‘Zaven: One Man Many Callings’ Will be Unveiled on November 8
Zaven Khanjian, the veteran community leader, activist and long-time Executive Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America, passed away in August 2024, leaving behind volumes of writings, letters, memories and documents.
His family, led by his wife, Sona Khanjian, has spent the last two year collecting, cataloging and compiling his vast trove of documents that has resulted in an impressive volume titled, “Zaven: One Man Many Callings.”
The coffee table-style book will be unveiled during a special event on November 8 at 5 p.m. at the Armenian Society of Los Angeles headquarters, located at 117 South Louise Street in Glendale.
The book was published by Yearbook Inc. Seta Khodanian is credited as the Editorial Project Manager of “One Man. Many Callings,” while Dr. Tamar Marie Boyadjian has served as biography and sections author and editor. Sona Khanjian, her son, Vasken Khanjian and her daughter, Vana Vartanian have contributed photographs and documents from their family archives. Taniel Tufenkjian, the late Sarkis Mahserejian, Harut Der-Tavitian and Reverend Serop Megerdichian contributed to the project, along with Salpi Ghazarian.
“In a world of shifting allegiances and expedient silences, Zaven’s consistency stood out. As Armenia faces pressures that good intentions cannot counter—geopolitical threats, internal divisions, a diaspora pulling in different direction—this reality makes figures like Zaven more essential. They remind us what becomes possible when service is guided by unwavering integrity and moral clarity,” Yearbook Inc.’s president and the publisher of the book Michael Nahabet said in a note published in “One Man. Many Callings.”
In Zavan Khanjian, word and deed were one, From the smallest act of generosity to the most difficult moral stand, he embodied the principle he proclaimed: ‘not empires, nor structures, but the individual.’ The book exists to preserve that example and carry forward what he could no longer complete himself,” Nahabet added.
The book consists of Khanjian’s writings in numerous publications, open letters to Armenian and U.S. government officials, many letters to the editor, which were published by mainstream American newspapers, as well as speeches he delivered at various events and photographs that capture the late leaders not only work in the community, but his family life.
The book also reprints Khanjian’s article marking the centennial of the Asbarez newspaper, which also coincided with the 100th birthday of prolific Armenian-American author, William Saroyan. The article is a highly engaging account of Khanjian’s efforts to find the source and distribution of the now infamous and ubiquitous “William Saroyan poster,” with the author’s famous quote: “I would like to see any power in the world destroy this race…”
“Zaven. One Man, Many Callings,” will be available at Abril and Sardarabad bookstores.
Khanjian was appointed as Executive Director/CEO of the AMAA in 2014. During his 10-year tenure, he oversaw many milestones in the organization, including the opening of the Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian School in Yerevan, the commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in 2015, a successful AMAA Centennial Capital Campaign, and the AMAA’s 100th Anniversary in 2018.
Throughout the years, Khanjian was an active member of the Greater Los Angeles Community, serving in leadership capacities at the Armenia Fund, the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, The Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School, the United Armenian Congregational Church, Haigazian University of Beirut, the Glendale Family YMCA, the Salvation Army-Glendale Corps, Americans for Artsakh, the Armenian-American Real Estate Association and as Chairman of the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund, which raised more than $1 million in assistance for that community.
He contributed volumes of bilingual articles to American and Armenian media and was the author of three Armenian books: «Այս Տունը Քուկդ է, թ՞է Իմս» (Is This Your House or Mine?); «Սրտի եւ Մտքի Ցոլքեր» (Reflections of the Mind and Soul); and «Հալէպի Առաջին Կայարան» (Memoirs of a Memorable Childhood.)
Khanjian was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Medal of Gratitude from President Serzh Sarkisian on May 28, 2017, in Armenia for his contributions toward strengthening Armenia-Diaspora relations and preservation of the Armenian identity. On September 13, 2019, he was awarded the Honorary Member Title from the Writers’ Union of Armenia for his books and articles on Armenia.