed pastor of Holy Martyrs Church in Abu Dhabi, where he also took on the role of director of the parish’s Sunday School. His upcoming installation as pastor of Sts. Vartanantz marks the next chapter in his dedication to the Armenian Apostolic Church and its faithful.  

On behalf of the Religious and Executive Councils, we welcome Fr. Vache Balekjian and wish him a fruitful work in the Prelacy.