In meeting with young parishioners from Washington D.C. and New York and New Jersey during his recent tour of the Mid-Atlantic parishes, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I highlighted themes that have been very close to his heart during his pontificate, including their active participation in church and community activities. Soorp Khatch Church, in Bethesda, Maryland, hosted scores of youth, and later on, St. Sarkis Church, in Douglaston, New York, did the same with youth from the local parish as well as from St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York and Sts. Vartanantz Church, of Ridgefield, New Jersey. The discussions mainly focused on the reorganization of the Diaspora, the revitalization of the church, and the role of the youth in Armenian life. 
Youth has a special role in the Diaspora revitalization campaign that the Catholicos has been pursuing in the last two years, which has included the consecutive proclamations of 2022 and 2023 as the Year of the Diaspora. In previous meetings with young leaders from the Diaspora, His Holiness has emphasized the need to involve actively the new generations in community affairs.
In the last two years, the Catholicos has urged Armenian youth to gather around our national values, becoming an active part of national and community life. He has also noted that in the globalized world of today, young people often find that our community structures may be too attached to traditional ways, preventing their full engagement.
