BELMONT -- To Father Ghazar Bedrossian, the Armenian community in New England is like a garden. The garden has many branches and many flowers, which God waters so that they may grow.

One of those flowers is Father Bedrossian's parish, Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church in Belmont.

"It's a beacon in the Armenian community," he said.

The parish celebrated its 85th anniversary with a gala dinner attended by Archbishop Richard G. Henning on Oct. 25, and a Mass celebrated by Bishop Mikael Mouradian, eparch of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the U.S. and Canada, on Oct. 26. At the gala, the archbishop said that Bishop Mouradian and Father Bedrossian are "remarkable men of the church," and that the mission of Holy Cross will remain necessary for future generations.

"I know with joy the history of the close collaboration that has existed between the Armenian Catholic community and the Archdiocese of Boston, and I'm fully committed to keep that going," he said.

He said that the Armenian people "have given a martyr's witness of faith in God" in the face of war and genocide and praised the ecumenical spirit between the country's churches. He invoked the intercession of St. Ignatius Maloyan, an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred in the Armenian Genocide and canonized by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 19. Members of St. Ignatius Maloyan's family were present at the Oct. 25 gala.

"That's how closely tied we are to these heroes of the faith, who are enriching the life of the archdiocese and of the Christian community in Boston," said Vito Nicastro, the Archdiocese of Boston's associate director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. "We don't realize how fortunate we are."

Nicastro said that many Latin Rite Catholics in Boston are not aware of the "gold mine" of Eastern Catholic traditions in the archdiocese. The Armenian Rite is one of 23 Eastern Catholic rites, all of which are in communion with the pope.

"The archbishop brings in his person the attention of the whole archdiocese to honor the witness of the Armenian Catholic community, to honor their resurgence, to honor their Christian life," Nicastro said.

Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion.

"It's the base of our existence, because being Christian, we accepted the cross for more than 1,700 years," Father Bedrossian said.

The Armenian Apostolic Church broke away from the Council of Chalcedon at the turn of the sixth century, while other Armenians remained in communion with the pope in Rome. The Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches use the same liturgy, which can be traced back to St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. Basil. Father Bedrossian said that the hymns are good for "elevating your spirit."

"Especially if you have a good voice," he joked. "If you don't have a good voice, you are ruining the liturgy."

The grandeur and pageantry of the Armenian Rite were on full display at the Mass on Oct. 26. Bishop Mouradian spent much of the liturgy facing the altar. His resplendent white and gold chasuble was held on either side by two assisting priests. Beneath three glittering gold chandeliers and an altar mural of Christ ascending into heaven surrounded by rich hues of purple and blue, the bishop led the clergy and choir in hypnotic Classical Armenian chanting. Members of the assembly approached the altar to kiss and venerate the Book of the Gospels before the Gospel was proclaimed. The acolytes shook instruments known as keshotz, round fans on staffs with small bells jingling from them. The rich smoke of incense hung in the air. At multiple points during Mass, a curtain was drawn shut to separate the assembly from the altar as the chanting grew more solemn and intense.

"The important thing is the theological part, the richness of the prayers and the hymns," said Father Bedrossian, who concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Mouradian. "You can see the prayers of St. James of Jerusalem, and you see the prayers of the Greek Church, Syrian. We have some prayers from the Roman Missal, too, and we created the Armenian liturgy by having many fathers who put their fingerprints on the liturgy."

The modern-day Armenian Catholic Church was established in 1740, when Bishop Abraham Ardzivian became patriarch of Sis in Cilicia (modern-day Turkey), home to a historic Armenian population. Estimates of the number of Armenian Catholics in the world today range from 150,000 to over 700,000. Belmont has one of the largest Armenian populations in Massachusetts, along with Watertown and Cambridge.

Holy Cross was founded in 1940 by Father Sahag Kogian. He started out celebrating Mass in a chapel inside his Watertown home before relocating to a Latin Rite church in Cambridge. Cardinal Richard Cushing consecrated a new Armenian Catholic church in Harvard Square in 1956, which was led by the charismatic Father Luke Arakelian for four decades. Archbishop Henning's attendance at the gala was in part an acknowledgement of how the Archdiocese of Boston has assisted the region's Armenian Catholics since 1940.

"The presence of their bishop and our bishop together, demonstrating their fraternal communion, is a symbol of the bond that holds together the entire Catholic communion across all the different expressions across the whole world," Nicastro said.

The modern-day church, built in traditional Armenian style, was consecrated in 1997. In his homily at the anniversary Mass, Bishop Mouradian said that Holy Cross is not only a place of cultural tradition, but a place where faith continues to live. Without that faith, the first Armenian Catholic priests would never have come to Boston.

"The essence of your presence here is the faith that you have in Jesus Christ," he said. "Without that faith, I'm sure you wouldn't be here today."

The Mass also celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross with the Blessing of the Basil, an Eastern Christian tradition. According to tradition, St. Helena found the True Cross beneath a patch of basil. Basil supposedly grew on the soil touched by Christ's blood and Mary's tears during the crucifixion. The name basil comes from the Greek basileios, meaning king.

"The good smell of the basil reminds us of the good smell of salvation, of Christ on the cross," Father Bedrossian said.

He has been pastor of Holy Cross since 2023. It is his first pastoral assignment in the U.S. Since he became pastor, the parish has grown from 200 to 400 families. Born in Syria and raised in Lebanon, Father Bedrossian was an altar boy inspired to become a priest by the humility of his own pastor. He said that Holy Cross's 85th anniversary celebration was "a new page in the history of our parish."

"Sky's the limit," he said.