ARAM I TO BLESS CHURCH BUILDING, ATTEND SYMPOSIUM.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA - Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian looks forward to the day next spring when the La Crescenta church headquarters for the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America opens to welcome the community.

But another momentous day for the archbishop and his prelacy will come Saturday, when His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, will bless the under-construction facility as part of a Southern California visit.

The church leader, who is based in Lebanon, arrives today in Los Angeles. Over the next two weeks, he will speak to students, churchgoers, officials, religious leaders and participants in a University of Southern California symposium.

``The invitation is open to our faithful, and this is the message: Come and be inspired by our pontiff, who will invite us to the knowledge of light,'' Mardirossian said.

On Saturday, Aram I will bless and consecrate a cross that will be hoisted to the top of a prayer room at the future prelacy headquarters, 6252 Honolulu Ave., La Crescenta.

Converted from an office building, the building will have 12,000 square feet of space, including an assembly room, offices, a library and the prayer room. A fountain will memorialize victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915-23. Stone was imported from Armenia to cover the walls.

Hollywood was an early destination for Armenian immigrants arriving in Southern California, and the prelacy made its headquarters there. But the Armenian community has moved in large part to the Glendale area.

``Wherever our community moves, the church and the clergy should move with the community, because the shepherd should be with the flock,'' Mardirossian said.

The prelacy oversees eight private schools in California, nine church buildings and several congregations without their own church.

The Armenian church is divided into two administrations, both of which share a common theology but are based in different places.

Aram I is based in Antelias, Lebanon. In June, His Holiness Karekin II, who is based in Armenia, visited Southern California and blessed a cathedral under construction in Burbank, headquarters of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, a separate entity from the prelacy.

The Catholicosate of Cilicia was created after a 10th century displacement of Armenians to Cilicia, in what is now Turkey. It moved to Lebanon because of the 20th century genocide.

Armenians living outside Armenia in such countries as Iran and Syria continue to be oriented to the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

``Both men are beloved figures,'' said Raffi Hamparian, board member of the Armenian National Committee of America. ``Aram Catholicos carries with him the title of moderator of the World Council of Churches, which is an added mention of his role not only in the Armenian nation but to the Christian faith worldwide.''

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

On Oct. 15, His Holiness Aram I will participate in a symposium at the University of Southern California on the theme of the Christian response to violence, with an emphasis on the Armenian genocide. The symposium runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at USC's Davidson Conference Center, in the Embassy Room. Those interested in going to the symposium should register through the prelacy at [phone].

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(ran in Glen/Bur edition only) Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian visits the La Crescenta church headquarters for the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, which is under construction. It's set to open in the spring.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer