ON ITS 115 ANNIVERSARY, PRELATE HAILS ARS AS A COMMUNITY PILLAR

On Saturday, March 8, His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate, attended the 115th anniversary celebration of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

Before the blessing of the table, on behalf of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, the Prelate congratulated the organization, a backbone of the Armenian community, on its milestone anniversary. Archbishop Anoushavan said that beyond its charitable mission, the ARS also serves educational, social, and other purposes, which it fulfills with an Armenian-wide scope. He added that just as the Arax, Armenia’s mother river, nourishes the homeland, the ARS, with its deep 115-year-old roots and branches spread across the globe, cultivates numerous aspects of Armenian life with maternal care and dedication. 

The Prelate was accompanied by Rev. Fr. Vatche Balekdjian, pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church, of Ridgefield, New Jersey; Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, of New York; and Rev. Fr. Vahan Kouyoumdjian, visiting pastor of the Holy Cross Church, of Troy, New York.