Fr. Vasken Kouzouian Reflects on the Journey of an Armenian Priest

After his father, Fr. Mampre, retired, the Holy Trinity parish asked the younger Kouzouian to become its new pastor in 2002. Comparisons between father and son were inevitable. Fr. Vasken himself commented, “I came here with completely different strengths so that my ministry has been very different than his. He was very strong liturgically and culturally, and loved by the people. I entered through the door of addressing the issues of our youth and families first, and then went on to their parents and grandparents. Yet he has always been here to give support and to offer his opinion, but only when asked. He never interferes but is always available for me if I have a question.”

Kouzouian came back to Cambridge a changed man. He explained, “Going into the seminary, I was certain that I was going to go and teach the world all about the Armenian Church’s teachings. Soon when I became involved in parish life, I realized that it was first necessary to speak to people’s lives — the issues that they struggle with, the decisions they have to make, their joys and their sorrows. My focus turned from teaching to pastorally ministering, to entering their lives with them. It has been a wonderful path, and an effective one. People are looking for answers from the church.” Teaching for him now comes through sermons which show how to apply the lessons of the Armenian Church to one’s daily walk in life.

He said he feels that he has a good set of tools to accomplish this, especially with his present parishioners. He said, “I grew up like they did. I struggled with what they struggle with. I know what it is to go through the life process they are going through, from young children trying to figure out what life is, to college issues, finding a spouse and all the issues that emerge later in life.” The people he grew up with now are themselves parents raising young children — as are Fr. Vasken and his wife. He said, “When I interviewed here, I told the Parish Council that I will be a father with a newborn, and my needs will be different from the pastor who was here before me, who had adult children. They understood and allowed me to spend as much time as possible with my child. Now that she is 12, she is very active in our parish life too. The parish was very welcoming — and a young family with a young pastor brings a certain excitement for other families too.”

In turn, Kouzouian is very proud of the parish. He said, “This has always been a parish that has brought leaders to the Armenian Church in America. We are made up of immigrants who came after the Genocide. They built up their businesses, and their children took it to the next level. They became very successful thanks to their strong work ethic. Consequently we have a trust fund which sustains this large church complex. People say that this is ‘the wealthy church,’ but the real strength of this parish is its people — the way they think and approach family life. And they honor their community by maintaining their church on Brattle Street in this very blue-blooded part of America.”

At this point in time, he said he felt there was no major demographic distinction between it and St. James Armenian Church in nearby Watertown, which also is part of the Armenian Diocese. He said, “It is just old family ties which often determine where parishioners go to church — grandparents or parents may have come here. However, though we have a new influx from oversees, this is more of a fourth-generation church, with very much an American-Armenian experience. St. James has that, but also draws more newcomers, partly because of its location.”

Kouzouian said he feels the ministry of the Armenian Church grows more challenging as broad outside influences grow stronger. Many other priorities pull people away from the church on a Sunday morning. He said, “The social media world has changed our entire way of viewing our young people and how they view themselves and the world around them. World events like 9/11 have changed their outlook to what is a very dark one for many young people. The light that God brings is a new approach for them. The ministry must reinvent itself constantly because the world young people live in does the same.

Furthermore, it becomes more difficult in many ways to minister to a community that has been in America for several generations. He said, “With every generation of Armenians in America, American life becomes more ingrained in them, which is a wonderful thing. However, this does take them one step further from Armenian life. In the church and Diocese, we look for a balance. … I try to make the different experiences come together. I am an Armenian priest serving in America, and I know what that means.”

He feels that “the church in the last 20 years has moved toward becoming more accessible to the people in this country, and more part of their everyday life. We have a long way to go, but we are closer today than yesterday.” Among other things, the Diocese is exploring the use of the Internet and social media.

Fr. Vasken expounds his pragmatic approach not only in his parish and at Boston area interfaith and clergy councils, but on a Diocesan level, as he has been a member of the Diocesan Council for eight years. He said, “I have a love for our Diocese, having worked in the Youth Ministry. Now that I am in parish ministry, I can see both sides of issues and the Primate understands this. I try to focus all conversations back to how things impact parish life and the community. Our Primate has been very open to hearing that and appreciative of such comments. I will stay involved as long as they want me at the table.”

With his anniversary approaching, Kouzouian reflected on how he himself has changed over the past 20 years: “I feel much more attuned to the lives of the people I serve, and much more aware of who I am as a priest of the Armenian Church, with my strengths and my weaknesses. I look at myself as someone who is a part of the journey of the people to whom I administer. I like to shed the light of Christ into their lives as much as I can. Now more than ever I rely on these words of the Bible which accompany me all the time, no matter where I may go: “‘Be not afraid, for I am with you always unto the end of the age.’”

Kouzouian’s anniversary will be celebrated formally at Holy Trinity Armenian Church on Saturday, October 26.