Introducing Trinity’s newest minister. Reverend Takouhi Demirdjian-Petro.
Thank you to YourTVs FYI show host Kathy Botham for the interview
and allowing us the opportunity to post for all our members.

Introducing Reverend Takouhi

Rev. Takouhi Demirdjian-Petro was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon in an Armenian Family.
Her father, born in Bursa, was an infant survivor of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Her mother was born in Beirut, Lebanon into an Armenian family who had escaped the Genocide from Marash.
Both towns are located in present-day Turkey.

Her name, in Armenian, Takouhi [pronounced Ta-Koo-Hee], means, “queen”. Her mother wanted to name
her Esther, after Queen Esther of the Old Testament, but her father suggested to name her Takouhi,
after all, Esther was a queen. The name Takouhi is a popular Armenian name.

Rev. Takouhi made her way out of Beirut through the mountainous roads of Lebanon into Syria. Through the
airport in Damascus, she found her way to Los Angeles, where she lived with her eldest sister, Silva, and
graduated from Armenian Mesrobian High School in 1986. After completing high school in June of 1986, she
found her way to Canada via the Vermont-Quebec border on August 21, 1986. The Canadian Government
had given permission to Lebanese citizens to enter Canada to find refuge and call it home.

The rest is history… September 3, 2000, Rev. Takouhi and Gary Steven Petro married at Northlea United
Church, in Chomedey-Laval, Quebec and life took a different turn… in 2002, Rev. Takouhi started receiving
nudges to go into ministry through different people of God, but she fought this “call” for two years.
On January 5, 2005, she began her six-year educational journey. She obtained her B.A. (Majoring in
Theology and Minoring in English Literature) at Concordia University, her B.Th. at McGill University, and, her
M.Div. at the Montreal School of Theology, through the United Theological College.

On May 28, 2011, Rev. Takouhi became the first Armenian female minister to be ordained in the United
Church of Canada. This was a historic day for Rev. Takouhi, not only for the strides she was able to make by
God’s Grace, but this was also the 93rd Anniversary of the first Armenian Independence Day (May 28, 1918).
After her ordination, from July 1, 2011, until January 31, 2013, she was called to serve the Ayer’s Cliff
Magog-Georgeville Pastoral Charge in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. However, living apart from her
husband and the political situation in Quebec was difficult. Rev. Takouhi and Gary started earnestly to pray
for a united life together, out of Quebec. Their prayers were answered when the Elgin-Portland Pastoral
Charge was declared vacant in the Summer of 2012. This pastoral charge was where Rev. Takouhi had
done her student internship from September 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010, after which, she served the charge for
two months as a Student minister (June 1, 2010, to August 1, 2010).

It took many discerning prayers on all sides and Rev. Takouhi was called to serve God through the
community of the Elgin-Portland Pastoral Charge from February 1, 2013- October 31, 2020.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Rev. Takouhi answered God’s Call (June 27, 2020) to serve Grace United Church in Gananoque, even though she was full of fear to drive on County Rd. 32, because of a car accident that she and her husband had on January 12, 2015. With courage she said “Yes” to the “call”.
She served this beautiful Community of Faith from November 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024.
Her fear of driving on County Rd. 32 has become a thing of the past.

As of January 1, 2025, Rev. Takouhi will start serving the Creator of the Universe
through Trinity United Church in Smiths Falls.
Her first Sunday of worship leadership will be January 5, 2025,
which is 20 years to the date when her educational journey, for ministry,
began at Concordia University in Montreal.

Rev. Takouhi loves leading worship celebrations, and she is often referred to as the dancing minister.
Rev. Takouhi says: “God is God of Joy and Celebration, who calls us to rejoice through the God-given music
of the heart that is always present even if circumstances around us are dire.
Paying attention is a gift, and sharing it with others is even a Greater Gift."