St. Leon Armenian Cathedral

I am deeply saddened and disturbed by my recent experience at St. Leon Armenian Church. I came with nothing more than a single candle in my hand, with the sole intention of lighting it and saying a prayer. I also had with me my small, ADA-approved emotional support/service dog, who is calm, quiet, and specifically trained to help me manage anxiety and panic attacks. On a separate occasion, I was told by church staff that I could light a candle while accompanied by my dog, so long as I did not enter the inner corridor of the church—a boundary I have always respected. On this visit, I had no intention of going anywhere beyond the candle area. Unfortunately, I was confronted by an individual named Arthur, who immediately began screaming at me to leave, over and over again. His tone was aggressive and humiliating. I repeatedly tried to explain that I was simply there to light a candle and say a prayer, but instead of showing compassion or even basic decency, he escalated the situation, calling security and yelling at me in front of a group of people, including children. I was left in tears, shaking, and suffering from a severe anxiety attack—the very condition for which my service dog is intended to help. I was inches away from the candles, begging him to let me light just one candle, and he still continued to scream and drive me out. This behavior is not that of a Christian, especially not someone representing the Armenian Apostolic Church. A true Christian should know that every single one of us is a child of God, and that a church is God’s home. You do not throw someone out who comes in peace, with a candle in hand, seeking prayer. Whatever spirit was guiding that behavior was not of God. There was nothing loving, understanding, or Christ-like in the way I was treated. Arthur’s conduct was cruel and unworthy of someone serving in a place of worship. Someone with such a harsh and unkind spirit does not belong in a church—he has no right to push away those who come in tears looking for God’s presence. My service animal, who behaved silently and respectfully, demonstrated more faith and peace than the individual who screamed at me. It is heartbreaking to witness such behavior in a place that bears the name of the Armenian Church. I hope that St. Leon Church leadership takes this matter seriously and reflects on the harm done. The way I was treated was shameful and has permanently changed the way I view this church.

Absolutely beautiful inside and out. The architecture, the details, and the peaceful atmosphere all remind me so much of Armenia. Stepping inside feels like being transported back home. It's more than just a church—it's a piece of Armenian heritage right here in Burbank. A must-visit for anyone who appreciates culture, faith, and beauty.

Awesome church and excellent reception area. I filmed a couples wedding here on October 14, 2022. Staff was great and overall an awesome experience. I hope to be back soon.

We had a wedding here. Father Njde did great. Beautiful words. God bless them

Very nice Armenian Cathedral of St Leon. Big, bright and clean. They have a nice Sundy service. Must visit

Love this Church, Always peaceful, Always Nice! Great People Serving the Church, serving the community with a big heart!

Im not big on church, but glad everything is going back to " normal" again.

Respect❗️

Easter service at St Leon is beautiful. I have been coming here ever since it opened its doors. Very spacious and beautiful church, they decorate the altar with fresh flowers and move the candle lighting stations outside under the tents. They have activities for kids by the Kalaydjian hall. It's an amazing time to be here to celebrate with your fellow Armenians. Easter 24 was amazing

Attended a wedding here recently and fell in love with how gorgeous this cathedral is. The ~45 minute ceremony was held in the church, and the reception was held in the banquet hall just next to it. There is valet parking in the back, but we found a spot before we realized we were supposed to pull up to valet. Oops! We noticed the valet driver simply left the car keys somewhere under the car, though, so I'm glad we parked ourselves. Our wedding ceremony was scheduled immediately after another -- which ran late -- so we were left milling around outside. The various designs and stones are beautiful. This cathedral is definitely a work of art. It looks newly built, and I imagine it is... The interior of the church is spacious and elaborate. I gather from the other reviews that this is a pricey venue, and for good reason. I'd never attended an Armenian wedding ceremony like this one, so it was nice to see the procedures and customs. When it was time for the reception, we hung around in the well decorated hall for a half hour or so before we were allowed inside. The finger food they brought out was delicious! Little pastries with cream and salmon egg, little sandwiches, and glasses of champagne -- classy! The banquet hall was equally elaborate and the dinner course was divine. There was ceviche, shrimp in pineapple (literally), kebabs, sautéed mushrooms, BBQ beef, pita bread, and much more. What a great time all around.

