DIOCESE OF THE
ARMENIAN CHURCH OF AMERICA

The Armenian Church of the Holy Translators is part of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which has a rich Christian history dating its existence from the time of Christ and the apostles. Through apostolic succession, the Armenian Church traces her existence directly back to two of the original apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, who brought the Gospel of Christ to Armenia. Armenia accepted Christianity as the official state religion around 301 A.D. through the conversion of King Drtad by St. Gregory the Enlightener, making Armenia the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion.

The Armenian Church of the Holy Translators is a parish of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America which was officially established in Worcester, MA in 1898.

The Armenian Church of the Holy Translators began as an official mission parish in April, 1998. As demographics changed dramatically in the greater Boston and Worcester areas, with many families moving from those areas to MetroWest, it was recognized that there was a need to develop a spiritual community for those relocated Armenian families.

Just like the early Christian communities, the MetroWest community began gathering for worship and fellowship in July, 1997 in parishioners' homes. As the number of families grew, this became impractical and a larger facility was found. Thanks to the generosity of the Sisters of St. Joseph at Bethany Hill in Framingham, MA the community relocated there in September, 1998 until November, 2001 at which time the Park St. Baptist Church in Framingham, MA was purchased to house our community.

Naming The Church Holy Translators

 Almost 400 years after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity was still   spreading throughout the   world.  The Armenian   people’s desire to learn about   our Lord was hindered as   there was no written Armenian language.  All the books were in Greek or Syriac.  When Sahag became Catholicos after his father Nersess, he was eager to find better ways to help the Armenian people learn about their faith.

Mesrob had a vision in which he saw the Armenian letters.  He went to the Catholicos, Sahag with his ideas.  Sahag welcomed him and offered him help in developing the alphabet in the year 404. 

Together they planned to translate the Bible (which has since been called the “Queen of Translations”) and other important religious writings into Armenian to make it available and comprehensible.  This endeavor took many, many years.

 These pioneers in religious education made it possible for the Armenian Church to grow and survive into modern day by devoting their whole lives to the Christian education of our people.  They formed a group of priests known as the Holy Translators.  These people worked hard and long translating the Bible and other writings and teachings under the guidance and with the support of Catholicos Sahag and Mesrob.

According to the Liturgical Calendar of the Armenian church, the Feast of the Holy Translators is celebrated in October.  This Feast commemorates others who continued the faith.  These translators include Yeghishe, Moses the Poet, David the Philosopher, Gregory of Narek, and Nersess the Graceful.  This spirit ad legacy are inspirational for all of us to continue their efforts today. 

 The Holy Translators completed the translation of the Bible in 425 A.D. The first words written in the Armenian language were from the Book of Proverbs: 

"To know wisdom and instruction;
to perceive the words of understanding" (Proverbs 1:2)