I am a Girl Scout from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and I recently added a history section to the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church website for my Girl Scout Gold Award Project. My great-grandparents, grandparents and mother grew up in this church, and I have been a frequent visitor. Therefore, preserving its history is important to me.
The section centers on the history of St. Gregory Church and the special community of Armenians that settled in the Springfield, Massachusetts area. The small but unique group of Armenians prospered in America and made a name for themselves in many Springfield industries. Their one constant throughout the decades has always been the church, which has served as an important reminder of where this group of people came from and what they have accomplished together. St. Gregory Church arose as a symbol of unity and survival after the Armenian Genocide (1915) and continues to do so today.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony of St. Gregory Church, which took place on May 28, 1934. What began as a modest 24×44 ft. brick building, constructed by members of the Indian Orchard Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), is now a landmark at the corner of Goodwin and Mazarin Streets. Over the past 90 years, the church has welcomed many important clergy, politicians, business leaders and people of all faiths and backgrounds. St. Gregory Church congregation is a unique and close-knit community, loved by all for the unconditional acceptance bestowed upon those who come through her doors. However, as each successive generation grows up in the church, many have decided to leave Springfield for various reasons. So, the Armenian community there is becoming smaller, and the lack of access to historical records has become a concern. My history section of the website addresses this by highlighting the importance of the church and its preservation. It is dedicated to the Armenians of St. Gregory Church, both past and present.
My hope for this section of the website is that it will be a place where Armenians who live in Springfield, or whose ancestors once did, will contribute their stories, diary entries, pictures, recipes and more, whether they be in written, audio or video form. I would appreciate it if you would visit the history section of the website at https://saintgregoryarmenianchurch.org and participate in my survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LYNV7TR. Your valuable input and contributions will help St. Gregory Church prosper. Thank you for participating in my project.
Sophia Minassian
Who is the young man on the far left wearing a tie and a great smile? He looks like my uncle.
That young man is Paul Piligian who was in the picture
because he cleaned the mortar off of used bricks and delivered them to the men building the church…. One of whom was his father Stepan upper left.
Great work!!! Thanks for doing all this.