CLASS 91 OF CATHOLICOSATE SEMINARY GRADUATES

Class 91 of the Seminary of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has graduated, completing the academic year with the ordination of acolytes, subdeacons, deacons, and three celibate priests. 

On the evening of Sunday, July 3, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I presided over the graduation ceremony at the Holy Virgin Monastery of Bikfaya, before the Genocide and Sardarabad memorials. Cilician Brotherhood members, parents, and friends attended the event, alongside pilgrims who had come for the blessing of the Holy Muron two days before.  

The ceremony began with the anthem of the Seminary, followed by an orchestra that performed the musical pieces “A Piece of Sky” and “The Sky is Cloudy.” Newly graduated and ordained Rev. Armen Apegha Kalajian then looked back at their years in the seminary, when they decided to devote their lives to the service of God and the Armenian nation, saying this is not the end, but the beginning of the journey. 

An artistic number entitled “Faith and Land” followed, directed by Rev. Fr. Yeremia Degirmenjian, during which the graduates recited poems and interpreted songs, offering glimpses into the rich Armenian culture.   

In remarks delivered right after, Rev. Fr. Barouyr Shernezian, Seminary Dean, reflected on the exile of the Catholicosate from Sis and its successive growth, demonstrated by the graduating class. “Here we have the young generations of the Seminary and the new forces that join the ranks of the Cilician Brotherhood go on to show that the Holy Muron is not a mere blessed oil, but a divine grace that is embodied in man to renew the strength and sow new seeds in our nation and our church.”  

Fr. Baruyr invited the Catholicos to the stage to hand the diplomas to the graduates and deliver his message. “Your glory, your honor, your duty will only be to serve our people,” the Catholicos said. “You will go to the poor, the sick, the needy and will give them whatever is possible.”