Armenian Church in Haverhill, MA, being repaired

PanARMENIAN.Net - Last year, the Armenian Church across from City Hall in Haverhill, Massachusetts, was to be demolished to make way for a Burger King restaurant. Today, the church still stands and is receiving repairs, as its congregation delays construction of a new church near the North Andover line, the Eagle Tribune reports.

Michael Ohanian, the parishioner who is overseeing the repair work, said the front steps had to be repaired because they were starting to get rickety, and a leak forced the church to fix the roof. Paint in the interior of the building started to peel, so a crew is working to take care of that problem.

The congregation still hopes to move to a new and larger building known as the Armenian Church at Hye Pointe off Route 125 near the North Andover line, but the economy has delayed that plan, Ohanian said.

Last year, the church was set to sell the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church at Main and Winter streets to Burger King. That would have brought the congregation enough money for the new building, church leaders said, but the city's Board of Appeals refused to allow the Burger King.

Ohanian said he and other parishioners have not given up their dream of relocating to the Route 125 site.

The Armenian Church at Hye Pointe was formed several years ago when St. Gregory the Illuminator and Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church in Lawrence merged.

Located on the property of the existing church near City Hall is a monument erected in memory of the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire. A few survivors of the genocide were present at the dedication of the monument 15 years ago.