WYNNEWOOD, Penn. — The Eastern Diocese mourns the passing of the Rev. Paree Metjian, who died on Friday, January 28, in his home. He was 73.
In his pastoral service to parishes in Greenfield, NY, Fair Lawn, NJ and Wynnewood, Penn. — and prior to that, his service as a deacon in Worcester and Houston — Metjian devoted his whole heart to making Christ the central focus of parish life. His interest in strengthening the family led him to earn a doctoral degree in family counseling.
Metjian was born on January 24, 1938, in Beirut, Lebanon, to Hagop and Haigouhi Metjian, and given the baptismal name Dickran. He received his primary education in Beirut, and in 1953 was accepted to the Armenian Theological Seminary in Jerusalem.
Arriving in the United States in 1961, he attended the Episcopal Divinity School in Philadelphia, where he earned a master’s degree in Sacred Theology in 1964. He served as assistant to the pastor at the Armenian Church of Our Saviour, in Worcester, Mass., until 1969. During that time, he continued his education at Assumption College, earning a masters in guidance and psychology. At the Worcester parish he was in charge of the ACYO juniors and seniors and the Sunday School.
Metjian’s special ministry to young people broadened further during his next assignment. Sent to Houston, Texas, to serve as deacon-in-residence at the St. George Armenian Church, he also counseled runaway children as the Family Guidance Coordinator for a Catholic agency with the Harris Country Juvenile Probation Department.
Before his ordination, he married Angel Arpajian, from his hometown, on November 15, 1969.
