After the establishment of the US-based Terchoonian Children’s Home Foundation, a thorough review of the children’s records was performed which revealed that many of the children had not been baptized. A group of volunteers traveled to act as Godfathers for 70 of the children. Catholicos Karekin II, the current head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, gave his full blessing for the baptism. Through the generosity and goodwill of the benefactors, the children were beautifully dressed and transported on rented comfortable buses on the morning of June 18, 2005 to the Echmiadzin Cathedral where the service took place.

The cathedral was built in 480 on the very spot where Grigor Luysavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator) dreamt Jesus descend from heaven and request a church to be built. On June 18th, this majestic church was filled with the joyful sounds of children, glorious hymns and the heavenly aroma of frankincense.

Each child received a blessed gold cross, the symbol of their faith and devotion. Donations by:
Crosses: Mr & Mrs Zohrap Dulgerian
Chains: garo & Dikran Kurgian Families
Medals: Waleed & Fadi Khalife Families

After the Baptism ceremony, the benefactors hosted a splendid dinner party for the children who will, no doubt, remember this day for many years to come. This party was made possible through the generous donations of Mr & Mrs Hayk Kayayan, Mr & Mrs Johney Babaoglu, and Mr & Mrs Norayr Yezekyan.

The Sacred Chrism (Myron) four days after the baptism was again celebrated by a second party which was generously donated by Mr & Mrs Sarkis Demircioglu and Mr & Mrs Vache Tufenkjian.




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