Boca Raton Parish Re-Opens its Sanctuary Following an Extensive Renovation
17 August 2011
On Sunday, August 14, 2011, St. David Armenian Church of Boca Raton, Fla., re-opened its sanctuary after a six-and-half-week renovation. The community gathered in the morning for the celebration of the Feast of Assumption, and to see the newly remodeled sanctuary.
The service started in the church hall, with 15 young sub-deacons joining parish pastor the Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian. Fr. Berberian and the young altar servers and choir led the congregation to the church entrance, where the "opening of doors" ceremony, or trnpatsek, took place. As the sanctuary doors opened, 200 people stood in awe of the newly remodeled St. David sanctuary. Their eyes sparkled and their spirits were energized as they stepped into the magnificent sanctuary after Fr. Berberian, the altar servers and choir singing Voghormoutiamp ko tourn patz mez Der-"With your mercy, open the door for us, O Lord."
Fr. Berberian proceeded to celebrate the Holy Badarak. Prior to his sermon Fr. Berberian spoke on the significance of the occasion, both for the parish and as a feast of the church (see Fr. Berberian's remarks below).
In his sermon, Fr. Berberian spoke about the greatness of St. Mary in the New Testament and in church history, in particular in the life of the Armenian people. He emphasized that Mary revolutionized the role of womanhood in human society.
The Blessing of Grapes ceremony followed. Then, with great enthusiasm, people gathered in Mardigian Hall for a special luncheon to celebrate both the Feast of Assumption and the re-opening of the sanctuary.
Parish council chair Armen Melkonian offered a toast to the people: "Thank you for your support and encouragement. We truly are fortunate to have such a beautiful sanctuary."
At the conclusion of the program, Fr. Nareg thanked Mr. Melkonian for closely overseeing and sharing his input in the project.
What follows is an extract from the remarks of the Very Rev. Dr. Nareg Berberian, on the occasion of the re-opening of the sanctuary of St. David Armenian Church, of Boca Raton, Fla.
For the first time we are gathered in our magnificently renovated sanctuary and narthex on the celebration of the Feast of Assumption.
As you are marveling at the beauty of our sanctuary, I am certain that the founding fathers of our community are rejoicing with you from heaven. This church was built by their vision for the enrichment of our faith and culture. They successfully passed their vision to our present generation. Today, it is your responsibility to continue enriching their vision. It is the duty of every Armenian to take part in this project through his or her donation.
This is your church. This church offers you spiritual, cultural, educational, and social programs. Without this church we have no identity, and with no identity we are lost in the vastness of this world. There are thousands of churches in South Florida. We are identified as Armenians by our own church. When we say, "I am a member of St. David Armenian Church," we are identifying where we come from, to whom we belong, who we are and what we are...
Look at the beauty of this church. As we entered the church for the first time, we sang "Ourakh ler," which means, "Rejoice, O Holy Church." God is rejoicing today for beautifying His house. Is there anything more rewarding than this? This is the pride of the church. The next generation will be grateful for the beautification of our sanctuary.... It is my hope that our present visionaries will be great role models for our youth who understand the church is a place of worship and fellowship.
