Our Church

Baptismal name Hovsep, Der Bedros was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1963. Both parents were from Cilicia, Armenia. He attended local Armenian schools and continued his education in Yerevan, Armenia. 

He graduated from Romanos Melikian Musical College in Yerevan in 1987 receiving a choral conducting degree with the highest honors. Following this, he moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he studied with the world-renowned conductor Yuri Temirkanov and graduated from his class at  St. Petersburg State Conservatory as an opera-symphony conductor. Der Bedros has worked with many orchestras including both St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Moscow Chamber Orchestra. He has also participated in several international music festivals including Borgholms Music Festival in Sweden. In addition to his work in Russia, Der Bedros has toured extensively and received high critical acclaim. In 1997, he was awarded both a medal and a diploma from the Russian Cultural Foundation for his achievements in conducting.

Throughout his life, Der Bedros has always been involved in the activities of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He has participated in religious conventions, written for the Hask monthly of the Catholicosate of Cilicia and was a lay delegate from Russia to the 1999 Catholicosal elections in Holy Etchmiadzin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the awakening of faith impacted him and called him to join the clergy. He received his theological education at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic College in St. Petersburg and later from Armenian Theological Seminary of the Great House of Cilicia in Lebanon. He was ordained a priest on Pentecost, June 8 2003, and was assigned to serve in the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the US.

After his ordination, Der Bedros moved with his family to the US. First, he completed a nine-month orientation period at St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church (Watertown, Massachusetts), then he was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in New York City. On August 1st, 2005, Der Bedros was appointed full-time shared pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in Indian Orchard (Springfield), Massachusetts and Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church in Troy, New York. Since April of 2015 Der Bedros became a full-time pastor of St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in Springfield.

During these years and besides pastoral duties, Der Hayr has been publishing articles in Armenian and non-Armenian sources about religion, culture and politics. 

After becoming a priest Der Bedros continued his career as a conductor. After moving to the US he conducted in Russia, in United Kingdom with London Mozart Players and in Armenia with National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. In 2008 he started an orchestra in Troy, The Troy Orchestra and until 2013 he was its conductor and manager. Recently Der Bedros was awarded the highest diamond award at the online Royal Music Competition.

Der Bedros married to Yeretsgin Marine՛ from Armenia, a piano teacher. They have a daughter Arpi, a Harvard alumni, who currently resides in Los Angeles, California.  

This house is your house! Welcome to St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church, spiritual home. Our mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the Apostolic tradition and offer a spiritual home for you, the faithful.

If you are seeking a spiritual home, or even just looking to return home, St. Gregory’s welcomes you with open arms and invites you to become an active part of our church’s life and mission.

For more than 70 years, we have strived to meet the spiritual needs of the community through religious services as we all educational, social, and national activities.

From worship on Sundays to our various social, religious, and fund-raising events, we strive to maintain the intimacy and interpersonal dynamics of a truly caring family of faith.

 If you are already a parishioner, you may wish to enhance your level of participation in the life of the church by deciding to become a member or to get involved with some of the activities that take place here at St. Gregory Armenian Church.