A Parish on Slauson and La Tijera
St. James Armenian Apostolic Church stands at 4950 West Slauson Avenue in the southwestern corner of Los Angeles, just off La Tijera Boulevard, where it has been the spiritual home of an Armenian community for more than half a century. The parish belongs to the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, which in turn looks to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia. For Armenians who came to Los Angeles in the years after the Second World War, and for their children and grandchildren, St. James has been the place where the Badarak is celebrated each Sunday in Armenian and English, where children learn the faith in Sunday School, where deacons and acolytes serve at the altar, and where a constellation of parish organizations - the Ladies Society, the ACYO, the Fellowship Club, the Choir, the Sunday School Board, the Parish Council, and the Memorial Fund - keeps the life of the community going.
The church takes its name from one of the most revered figures of the early Armenian Church. The story of how that name came to Los Angeles, and how the parish grew from a converted house on West Adams Boulevard to a sanctuary consecrated on the Slauson and La Tijera campus in 1971, is the story of nearly a century of Armenian-American life in the city.
The Patron: St. James of Nisibis
The church is dedicated to St. James of Nisibis, a Syrian monk and first cousin of St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to tradition, James was appointed bishop of the Christian city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia in 308 A.D. He is recorded as a signatory to the canons produced at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., where he played a leading role among the 318 Christian leaders present and merited the attention of St. Athanasius and the other eastern and western bishops gathered there. The most important canon to emerge from Nicaea was the Nicene Creed, the formal declaration of the principal doctrines of the Armenian Church, still solemnly chanted by the people at every Divine Liturgy.
James is also remembered for the legend of his search for a relic of Noah's Ark. Hearing that his people doubted the biblical account, he set out to climb Mount Ararat. Tradition holds that he fell asleep on the journey, and each time he awoke he found himself back at his starting place - a miracle that repeated itself until, after seven years of perseverance, an angel appeared to him in a vision and handed him a piece of wood from the Ark. James prayed for an eternal sign at the spot of the vision, and a spring gushed forth, said to flow to this day. The relic he brought back is, according to the parish, still in the possession of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The church that bears his name is one of three Ecumenical Councils accepted by the Armenian Church, alongside Ephesus (431 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.). The fourth council, Chalcedon (451 A.D.), made formulations on the nature of Christ that the Armenian Church, together with the other Oriental Orthodox churches, did not accept - a distinction that marks them apart from the Roman Catholic and Byzantine Orthodox traditions.
From Adams Boulevard to Slauson and La Tijera
The parish dates its formal organization to 1941, when a committee came together and, by April of 1942, held the first parish assembly in a converted residence on West Adams Boulevard. The little community was consecrated on December 27, 1942. After the end of the Second World War, the parish grew rapidly as Armenian families moved into the Los Angeles area. A new auditorium was dedicated in 1949, and new sanctuary and classroom buildings were consecrated in December 1957.
By the early 1960s the community had outgrown its Adams Boulevard home. In January 1964 the parish acquired its present site at Slauson and La Tijera. The first structure built was the tan auditorium, which was used temporarily for church services while underground parking structures were completed in 1965. The sanctuary that stands today was begun on May 19, 1968, when His Holiness Vazken I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, officiated at the groundbreaking ceremonies. Construction was completed and the sanctuary was consecrated on March 21, 1971. At the same time the auditorium was enlarged and renamed St. James Gogian Hall, in recognition of the role Mr. Gogian played in the building campaign and in the expansion of the hall.
A second major phase of development followed. The St. James Sunday School building was completed in May 1974, providing classrooms for the Sunday School and the Armenian School. Within that building, the St. James Haiganosh Dulgarian Hall was dedicated in June 1975, and the St. James Library - open to one and all - found its home there as well. The Memorial Monument, a granite plaque bearing the names of deceased parishioners, stands on the outer wall above the courtyard. These named individuals are remembered each year at a special Requiem Service on the parish's annual Name Day in December.
Sunday at St. James: The Badarak
Sunday is the heart of the week at St. James. The Divine Liturgy - the Badarak, in Armenian - begins at 10:30 AM and is celebrated by the Parish Priest, assisted by deacons and altar servers. Holy Communion is distributed at 11:30 AM, and the sermon is preached at 11:45 AM. A Requiem service follows at noon. The parish lists its schedule in both English and Armenian (Ս. Պատարագ Ժամը 10:30ին, Քարոզ 11:45ին, Հոգեհանգսիստ Ժամը 12:00ին), reflecting the bilingual character of the community.