Beautiful architecture and great Church service. Parking is convenient as well. Highly recommended.

I am writing this review to counter the ignorant bad reviews. The Armenian Orthodox people are a god filled people who do their best to live what they believe and this church exemplifies this. The example set by the words of the reviewers shows their ignorance.ALL ORTHODOX CHURCHES INCLUDING ROMAN CATHOLIC HAVE A DRESS CODE. AS THERE ARE MORE CARS THAN SPACES, PEOPLE PARK ANYWHERE TO GET INSIDE FOR THE SERVICES BUT THOSE THAT DO USUALLY LEAVE EARLY TO MOVE THEIR CARS. Most churches charge for wedding ceremonies..before you leave a bad review, realize you shame yourself with your opinions.

Tow separate weddings, one for my son, one for my daughter. Excellent service both the church and the reception. Easy parking, so you don't have to drive from church to reception. All minor details were followed, delicious snacks, 4 course dinner, all beverages no limit. No other similar set up in Southern California can come close to this outfit. Have been recommending to whoever is willing to listen to practical, affordable excellent service. Outside patio excellent idea for sitting and gossiping. If you want high class wedding, this is where you go and you don't need to refinance your house to do it.

Beautiful cathedral. Doors are open for all the visitors. Everyone wears masks a d the staff is helpful to anyone who is a first time visitor or wants to learn more information about the church or the service.

The church is beautiful and I agree with dressing conservatively but the comment is mostly aimed at Jason for calling people 'cheap'. My marriage ceremony was at a beautiful Russian Orthodox church and they accepted any donation we could afford. I agree with you criticizing the other negative comments but not the one about the price you godless demon. Jesus Himself got angry at those trying to turn a place of worship into a business center.

Beautiful church! You can see this church when driving on 5 north after Buena Vista exit on your right in Burbank. It has copper roof and all the stones are imported from Armenia. Great for weddings and christenings. The church also offers bible studies on weekends. There is also a banquet hall on the same property with plenty of parking. It's worth a visit.

Can't believe I'm writing this about a church but literally the worst one I've been to. I wore a black top with shorts and heels and the lady at the door told me I can't come inside dressed like that. She put a head scarf around my shoulders to cover up a bit and told me to light my candles somewhere else. I've never felt more embarrassed in my life. For people who are religious and preach about god all the time sure are the most judgmental people I've ever met

My mother's viewing was at this church and I would strongly recommend you find another church. When we were setting up the arrangement for the viewing we spoke about me providing a slideshow to play during the service. I even brought my own laptop, made a copy on a flash drive, and brought an adapter to connect my computer just in case the church didn't have the right equipment. On the day of the viewing I arrived an hour before the service to find that the church didn't set up the projector and said they couldn't! An hour is more than enough time. This was supposed to be a moment to remember the good days and celebrate her life. I was enraged and in disbelief. Extremely unpleasant and unprofessional experience with St. Leon and their staff. The last thing you want to think about on a day like this is a technical issue that shouldn't have occurred in the first place. Especially since we discussed days prior that I am bringing a slideshow. There needs to be better communication between the staff so the clients are taken care of. The only thing they're good at is taking your money.

