St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church of BC 3.09

In 1968, through the efforts of Bishop Vatche Hovsepian and community members, the St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church of BC was organized. Initially, the parish arranged to use an Anglican church for Armenian liturgical services and social gatherings. Gradually, various church auxiliaries came into existence, such as a choir, a women’s guild and a youth organization. Church services were conducted by visiting pastors from the western American diocese in California, which was geographically closer to Vancouver. The search for a permanent sanctuary began in the 1980s, and ended with the purchase of a Protestant church building in March of 1984. The parish went through a period of financial difficulty, but in February of 1986 Fr. Yeznig Balian was appointed as temporary pastor, for a period of six months. He was succeeded by Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian (1987 1988), Fr. Vazken Karayan (1989), and Fr. Keghart Garabedian (1990 and presently). In 1996, a successful expansion project was undertaken by the Vancouver parishioners resulting in a totally renewed Church able to accommodate the growing Armenian community.