The Badarak is the central service of the Armenian Church, the celebration in which the sacrament of Holy Communion is administered. Its text is based on the missals of St. Basil of Caesarea and St. Gregory the Theologian. Through the centuries, with special rites and original Armenian chants, the service took on a distinctly Armenian character. It is divided into four parts: Preparation, the Synaxis (or Liturgy of the Word), the Eucharist, and the Last Blessing.
The service begins not at the altar but among the people. The celebrant enters the sanctuary led by candle-bearers and altar servers, while the people sing the Khorhoort khoreen, "Profound mystery." Behind the closed curtain the celebrant and deacon prepare the bread and wine; when the curtain opens, the procession moves around the altar and into the nave. The Liturgy of the Word includes the chanting of scripture passages, the Gospel carried in solemn procession, and the recitation of the Nicene Creed by the whole congregation. The Eucharistic Prayer, attributed to St. Athanasius, calls down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine. Holy Communion is administered in the form of a small particle of bread dipped in wine, placed directly into the mouth of each communicant after the words Megha Asdoodzo - "I have sinned against God." The service closes with the blessing of Psalm 28 and the reading of the Prologue of the Gospel of John.
Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page, and bilingual sermons by Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian are posted online regularly. The parish also produces a digital weekly newsletter called the Oshagan, which carries sermon notes, parish council reports, diocesan news, Sunday School updates, and announcements.
The Choir, Deacons, and Altar Servers
The musical life of the Badarak is carried by the St. James Choir, directed by Ms. Manik Manukyan. The choir is accompanied by organists including Ms. Anna Alikhanov, Mrs. Kathy Terzian, and Deacon Danny Akarakian. Members sing the sharagans - the traditional Armenian hymns of the church year - under the leadership of the choir director and the deacons.
The sanctuary is served by a large and multi-generational body of ordained altar servers. The Archdeacons include Deacon Gregory Akarakian and Deacon Dr. Sarkis Mesrobian. Among the Deacons are Ara Panos Akarakian, Peter Atoyan, Krikor Aroush, Fedy Giragosian, Boghos Antranig Keutelian, Levon Kemkemian, Antranig Mesrobian, Krikor Mesrobian, Eric Anthony Nikssarian, Norair Michael Tachejian, and Harout Yepremian. The Sub-Deacons include Aren Akarakian, Arutyun Arutyunyan, Roy Akarakian, Gary Kemkemian, and Roby Kemkemian. The youngest Acolytes include Hagop Jack Andranikian, Anthony Avo Bolsajian, Joseph Seto Chelebian, Ardo Daron Khedesian, Nicholas Aram Manoukian, Ryan Armen Manoukian, Carl Baghdik Papazian, Gregory Peter Turpanjian, and Peter James Turpanjian. A separate group of Veil Bearers - young women and girls including Natalie Zabel Chedotte, Annie Dilsizian, Summer Gracie Garoian, Dahlia Rosine Kizirian, Vanna Lee Kizirian, Lena Takouhi Mukhalian, Mayda Tachejian, and Lori Tovmassian - assists during the Divine Liturgy.
Sunday School and the Christian Education of Children
The St. James Sunday School gathers every Sunday during the school year, beginning at 11:00 AM. The morning opens with a group assembly, followed by a first class session from 11:20 to 11:55 AM and a second session from 11:55 AM to 12:30 PM, with dismissal at 12:30 PM.
The curriculum is rooted in the faith of the Armenian Apostolic Church and combines three elements each week: Religion, Armenian Language (a basic introduction to reading, writing, and speaking), and Culture, sprinkled through the year with activities in art, music, dance, and cooking. The teaching staff includes Peter Turpanjian (Religion), Gregory Turpanjian (Armenian Language), Lori Thomas, Taline Reyes, and Nare Thomas (PreK-Kindergarten), and Zahra Bejaune (Cultural Art). The Sunday School Board is led by Superintendent Gail Chelebian, with Treasurer Lena Adishian and board members Nina Turpanjian, Juli Avedissian, and Susan Powell. The program welcomes new volunteers - parents and parishioners with a special talent or simply an interest in giving back - to teach even once a month, once a quarter, or once a year.
The parish priest delivers bilingual Christian educational videos for children and youth, with titles including "Why is Armenian Christmas on January 6th," "Praying for Armenia and Artsakh," "How to Cross Yourself," "God Created the Stars," and lessons on St. Sarkis, Holy Easter, and the Great Commission. The Sunday School has grown in recent years, with more than fifty registered children. Fr. Haroutioun has called this growth one of the most hopeful signs of the parish's life.
ACYO - The Armenian Church Youth Organization
The ACYO is the youth arm of the parish. Its mission is to bring together young Armenian adults - both single and married - through organized events with the intent of retaining an Armenian identity and deterring complete assimilation with the surrounding majority culture. Activities preserve Armenian culture and provide Armenian youth with opportunities to interact with one another, to grow their social circle, to enrich mind and spirit through discussions of faith and the similarities and differences in traditions between Armenians from different countries, and to give back to the community.
The 2023 Executive Board of the St. James ACYO includes Chairperson Lori Thomas, Vice Chairperson Ryan Manoukian, Treasurer Nicholas Manoukian, Recording Secretary Carl Papazian, Sergeant at Arms Lily Manoukian, and Parent Advisor Razmik Manoukian. The local chapter is part of the Western Diocese ACYO (ACYO-WD), and members regularly take part in Hye Camp, the diocesan summer camp program.
Ladies Society, Fellowship Club, and SMA
The Ladies Society, chaired by Mrs. Seta Yanikian, with Vice Chairs Arpi Barsam and Lucille Bogosian, Treasurer Janet Roberts, Recording Secretary Arlene Roupinian, Parliamentarian Sylvia Salmastlian, and Chaplin Anahid Sousanian, is one of the most active groups in the parish. It prepares the table of traditional Armenian pastries and cookies after Sunday services, organizes fundraisers such as the Madagh luncheon, washes and bags grapes for the annual Grape Blessing ceremony, and contributes substantial sums to the Parish Council's operating fund. In 2020 alone, the Society donated $10,000 to the Parish Council for operational expenses.
The Fellowship Club nurtures comradeship among St. James members. The Club meets from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Members support church activities, attend Sunday School celebrations, and contribute to the life of the parish through their gatherings.
SMA - Single and Married Armenians - is a newer effort within the parish. Its mission, like that of the ACYO, is to bring the younger Armenian generation together through organized events and to provide opportunities for cultural, spiritual, and social interaction.
Parish Council, Parish Assembly, and Looking Forward
The Parish Council is the executive-administrative body of the parish. It is presided over by the spiritual pastor and includes a Chairman, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Senior Advisors, and Advisors. The current council includes Chairman Hrant Hamalian, Vice Chair Paul Keutelian, Treasurer Dn. Eric Niksarrian, Secretary Jason Roberts, Senior Advisors Robert Barsam and Takvor Papazian, and Advisors Yegiya Der Aprahamian, Selva Demirjian, Peter Abajian, and Nina Turpanjian.
The Parish Assembly is the general assembly of the community, presided over by the spiritual pastor. It elects or appoints the members of the Parish Council and the representatives or delegates to the Diocesan Assembly. The current Parish Assembly officers include Chairman Ronald Nazeley, Vice Chair Patrick Goshtigian, and Secretary Gail Chelebian, with Diocesan Delegates Peter Abajian, Arpi Barsam, Robert Barsam, Deacon Nishan Dulgerian, and Deacon Dr. Sarkis Mesrobian.
To address ongoing operating shortfalls, the parish runs a Looking Forward annual appeal. Monthly operational expenses average $31,000, while average monthly income is $25,000, leaving a shortfall of $6,000 that the Parish Council works to close. The Looking Forward program recognizes supporters at four levels - Supporter ($1-$999), Contributor ($1,000 or more per year), Builder ($2,500 or more per year), and Visionary ($5,000 or more per year, with a home visitation and blessing by the Parish Priest). Peter Abajian chairs the initiative, and Patty Samarge chairs the Fundraising Committee.
The Memorial Fund and the Monument
The St. James Memorial Fund was established on January 27, 1980, by the St. James Parish Assembly, for the purpose of managing and investing the reserve funds of the parish. The current Board of Trustees includes Chair Robert Barsam, Secretary Lily Balian, Treasurer Assadour Kizirian, and Advisors Ron Nazeley, Patty Samarge, Peter Abajian, Harold Rakoobian, Richard Terzian, Barouyr Kizirian, and Patrick Goshtigian, with Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian as ex-officio member. The Fund is managed in partnership with UBS Financial Institution of Beverly Hills.
Over the years, the Memorial Fund has given more than $1,100,000 to parish needs, charitable organizations in the United States and Armenia, the Diocese, diocesan educational endeavors, the Diocese camp facility, and the expansion, repair, and upkeep of St. James itself. Recent projects include financing the installation of solar panels that now meet the electrical energy needs of the entire complex, saving the parish more than $30,000 annually. The Board also maintains the granite Memorial Monument on the church patio, where the names of deceased loved ones can be inscribed for a one-time donation. Each year, on the parish's annual Name Day in December, those inscribed names are read during a special Requiem Service held in their memory.
