From Dadivank to Yerablur

Serving Armenia’s Widows and Orphans,
An Armenian Apostolic Priest and His Wife Lift Up the Fallen

GLENDALE, CA — The public is invited to an Armenian cultural education event in Glendale, California, for an evening with Fr. Hovhannes and his wife, Vera, who came from Artsakh and are now posted to the Yerablur Military Cemetery outside of Yerevan, Armenia.

 

In the year 1986, two souls united in marriage, bound not only by love but by a shared destiny that would intertwine with the fate of a nation. Hovhannes and Vera began their journey together, unaware of the trials that awaited them—trials that would demand unwavering courage, sacrifice, and an unbreakable faith in God and homeland.

The Birth of a Family, The Birth of a Struggle

Their first child arrived in 1987, a beacon of hope in uncertain times. A year later, as the winds of liberation began to stir across Artsakh, they named their second child Artsakh—a declaration of defiance, a vow that this land and its people would never be forgotten. But with this hope came darkness. The enemy sought not just territory but the very erasure of a people. Hovhannes, like so many fathers and husbands, took to the forests, the mountains, anywhere that might shield his family from the storm.

And Vera? She stood alone—her hands cradling their children, her heart carrying the weight of a war not yet named.

The Call of God and the Crucible of War

In 1989, as the Diocese of Artsakh reopened under the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, a divine path unfolded. Hovhannes, guided by faith, entered the seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin, answering a calling greater than himself. But this blessing was also a sacrifice—Vera, now expecting their third child, faced the unimaginable: raising three children alone in a land under siege.

Famine gripped Artsakh. Bombs rained from the sky. Yet Vera endured, her hands never faltering, her spirit never breaking.

In 1992, Hovhannes returned as Father Hovhannes, ordained to serve both God and his people. But war cares little for holy vows. As Gandzasar trembled under fire, Vera clutched one child in her arms and two by the hands, running through smoke and chaos to find shelter. When the Azeris advanced, they sent their children to Yerevan—only for those little ones to cower under beds, trembling at the sound of planes, their innocence shattered by a war they did not choose.

And Vera? She returned.

The Heart of a Soldier, The Soul of a Saint

While men fought with rifles, Vera fought with bread, with bandages, with tea carried to trembling hands in the trenches. She stood in the ruins of Gandzasar, in the sacred stones of Dadivank, feeding not just bodies but souls. When villages were liberated—Karvachar, Dadivank, Vaghuhas, Haterk—she was there, her hands rebuilding what war sought to destroy.

And when the enemy came again in 2020, their four sons took up arms, defending the land that bore their name. Through blockade and betrayal, Vera and Hovhannes remained—until the last possible moment, until the very end.

The Final Exodus: A Legacy That Will Not Die

Even as Artsakh fell, even as the world turned away, Vera baked bread for the starving, sang hymns in the shadows of Gandzasar, and refused to let despair take root. On December 12, 2022, as the blockade tightened, she stored wheat, sugar, oil—not for herself, but for her people.

Because that is who she is. That is who they are.

An Eternal Covenant

Hovhannes and Vera did not just live through history—they forged it. Through war, through exile, through every silent night when hope seemed lost, they stood together: a priest and his wife, a father and mother of Artsakh, guardians of a flame that no force on earth can extinguish.

Their story is not one of defeat.

It is a testament—written in faith, sealed in sacrifice, and carried forward by the unbroken spirit of a people who will never forget.

Hear the Hovhannisyan’s speak

The public is invited to an Armenian cultural education event in Glendale, California, USA. Join us for an evening with Fr. Hovhannes and his wife, Vera, who came from Artsakh and are now posted to the Yerablur Military Cemetery outside of Yerevan, Armenia.

 

• 6-8 p.m. PT, Wednesday, September 24, 2025
• The event is scheduled to take place at the Armenian Society Los Angeles cultural center, located at 117 S. Louise St, Glendale, CA 91205
• RSVP at SaveThePersecutedChristians.org
• Light refreshments will be served. The talks will be given in Armenian with translation.
• Jointly sponsored by Save the Persecuted Christians, Save Armenia and Mercury One.
• Follow Save the Persecuted Christians on X @PersecutedSave for more information.