The seeds of what would eventually become the First Armenian Evangelical Church of Greater Boston were first sown in the years 1891-1892 by a small group of Armenian immigrants who began to gather in worship together on Sunday afternoons at Boston’s Berkeley Temple under the leadership of several ministers and lay preachers.
The American Congregational Association took notice of this group of worshippers and, in 1899, allowed the growing Armenian congregation to hold services at its Pilgrim Hall, located on Park Street, Boston, where they remained for several years. In 1908, the church was formally organized as “First Armenian Church of Boston”. Services continued at the Park Street location until 1929, when the congregation purchased its own church building in Porter Square, Cambridge.
First Armenian Church flourished as a Sunday School was established, and the Christian Endeavor Society was started for the youth. The Ladies Aid Society demonstrated God’s heart for missions by founding a kindergarten for Armenian refugee children in Beirut, Lebanon.
Things continued along very well until 1954, when Hurricanes Carol and Edna brought the fifty-foot steeple crashing through the roof, leaving the church building beyond repair. However, this did not deter the Church or its resilient people of God; they pressed on and continued to thrive and grow.
The First Armenian congregation continued to worship and function for the next four years by utilizing the neighboring churches. In 1955, an opportunity presented itself to purchase land on Concord Avenue in Belmont. Construction of a church building was completed and services began at our current Belmont location on September 14, 1958.
1962 brought First Armenian Church’s 70th-anniversary celebration, which was held in the newly constructed “Nahigian Hall.” Built for fellowship and education, it included additional offices and Sunday School classrooms. A few years later, in 1968, a Parsonage was added next door to the church to provide housing for the minister.
First Armenian Church continued to grow and serve the Christian and Armenian communities until 1991, which marked the beginning of the church’s centennial. In celebration of this milestone anniversary, the congregation initiated a fundraising campaign, "Securing the Future." The culmination of this campaign occurred in 1992 when world-renowned organist Berj Zamkochian presented a concert in the Sanctuary.
On April 26, 1992, the Khatchkar (Stone Cross), located on the front lawn of First Armenian Church, was unveiled. The tufa stone for this Khatchkar was flown from Yerevan, Armenia, and carved on the church's premises. It was formally placed in the spot where it still stands today as a part of the 100th-anniversary celebration and dedicated to the Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. The clergy of all the Armenian churches in the community at large attended on this special day of dedication.
The next big event occurred in 2002-2003, when the church congregation planned and completed a major fund-raising effort to renovate the church’s parsonage, making it a more updated and comfortable residence for the minister.
2012 brings us to the 120th-anniversary celebration, which saw the congregation and surrounding community coming together to celebrate once again another milestone in the life of First Armenian Church. Funds from this commemoration helped initiate much-needed restoration projects within the church, including major renovations in the Sanctuary. On November 2, 2014, with the sanctuary completed and looking brand new, a special concert was held by musicians Glenn Priest and Chris Garven to dedicate the newly restored space.
April 26th, 2015, marked the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which was commemorated jointly with our sister church, Armenian Memorial Church of Watertown. A wreath-laying ceremony at the Khatchkar followed the worship service; prayers were said, songs were sung, and immortal thoughts and memories echoed the words engraved on the Khatchkar: “Armenian people live forever with Christ.”
Over the past 133 years, the First Armenian Church has been blessed with 18 ministers who served the Lord Jesus by shepherding members and friends of the congregation.
God has been gracious and faithful in sustaining us and continuing to mold us into the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We eagerly join Him as He continues to write our history through His Holy Spirit.
To Him be the glory!