ST. ILLUMINATOR’S SCHOOLS CELEBRATE GRADUATION

On Sunday, May 31, St. Illuminator’s Sunday and Armenian Schools celebrated the end of the 2025-2026 school year with their annual Hantes, held in Pashalian Hall. The event brought together students, their parents, their teachers Louise Kanian, Maria Ebrimian, and Rita Tomassian, Hera Makhoulian, Director of the Armenian National Educational Committee, and parishioners.

Graduating on Sunday were Megerdich Azizyan, Anoush Azizyan, and Tatev Manoukian, the first to do so since the pandemic interrupted the operation of the Sunday and Armenian Schools.

The program began with a recitation by the children of the Lord’s Prayer. In her welcoming remarks, the Armenian School’s principal, Mrs. Ebrimian, greeted attendees and expressed her appreciation to Archpriest Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Makhoulian, and the parents for their continued support of the Armenian School, along with special thanks to donors the Ara Ghazarian Fund, the Armenian Relief Society’s (ARS) Erebouni Chapter, and Mrs. Sandra Vartanian-Khuzkian, for their financial support.

Mrs. Ebrimian presented to two students, Tatev Manoukian and Ara Garnig Megerdichian, the special prizes they won in an ARS essay competition by submitting videos on behalf of the school.

Mrs. Makhoulian and Mrs. Kanian, Cathedral trustee and Director of the Sunday School, also had words of encouragement and gratitude for parents and supporters, as well as for Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian, Director of Christian Education at the Eastern Prelacy.

In his closing remarks, Fr. Mesrob commended the invaluable work accomplished by this small but important program and encouraged everyone to continue supporting the formation of Armenian Christian identity in the children of our community through the transmission of Christian, cultural, and national values to the younger generation.

The program continued with a series of recitations by students of selections of Armenian poetry and prose on Christian and cultural themes, followed by the graduation ceremony, during which the three graduates received certificates from both the Sunday and Armenian Schools for completing their eight-year course of study. At the conclusion, the teachers presented their students with special gifts and Fr. Mesrob and Yn. Ojeen presented special gifts to the teachers, in recognition of their dedication and service.