Remembering Archbishop Ardavazt Terterian

Vahe H. Apelian

 

Archbishop Ardavazt Terterian passed away to his eternal rest on July 18, 2013. He was 83 years old.

The Western Prelacy broke the news of his passing away noting that the Archbishop Ardavazt “will be remembered as an exemplary clergyman, a faithful and humble servant who devotedly served the Holy See of Cilicia for over sixty years. He had served as Dean of the Seminary, Catholicosal General Vicar, and Locum Tenens. As a scholar and distinguished educator, the late Archbishop instructed and prepared countless Brotherhood members and community servants at the Seminary of the Holy See of Cilicia”

I met Archbishop Terterian for the first and only time on April 2004 in my parent’s house in Reseda, CA. He was in Los Angeles at the invitation of the Kessab Educational Association (K.E.A), to officiate the inauguration of the late Catholicos Karekin I Sarkissian Library at the K.E.A Center in Reseda, CA, as well, a short walking distance from my parent's house.

It's not possible to meet this unassuming, gentle, and temperate clergyman without feeling humbled by the privilege of having been graced by his company and not thank God for gifting us him as one of the many clerics who upheld and perpetuated the Armenian Church since King Drdat adopted Christianity 1,700 years ago.

Archbishop Terterian was born in Chakhaljekh, one of the 12 villages of Greater Kessab. The village is the ancestral home of the Terterian family. To this day only Terterian family members reside year around in the village.  Lately, the village, famous for its springs and gigantic trees, has become an attractive summer resort.

He is the son of Panos and Karoun (Apelian) and has a large extended family consisting of two brothers--Berj and Zaven and three sisters (Sarah, Berjouhie, and Marie). Berj and Marie are deceased. Other than his late brother’s family, who live in Chakhaljekh, the rest of his siblings’ families reside in Canada.

The Archbishop’s father and paternal grandfather were prominent personalities in greater Kessab. His grandfather was a master mason. In 1898, he erected, stone by stone, the Armenian Evangelical Church of Keurkune which defiantly stands to this day as a testament to his skills. His father was a prominent basket weaver.

After graduating from Kessab schools, Archbishop Ardavazt and the late Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian entered the Cilician Catholicosate Seminary in 1945 as teenagers. They progressed together through the ranks as monks and were consecrated as Vartabed, Bishop, and Archbishop. The late Catholicos Karekin and Archbishop Ardavazt were bosom friends and spiritual brothers. The late Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, in his moving description of the last few hours of Catholicos Karekin I Sarkissian, in Etchmiazin, wrote that he would comfort the ailing Catholicos by telling him that Archbishop Ardavazt telephoned to inquire about the health of his long-time friend.

On April 7, following the inauguration of the library, the K.E.A. organized a dinner-reception in honor of the Archbishop, who attended the reception accompanied by the Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian--one of the many students of the Archbishop Ardavazt. Other clergy and lay dignitaries from the Western Prelacy also accompanied the Archbishop.

During the reception, Khatchig Titizian, chairman of the K.E.A, welcomed the Archbishop. His cousin and prominent Armenian language teacher Haigaz Terterian introduced the Archbishop. My mother, Mrs. Zvart Apelian, the secretary of the K.E.A., expressed the Association’s gratitude to the Archbishop for honoring it with his presence and for officiating the opening of the Library. She also read a poem in Armenian (attached) she had composed honoring the Archbishop for his years of service and invited the Archbishop.

The Archbishop concluded his message by urging everyone to lend a helping hand to each other and to set aside self and selfishness in service of the nation.