The Annual Picnic and the Rhythm of the Year
Each fall the parish holds its Annual Armenian Festival on the church grounds, an afternoon of Armenian food and pastries, music and dancing, games for children, and a raffle. The picnic is one of the parish's most visible community gatherings, drawing friends and neighbors from across southwest Los Angeles. Other annual rhythms include the Sunday Coffee Hour after Badarak (with traditional Armenian refreshments), the Grape Blessing on the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin in August, the Ladies Society's Lenten pot lucks, and the parish Name Day in December.
Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian has emphasized that this rhythm of gathering - whether for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, for Sunday School at eleven, for a Fellowship Club meeting on Monday, or for the picnic in October - is itself a form of witness. In the words of one parish council report, "even in these unpredictable and difficult times we must pause and appreciate that we can still come together and worship our Lord."
Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian: A Priest from Aleppo
The current Parish Priest is Rev. Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian, who was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1970. He received his elementary education at Sahakian School of Aleppo, was accepted in 1983 to the seminary of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, and was ordained a deacon in 1988 by Bishop Vartan Demirdjian. He graduated from the seminary of Antelias in 1990 and taught religion and Armenian history at the Haigazian School in Aleppo from 1990 to 1991, while also working in the editorial offices of Kantsasar, the official publication of the Armenian Prelacy of Aleppo.
He married Talin Tanachian on February 29, 1992, and together they moved to Paris, where he was ordained a married priest by Archbishop Kude Nacachian at St. John Baptist Armenian Church. He served as pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in Chaville, France, until June 2002, and then as pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Armenian Church in Belgium. In 2005 he was invited to become pastor of Holy Cross of Varak in Paris, where he served until 2010. In 2010 the Primate of the Western Diocese, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, invited him to serve as pastor of the Mission Parish of Ventura County, and in September 2011 Archbishop Derderian assigned him as Parish Priest of St. James in Los Angeles. Fr. Haroutioun and Yeretsgin Talin are the parents of two children, Norayr and Mayda. Both their children serve at the altar - Norayr as a Deacon, Mayda as a Veil Bearer.
Fr. Haroutioun is known for bilingual and Armenian-language sermons, for his pastoral messages in the weekly Oshagan newsletter, and for his work organizing community events including the 2018 Pilgrimage to Armenia. He delivers Sunday messages in both Armenian and English, teaches Bible study classes, and coordinates Armenian-language and cultural programs for parishioners. He also works with the ACYO and the Ladies Society, and he serves as an ex-officio member of the Memorial Fund Board. Pastoral Care requests - for the arrangement of sacramental services, home blessings, healing prayers, or funeral services - are made through the church office.
Within the Armenian Church
St. James is a parish of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that trace their history to the evangelization of Armenia by St. Gregory the Illuminator and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion in 301 A.D. The supreme spiritual leader of the Armenian Church is His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the 132nd successor to St. Gregory, who occupies the throne of St. Gregory at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Vagharshapat, Armenia.
St. James is part of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, led by His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian. The Western Diocese is one of four regional structures within the North American Armenian Church; the others are the Eastern Diocese and the Canadian Diocese, all under the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. St. James takes part in diocesan life through its delegates to the Diocesan Assembly, through programs such as the annual Reclaim Conference and the RECLAIM youth gathering, and through the ACYO's Hye Camp program.
The wider Armenian Church is also represented globally by the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia (Antelias, Lebanon), the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and All of Turkey. The supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians in spiritual matters remains pre-eminent among them.
Visiting St. James
St. James welcomes visitors to its Sunday services. The Divine Liturgy begins at 10:30 AM at 4950 W. Slauson Avenue, with Holy Communion at 11:30 and the sermon at 11:45, followed by Requiem at noon. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 and on weekends. For pastoral matters including baptisms, weddings, funerals, home blessings, and hospital visitations, parishioners and friends may call (323) 295-4588 or write to secretary@stjamesla.net or prieststjamesla@gmail.com.
For those unable to attend in person, services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page. The Oshagan newsletter carries weekly news, sermon notes, and announcements; parishioners and friends may subscribe through the Constant Contact link on the church's homepage. The annual Name Day in December, the Annual Picnic in the fall, and the Grape Blessing in August are the most visible community gatherings of the year.
Within the parish - on the patio outside the sanctuary, in the Gogian Hall, in the Sunday School classrooms, in the Library, in the Haiganosh Dulgarian Hall, and at the Memorial Monument on the courtyard wall - the St. James community continues to gather in the faith of St. James of Nisibis, in the language and songs of the Armenian Church, and in the conviction that the parish on Slauson and La Tijera is, as Fr. Haroutioun has written, "your home church."