The Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona located in northeast Scottsdale, is a small but growing parish that serves the entire state of Arizona. The largest concentration of Armenians who sought out this thriving desert oasis, settled in the Phoenix metro area and Tucson, arriving from other cities in the United States as well as from overseas.

The earliest of these settlers held the first community gathering in 1957 and met on a monthly basis for a number of years. Then in 1963, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the Primate of the Western Diocese, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian (now the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem). "The Armenian Church of Maricopa County" was legally incorporated in the State of Arizona on October 16, 1963. During his visits to Arizona, Archbishop Manoogian established a “Bishop’s Committee” to pursue the formal establishment of a Church in Arizona.

For more than a decade we wandered in the desert praying in rented facilities carrying our zeal and fortitude along with our supplies in boxes and suitcases, but everyone was united with the unswerving hope that someday we would have our own home. Then one day in 1982, the Armenian Church received a generous donation of two acres of land from the Hosepian sisters and the community was now faced with the monumental task of the development of this land.

Under the direction and guidance of his Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Primate of the Western Diocese, years of effort brought an end to the vagabond existence of our community with the completion of the 14,000 square foot Armenian Church Cultural Center. The facility was consecrated in January 1992 and includes the Alex and Marie Manoogian classrooms, Melikian Hall and the Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian Library, all named after their benefactors. The cultural center is a gathering place not only for church services, but for social functions of the community as well.

The first gathering of Armenians in Arizona took place in 1957 with the purpose of forming a local chapter of the AGBU. On October 16, 1963 the Armenian Church of Maricopa County was formally established by a “Bishop’s Committee” assigned by His Eminence Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, then Primate. The church acquired its own site in 1982 through the donation of a two-acre land by the Hosepian family.

For almost twenty years thanks to the able leadership of successive Chairmen of the Bishop’s Committee and Parish Council, the Armenian Church of Arizona dedicated itself to raising the necessary funds to construct a church. Architectural plans were drawn between the years of 1984 and 1989, and construction procedures began. Divine Liturgy began to be celebrated on a monthly basis.

During the same years the ACYO Arizona Chapter was also established.

In 1991 ground was broken for a 14,000 square foot, $850,000 cultural center. Construction was completed the following year and the dedication of the Armenian Church Cultural Center and Melikian Hall took place on January 12, 1992. On May 13, 1995 a donation of $350,000 from Alex and Marie Manoogian facilitated the burning of the mortgage. In 1996 Church organizations already in existence joined by “Hye-Ways”, a new group created by Victoria Manoogian to honor and perpetuate the Armenian culture and religion.

The Armenian Educational and Social Center was opened by Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian on February 12, 2000 housing the Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian Library, the Karam/ACYO Center, and the Der Levon A.K. and Yeretsgin Grace Arakelian Memorial Collection.

In May 2001 His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, paid a pontifical visit to the Arizona Parish.

The parish has relied upon the assistance and counsel of dedicated visiting clergy including the late Archpriest Fr. Levon Arakelian and Archpriest Fr. Shahe Altounian, among others.

Currently the parish has undertaken a three-year plan to build a church sanctuary. Under the leadership of the Building Committee chaired by Marlene Imirzian and the Fundraising Committee chaired by Donna Sirounian, construction will begin within the next two years.Armenian Church of Scottsdale.