CATHOLICOS ENGAGES WITH YOUNG ARMENIAN AMERICANS AT THE CATHEDRAL
On Saturday, November 15th, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral hosted His Holiness Aram I for a forum with young adults. The event brought together an audience of nearly 150 participants consisting primarily of young professionals and university students ranging in age from 18 to 40, joined by a number both older and younger.
The program consisted of a moderated 75-minute question-and-answer session preceded by a brief introductory program, which featured recitations in Armenian of the poems “The Cross” (Archbishop Yeghishe Tourian) by Sarhad Melkonyan and “The Armenian Church” (Vahan Tekeyan) by Zivart Balijian, and a singing of the “Soorp Soorp” hymn by Anahit Zakaryan, the Cathedral’s choirmaster, accompanied on the piano by Hasmik Mekhanejian, Choirmaster of St. Vartan Cathedral.
Archpriest Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, Pastor, opened the event with welcoming remarks and invited Armen Morian, Esq., Subdeacon and Chairman of the Cathedral’s Board of Trustees, to step forth as master of ceremonies. Morian then introduced His Holiness with a brief appreciation of his “remarkable tenure” of 30 years. Calling him “the uncompromising leader of the Armenian nation,” he said that “by bestowing upon you and abundantly all the gifts of ability for leadership, God has smiled upon you, and by giving you to us, He has smiled upon us.”
The dialogue was moderated by Tamar Kanarian, Secretary of the Executive Council of the Eastern Prelacy. The theme for the dialogue was, “What can the Armenian Church do to serve Armenian American young adults, facilitate their spiritual, cultural, and community needs in the contemporary world, and play a meaningful role in their lives?” The discussion, however, covered a wider range of topics, ranging from Armenian Christianity under pressure, to dual identity, mixed marriages, artificial intelligence, technology, and more. At the close of the dialogue, Kanarian invited the Catholicos to give his closing message.
“It is imperative to give ample space to the youth in Armenian life,” His Holiness said. “I make this same suggestion with special emphasis whenever I have meetings with the responsible leaders of our community and with the youth during my pontifical visits.”
The reason he made the same suggestion, he said, was that he felt and saw “that our youth has not yet been given the necessary place and role in our common life.” The need for this “is imperative, especially in the contemporary world: our young people are called upon to bring their participation to the life of our Church and our structures, utilizing their professional expertise and their unique perspective on the modern world.”
In keeping with tradition, the program concluded with a singing of “Giligia” and the Pontifical Hymn “Ee Veh Partsants.” Afterward, Aram Vehapar blessed the table, and a fellowship hour ensued.