DATEVATSIES IN THEIR OWN WORDS
St. Gregory of Datev Institute held its Virtual Summer Program for youth ages 13-18, from June 28 to July 2, 2021, with the participation of 52 students from 12 communities, and 13 instructors, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan. Each day, the program began with a short prayer service followed by two mini-lectures for three different age groups. The classes for all three groups were held concurrently.
Here are impressions from some of the participants about the Program:
The lectures were engaging and insightful and helped me learn new things. I hope next year we will be able to all be together.
— Nora Tarbinian
Very educational program! I got closer to my Armenian culture and faith. Met new friends and reconnected with old.
— Mary Ashbahian
Datev shows its participants what it truly means to be a Christian, how we are supposed to act, and what the Christian Church is or how we should see it. This program brings us closer to understanding our faith, learning about Christian morality, and being stronger members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Thank you for this wonderful week!
— Nayiri Ourlian
The program was extremely educational and I learned a lot, from sainthood to forgiveness, to why we go to church. One piece of advice that I would like to give for next time is to maybe make it a little bit more interactive… Overall, I think this was a very educational experience and was worth my time.
— Stepahn Khatchadourian
Datev was good, though I’m not the biggest fan of zoom.
— Areney Tokmakjian
Datev was an interactive and educational program, and overall a great way to spend some time this summer. Each day started with prayers followed by two lectures that were very informative and educational. All in all, Datev was a great experience and I hope to see everyone in person next year.
— Arpi Donoyan
I had a lot of fun with Datev, despite being online, because I like to learn and I learned a lot last week. Every topic that I learned was new material because I didn’t have background knowledge prior to Datev. Changing instructors every half hour was refreshing because it reminded me of switching classes in school. I look forward to meeting my instructors and my classmates in person next year.
— Alex Varjabedian