On April 23rd, 2022, the Armenian community of DFW celebrated the consecration of our new church, St. Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church, in Carrollton, Texas, and held its first Divine Liturgy on April 24, the date on which the Armenian Diaspora commemorates the Armenian Genocide. The timing was more than symbolic - it was a powerful testament to our unbroken spirit, a declaration that, despite the shadows of history, we continue to rise, worship, and remember.
St. Sarkis is not merely a building; it is a living monument to our faith, resilience, and artistry. Designed by the visionary team of New York architect David Hotson, AIA, Dallas-based architect Stepan Terzyan, AIA, and architectural designer Ani Sahakyan, every stone and arch was placed with intention and reverence. Hotson and Terzyan began their work with a bold dream: to create a new church inspired by the timeless beauty of St. Hripsime*, the ancient sanctuary that has stood near Yerevan through centuries of upheaval and hope.
From this dream, a marvel arose - St. Sarkis, a place where the echoes of ancient Armenia are woven into the fabric of the present. The architects honored the classical scale and proportions of St. Hripsime but infused their design with a forward-looking spirit. They reimagined the sanctuary, opening it to the sky and filling it with gentle, indirect natural light. As sunlight pours softly into every corner, it creates an ethereal vessel - a space where the memory of centuries-old Armenian tradition is suspended in luminous embrace over a modern congregation. Here, past and future meet; here, the spirit of a people endures, illuminated and alive.
The entrance to St. Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church stands as a breathtaking threshold between memory and hope. As visitors approach, they are greeted by a façade that commands reflection and reverence - a mosaic of 1.5 million unique pixel icons, each one solemnly commemorating a soul lost in the 1915 Armenian Genocide. This is not simply a wall; it is a tapestry of remembrance, a silent chorus of voices woven into the very stones, declaring that tragedy has not silenced the spirit of a people.
The church’s doors themselves are masterpieces, hand-carved with devotion by artisans in Armenia and brought to Texas after a two-year journey. Their intricate designs speak of centuries-old traditions and the skillful hands that shaped them, connecting the new sanctuary to its ancient roots. Each time the doors swing open, they usher the faithful and visitors into a sanctuary where sorrow is met with resilience, and where the past is honored by the living.
In its entirety, St. Sarkis Church is more than architecture—it is a beacon of awe, a vessel of inspiration, and a living tribute to both loss and endurance. Every visitor steps not only into a house of worship but into the heart of a community whose faith and artistry continue to rise, generation after generation, defiant and illuminated.
Having sheltered Armenian congregations through 14 challenging centuries of upheaval, St. Hripsime serves as a symbol of ancient origins of Armenian Christianity and of the endurance, perseverance, and resilience of the Armenian people. The history of St. Hripsime Church in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, is tied to the martyrdom of the Christian nun St. Hripsime around 301 AD. Tradition tells us that she, along with her companions, fled Rome to escape Emperor Diocletian, but was pursued by him and later martyred by the Armenian King Tiridates III after she rejected his marriage proposal. The current church was built in 618 AD by Catholicos Komitas to replace an earlier chapel, and is considered a masterpiece of classical Armenian architecture. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
Images courtesy of Friend of the Church David Hotson_Architect. Photography by Dror Baldinger
