Sergeant Artur Hovhannisyan, who was disabled in the 2020 Artsakh War, paid a visit to the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church of Toronto on Sunday with His Grace Bishop Agbar Hovakimian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Canada.
Sergeant Hovhannisyan participated in the Holy Mass (Badarak) and met with parishioners and church council members.
After receiving blessings from Catholicos Karekin II, Sergeant Hovannisyan, who lost his left leg during the war, travelled to Canada in late September to receive necessary medical care and be outfitted with state-of-the-art prosthetics. Hovannisyan’s travel and medical care are sponsored by the Armenian Diocese of Canada.
Sergeant Hovhannisyan is a graduate of Yerevan State Agrarian University. He served at an Armenian Armed Forces base in Mekhakavan (Jabrayl) for a year and a half before he was called to the frontlines at the onset of the war. Following the ceasefire, Hovhannisyan met his future wife and was married. The couple recently welcomed their newborn son.
Following the 2016 April War, the Armenian Church (Etchmiadzin) launched a special program to assist wounded and disabled veterans in Armenia and Artsakh. Over the past six years, hundreds of disabled heroes have received life-changing medical care through the program.