Holy Trinity Church (, ''Freznoyi Surp Yerortutiun yegeghetsi'') is an

Armenian Apostolic The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic Church, belongs to the Arme ...

church in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. Completed in 1914, it is one of the earliest Armenian churches in America and the first to incorporate traditional

Armenian architecture Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenians, Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many o ...

History

Background

The first

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

settled in Fresno in the early 1870s. The first joint Armenian

Apostolic Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

service was held in 1883 at the First Congregational Church of Fresno. Subsequently, joint

Armenian rite The Armenian Rite () is a liturgical rite used by both the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic churches. Isaac of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, initiated a series of reforms with help from Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th cent ...

services were held in a rented church by Father Aharon Melkonian. By 1899, the membership of the parish reached 150 and a general meeting decided to build a separate church. On April 1, 1900, the Holy Trinity Church was established at the corner of F and Monterey Streets. The construction of the church, a simple wooden structure, was completed in six months and consecration took place on October 1, 1900. It was officiated by Bishop Hovsep Sarajian. It was the second Armenian church to be built in America after the Church of Worcester, Massachusetts. An Armenian school with some 85 students operated in the adjacent building. By 1910, around 4,000 Armenians lived in Fresno (out of the 5,000 in all of California).

Current church

In 1911 the trustees of the church decided to buy land for a new, larger church. A

land lot In real estate, a land lot or plot of land is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the sam ...

was purchased for $3,000 at the corner of M Street and Ventura Avenue in 1912. The old church was destroyed in a fire on July 9, 1913. The groundbreaking of the new church took place on November 1, 1913, and cornerstone laying on January 4, 1914. The first

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

(''Badarak'') took place in the basement on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

, April 12, 1914. The consecration took place on December 13, 1914 with Bishop Moushegh Seropian of Boston officiating. The architect of the new church was Lawrence Karekin Cone (Condrajian), also known as L. K. Cone. The cost of construction stood at $25,000. It became the first Armenian church to be built in the US in the traditional Armenian church architecture. The area where the church is located is known as " Armenian Town" for its historical Armenian population. It remained a predominantly Armenian area until the mid-1950s.

Later history

In 1927 the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America was established. The church was designated as the cathedral of the diocese, while Bishop Karekin Khachdourian as Primate, who served as pastor until 1933. In 1933, after the murder of Leon Tourian, the primate of the Eastern Diocese, in New York City by a group of

Dashnaks The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tifl ...

, a pro-Soviet group broke away from the pro-Dashnak Holy Trinity Church and formed St Paul's Church in 1939 under the jurisdiction of the

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is headquartered around Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat (Etc ...

. In 1956 a new building containing a social hall, kitchen and classroom was built next to the church. The church was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 31, 1986. It is currently one of the six Armenian churches in the Fresno area.

Architecture

The architect of the church was Lawrence Karekin Cone (Condrajian), also known as L. K. Cone. It combines American Revivalism and traditional

. The entrance is in the Beaux-Arts style. The exterior is mostly

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

, while the two domes are made of

galvanized Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are coated by submerging them in a bath o ...

sheet metal. The church is wide, long and high. It has a seating capacity of 660. The church has a basement, main floor and gallery level with a total of . The interior is entirely painted in

beige Beige ( ) is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither ble ...

. In 1982 Kero Antoyan painted murals on the four

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s. The church contains paintings of the Christ and Mary, St. Sahak and St.

Mesrop Mashtots Mesrop Mashtots (; , ' 362February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenians, Armenian Linguistics, linguist, composer, Christian theology, theologian, Politician, statesman, and Hymnology, hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic C ...

References

;Notes ;Citations

External links

* {{Contemporary Armenian Churches Churches in Fresno, California Armenian Apostolic churches in the United States Armenian-American culture in California National Register of Historic Places in Fresno County, California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Churches completed in 1914 1914 establishments in California Tourist attractions in Fresno, California Romanesque Revival church buildings in California