The Diocese
Posted: 12/03/2015
The elegant Convention By the Bay Gala was held on Saturday night, November 28th at the hall of St. Vartan Armenian Church. The premier youth event, which featured a gourmet dinner and entertainment was held in honor of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, the Diocesan Primate's 35th anniversary of ordination into the priesthood and 25th anniversary of his elevation to the rank of bishop.
Community leaders, representatives of Armenian organizations and guests from the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada were among the 250 guests in attendance. Priests from Northern, Central and Southern California accompanied the ACYO members of their respective parishes at the gala event.
On behalf of the Armenian Churches of the Bay Area in recognition of the Primate's 35th anniversary of ordination and 25th anniversary of elevation to the rank of bishop, the Rev. Fr. Hovel Ohanyan, the Pastor of the host parish and St. Vartan parishioner and Diocesan Council Vice-Chairman Mr. Greg Tcherkoyan presented Archbishop Derderian a crystal cross with the Biblical inscription from the Old Testament (Daniel 12:3).
In his remarks, the Primate expressed his gratitude to the parishioners of St. Vartan Armenian Church for their warm hospitality in hosting this year's convention and to all ACYO members and priests for their cordial presence at the convention. His Eminence commended the ACYO Central Council for their leadership in ensuring a closeness between the youth and the Armenian Apostolic Church. "This year's ACYO Convention coincides with the Centennial Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. In April, the world witnessed the single largest canonization in history as the 1.5 million martyred souls of the Armenian Genocide were sanctified into sainthood. This gathering of young Christians is a testament to the indomitable and resilient spirit of the Armenian people," said His Eminence in part. "God has called each of you to be partners in a Holy mission and you have certainly answered with divine love and wisdom," he added.
A glass plaque was also presented to Archbishop Derderian by the Chairman of AGBU Silicon Valley Yervant Zorian who congratulated the spiritual leader of the Western Diocese on the auspicious occasion.
The evening's entertainment was provided by DJ Raffy.
