Armenian Reporter:

A vision for a cathedral

Published: Thursday July 02, 2009

My father, Joseph Chorbajian, sacrificed his entire life to the building, maintaining, and operating of St. Vartan Cathedral. The standard fare around our house was that my mother would tell everyone who would call and ask for my father that he was at a church meeting. She would often say, "While most wives are golf widows, I am a church widow!"

He was on the original Building Committee of Holy Martyrs Church, and during the period of construction, while the community was thrilled to have such an exemplary edifice, he was known to tell everyone that his dream was not to end with the building of Holy Martyrs, but to build a cathedral.

As was reported in the Armenian Reporter, April 4, 1991:

"In the fifties, Joe led the Knights of Vartan as their "Sparabed" and with a small select group of concerned Armenians he built the Holy Martyrs Church in Bayside. However, Joe had bigger dreams, "impossible dreams" as some people would say in disbelief. He wanted to build a Cathedral in Manhattan. He became the Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee when no one wanted the job and raised one million dollars - yes, one million dollars, to turn this noble dream into the living reality it is today."

He not only raised this money but also worked tirelessly to continue fund raising. The joke around town was that if my father walked into a room, put his arm around one of his Armenian compatriots, and called him brother, yeghpair, they knew they had to whip out their checkbooks.

If we are to go by the records, the original Central Committee of the Cathedral and Community Center Project in the 1940s consisted of the following members: Bishop Tiran Nersoyan, president/chairperson, Avedis Keljikian, vice chairperson, Haik Kavookjian, treasurer, Dadour Dadourian, secretary, with the following committee members: Ghevont Aghajanian, Mesrob Avakian, Joseph Chorbajian, Vahan Hapgopian, Milton Ignatius, Dikran Missirlian, Sarkis Sarafian, Stephen Svajian, Dikran Simsarian, Vincent Yardum, Fran Yazmajian, and Frank Zotian.

It was my father who wanted the land on 34th Street and Second Avenue purchased for the building of the complex. The majority of the players at the time wanted to build uptown near 188th Street, as it was going to be less expensive. My father tried everything in his power to persuade them that it was not a suitable location, primarily as he saw the future of the area not developing in a way that he felt his wife and child should be traveling to and from the cathedral.

In addition, he was concerned about convenience. He knew that the location of the cathedral needed to provide easy access for commuters; otherwise the risk of low participation would be too great. Further, he wanted the committee to buy the land across from the cathedral - currently the high-rise on the southeast corner of 34th and Second - in order to maintain ownership, sell the rights to a construction company to build and have control of an underground garage.

He knew that parking, especially as the Armenian community grew, would be a problem, aside from expensive, and it would eventually be a cash cow, always bringing in revenue aside from providing parking at a nominal fee for activities throughout the week and church on Sunday. This the committee did not heed and how wrong they were.

The gentlemen, who are mentioned in Mr. Markarian letter, I happen to know as well as those throughout the article, were very cautious about spending the amount of money - which in actuality was $235,000 - that was required to purchase the property, as they worried about the additional costs to build and operate the complex. They were playing safe; my father was the visionary. Thank goodness, he prevailed on this matter and deserves all the credit for his foresight.

I take nothing away from these great individuals. They all participated to make this extraordinary complex happen. I have said many times since that if this effort was being attempted today, not from a financial point of view, but from one of a driven spirit, our cathedral would not exist. It was due to this group of men, their wives, and families who devoted themselves to this place of worship and community. It was also a way to saying that the Armenians would not die and their presence would be known throughout the centuries to come.

I thank the editor of the Armenian Reporter for allowing my voice to be heard. My parents' efforts in their beloved Armenian community will never be forgotten as long as I am alive.

Very truly yours,
Joyce Chorbajian
by email

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