By Kevork Keushkerian
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
PASADENA, Calif. – The dedication ceremony for the Armen Aroyan Library-Museum took place in the backyard of the Armenian Cilicia Evangelical Church in Pasadena on Saturday evening, October 9, 2021.
The Armenian Evangelical Cilicia Church is the first Armenian church in Pasadena, established in 1922 as the Armenian Congregational Mission of Pasadena. Later, in 1927, the church changed its name to the Armenian Cilicia Congregational Church. The current location of the church, 1339 Santa Anita Avenue, was purchased in 1991.
Rev. Serop Megerditchian, the senior pastor of the church, offered the opening prayer, and then invited the master of ceremonies, Ara Assilian, to facilitate the dedication. Assilian is the chairman of the church’s parish council.
In his remarks, Assilian paid homage to Armen Aroyan’s 40 years of service as the choir director of the church. He then expressed his and the church council’s gratitude for Aroyan’s generous contribution to the church, through which an empty room was renovated into a reputable library-museum, where more than 3,000 of Aroyan’s historical books, rare coins, stamps and copper artifacts were given a home for permanent display.