For the last few years, I have passed this beautiful church when driving along I-5 and decided to do a little research about it. I discovered that it was the Mother Church of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America and was the culmination of a dream that went back to the diocese's establishment in 1927. The dream was finally made a reality when construction of the cathedral began in 2007 and ended with the cathedral's consecration in 2010 by the Church's Pontiff from Armenia. The building of this cathedral centralized the operations of the diocese, which has churches throughout the Western United States and Canada, as well as establishing a spiritual center for the Los Angeles area's thriving Armenian community. As you can probably see by now, I'm a bit of a culture nerd, especially when it comes to religious sites. I've been to hundreds of churches, temples, and other places of worship, but had never been in an Armenian church yet. Yesterday, on the way home to NorCal after a SoCal weekend trip, I decided to stop by St Leon Cathedral to check it out. The brick building still looks brand new and polished, inside and out. As I arrived, there was still a service going on, so I politely snuck in and stood against the back wall with some other latecomers to observe. People seemed to be milling around, coming and going as they pleased. The priest stood at the front in an elaborate outfit and head-dress, giving a lecture in Armenian. (Evidently, he had been talking for awhile because it was almost 12:30 at the time and the services supposedly started at 10:30. When I left, he showed no signs of being finished anytime soon.) I wish I could've understand what he was discussing, but nonetheless, it still sounded beautiful... A cloud of fragrant incense hung over the room and added to the sacred feeling of the interior. Small family groups would come in late and find a seat in the back and begin listening like they had been there the whole time. Others would seemingly tire of the long lecture and sneak out at random times. Overall, the requirement of attendance seemed pretty relaxed. My only complaint was the "welcome committee." There were two ladies at either side of the entrance, sitting behind booths laden with information about the church and community activities. Despite looking around at both booths for a few minutes, neither of them spoke to me or offered to help me. As such a beautiful cathedral, they should work more on information for visitors. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say maybe they have this at other times or they're still working on it... Overall, this is a very beautiful church and I recommend checking it out for its cultural and artistic value.

Marvelous, outstanding beautiful Church. God Bless. If I may say, a very unique Church from all the other Armenian Churches.

Sobering to learn that the church charges $2500 for getting married for a 40 minute ceremony. Does not ask for donations or for patrons to give what they can but rather sells themselves as a product or service. When asked why $2500 their response is that they have a beautiful building at a central location. This is true, beautiful building indeed. But not a house of God, more a business which functions exactly as one. In their defense they're not alone in this regard and all of the churches I contacted were for sale for ceremonial services ranging from $850 and up. They truly have forgotten what a churches role is in the community. Disgraceful and pathetic.

Its a fairly new church, my cousin got married in it. I like the quiet surroundings and ease of parking. Its a nicely built and decorated church; the ballroom is also very nice for events.

1st off I'm going to explain somethings for my non Armenian or even Armenian fellow Yelpers! If you don't know the etiquette of church let me be the first one to tell you that regardless of what kind of church ( house of god) you go into you have to be dressed appropriately that includes NO WEARing shorts, no tank tops! If you do you will either be asked to leave or be given a scarf to cover your exposed skin whether it's your shoulders or your head when you are going toward the alter to receive the Eucharist. 2nd being that it is the house of god you don't go in there looking like your going to the gym or the BEACH! Now on to the actual badarak on Sunday mornings. One has to be there to experience it. Even if you don't understand the words literally word for word it is angelic. The smell of the incense that is being burned, the choir that is singing and the sermons given both in Armenian and English is beautiful! Go in light a candle , pray, attend the badarak and be present in the peace of god.

One of the most beautiful churches I have been too. I recommend really observing the artwork all around. Absolutely stunning!

This church is so beautiful. Me and my fiance decided we are going to get married here . My husband is American and saw a couple of different churches and said i will not want to get married anywhere else, besides here. It is newly built and the bricks are so beautiful. He absolutely thought this church was beautiful and so do I..We couldn't wait till our ceremony to take place in this beautiful cathedral, its just stunning.. His family was blown away with this church. The priests and the ministers were so sweet, friendly and positive that it really added to a magical experience to everything, as well,and made our ceremony into something so sweet, memorable and wonderful, It felt great to get married at st.Leon. I can't wait till my photos come out in this nice scenery! I'm so happy to be a part of this church, and will be attending at times. We are super excited that we will have some gorgeous photos as well, the inside is as nice as the outside..