Honoring the Late Reverend Hovhannes P. Aharonian with the Naming of a Meeting Hall of the First Armenian Evangelical Church of Beirut

One of the leading ecclesiastical and ecumenical figures of the 20th century in the Middle East, the late Rev. Hovhannes P. Aharonian (1909-1986), was honored on Sept. 27, 2025, with the naming of a meeting hall of the First Armenian Evangelical Church of Beirut. Lay and clergy heads of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) were joined by ecumenical leaders in a special service of dedication for the opening of the newly-renovated Aharonian Hall.

Gathering in the church yard, the Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, Acting President of the UAECNE, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Evangelical Family, welcomed the approximately forty persons present and undid the ribbon at the doors, after which the attendees sang a hymn of praise in Armenian and proceeded to the Hall. Pausing at the entranceway, Rev. Haidostian noted the commemorative wall displaying highlights of Rev. Aharonian’s Armenian Evangelical and ecumenical leadership.

Rev. Jirair Ghazarian, pastor of the First Armenian Evangelical Church, began the dedication program with words of welcome and expressed the church’s gratitude to Dr. Vicken and Mrs. Sossy Aharonian for their generosity and the UAECNE for its backing. Following this, Rev. Haidostian added his words of recognition of the late Rev. Aharonian’s attributes, and acknowledged the Aharonians for sponsoring the renovation project as well as the dedication ceremony itself. He thanked the renovation committee and pastor for their pursuit of the project, the contractor Yeghig Torossian, and in particular Garbis Deyirmenjian for his generous participation in this effort.

A prayer of dedication especially prepared for this occasion was offered by those assembled in the Hall, after which congratulatory statements were read on behalf of the organizations and bodies in which Rev. Aharonian had provided leadership: Dr. Michel Abs, Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC); Rosangela Jarjour, General Secretary of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) (read by Rev. Riad Jarjour); and Dr. Martin Accad, President of the Near East School of Theology (NEST). Also among the honored guests were His Eminence Archbishop Shahe Panossian, representing His Holiness Aram I, and Rev. Joseph Kassab, President of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon.

Finally, Dr. Aharonian, who along with his wife had been following the proceedings from the U.S. via video link, in honoring his father’s memory addressed those present with words of gratitude and hope, offering a challenge to continue the work of the local church and of ecumenical bodies to equip Christians to wholeheartedly serve the community and the region.

In addition to pastoral work, Rev. Hovhannes Aharonian had served as President and Central Committee Chair of the UAECNE, President of NEST, Co-Founding President of MECC, and first President of FMEEC. He was a respected leader and thinker, and oversaw the theological training of many of today’s Armenian and non-Armenian pastors.

The formal program ended with the singing of the Lord’s Prayer in Armenian and the Benediction by Rev. Haidostian, after which all enjoyed refreshments and conversation in the church yard, grateful to God for a renewed facility to be used for service to others in Christ Jesus’ name.

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This news was originally published on the Facebook Page of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East.