OUR HISTORY

Armenian Church of Our Saviour

ՍՈՒՐԲ ՓՐԿԻՉ ԵԿԵՂԵՑԻ

First Armenian Church in America

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:19-20]

In 301 A.D., our patron saint, St. Gregory the Illuminator, converted the Armenian King Drtad
to Christianity, leading Armenia to become the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state
religion. Nearly 1600 years later, the Armenian Church of Our Saviour became the first
Armenian Apostolic Church established in America. Our parish serves as the spiritual and
cultural home of the greater Worcester Armenian community and belongs to the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). The Diocese falls under the auspices of Our
Mother See in Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia. The worldwide Armenian Church is an apostolic
Christian Church born from the years following Jesus Christ’s resurrection when the Apostles
Thaddeus and Bartholomew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, evangelized our Lord’s Good News
to Armenia.

Whereas the Armenian people, by reason of persecution and abject poverty, are
immigrating to America, in order to preserve these immigrants from being
alienated, we hereby decide to build a church and we direct Rev. Hovsep
Vartabed Sarajian to undertake the necessary negotiations for that purpose.

[from the minutes of the Worcester Armenian Church Trustees – February 2, 1890]

With that momentous decision, the Founding Fathers of our beloved parish, along with its
newly appointed pastor Reverend Father Hovsep Vartabed Sarajian, undertook the incredible
challenge to establish our parish and build the first Armenian Church in America. The desire
and determination of the Armenian immigrants of Worcester to have their own house of
worship stemmed not only from the circumstances and strange environment of their newly
adopted country, but also from the nature of Armenian people themselves. Instinctively,
Armenians have striven to protect and preserve their religious freedom, practice their
Apostolic Christian faith and fervently assert their identity.
Within a year, money was raised through donations and borrowing, land was purchased and
the church edifice was constructed. Our first sanctuary on Laurel Street in Worcester was
consecrated on January 18, 1891. That being the Christmas Day according to the Gregorian
calendar (followed in Jerusalem and equivalent to January 6 of the Julian calendar), the
church was named the Church of our Saviour.

The Our Saviour church in Oosdur (Worcester) became the inspiration and template from
which other Armenian communities throughout the Eastern United States – and indeed
throughout North America – established their own parishes. Fittingly, in its early years, the
Our Saviour parish became the first seat of Diocese of the Armenian Church in America.
When it outgrew its original location, our parish moved to its current Salisbury Street location
in 1952 (ironically close to the wire mills where many Worcester Armenian immigrants first
worked in the 1800s). Another church was built — this time in the Armenian cruciform
architecture — from the passion and success of a growing parish. Eventually, a next
generation again expanded our flourishing parish by adding its Cultural Center to the campus.
Our Salisbury Street location is our spiritual center and identity as a parish. It is where our
faithful gather in the name of God and serve to grow the parish. Most importantly, it is where
the Word of the Gospel is preached and Jesus Christ’s message of salvation is proclaimed
each Sunday.

Today, over 130 years later, we remember the relentless dedication and spirit of our
courageous founders, our many pastors and all who have served the mission of the First
Armenian Church in America and fulfilled Jesus’ words to his followers. We honor them with a
vibrant and thriving parish that puts Our Lord’s Good News into action