St. John Garabed Armenian Church Of San Diego Hosts 69Th Annual Acyo Assembly

The 69th Annual ACYO Assembly convened at St. John Garabed Armenian Church in San Diego, California on January 12-14, 2018. The meeting, which included delegates of the youth organization from throughout the Western Diocese, was presided over by the Primate His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian, who began the meeting with a prayer.

The ACYO Annual Assembly was moved to MLK weekend with a proposed amendment to the ACYO By-Laws at the 68^th Annual Assembly which convened at St. Apkar Armenian Church. The amendment was ratified by the Primate.

The first session commenced with a welcome message by the Diocesan Primate, who warmly greeted the diocesan youth and expressed his appreciation to the Very Rev. Fr. Pakrad Dz. V. Berjekian, Pastor of the host parish for graciously hosting this year’s assembly. The Primate then led the convention in the ACYO pledge, and in his welcome remarks, His Eminence reflected on the importance of spiritual enrichment. “This convention is a gift to our 90-year old Diocese. As ACYO delegates, you are gathered to make a difference in your God-given lives. Through this fellowship we inspire one another in a prayerful atmosphere. We empower each other with the gifts of the Holy Spirit graced upon us.  We see the challenges of everyday life. We make the commitment to be dedicated Christians and devout sons and daughters of the Armenian Church. We cherish the legacy of our Church fathers and above all, we make the promise to carry on the mission God has entrusted to us with pride and spiritual courage and strength,” said His Eminence in part.

Read the Primate’s welcoming message in its entirety.

As first session continued, the ACYO Central Council Chair Nataline Jindoian reported on various projects which were implemented throughout the year including, the inter-diocesan youth meeting, junior and senior retreat, and the very successful Sports Weekend tournament.

The first day of the assembly concluded with a Bayfront mixer in Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego. Following the convening of the day's meeting, the delegates were hosted to a fun social event at the parish hall.

SESSION II

The second session reconvened on the following day at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary of St. John Garabed Armenian Church. Following the opening prayer, the Primate introduced the Diocesan clergy who were accompanied by their respective ACYO delegates including the Very Rev. Fr. Pakrad Berjekian, the Rev. Fr. Avedis Abovian, the Rev. Fr. Mesrop Ash, the Rev. Fr. Zacharia Saribekyan, the Rev. Fr. Zaven Markosyan, the Rev. Fr. Krikor Zakaryan and the Rev. Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian.    

The Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, Dean of St. Nersess Armenian Theological Seminary had travelled from New York specially for the ACYO Assembly. Fr. Mardiros made a presentation about the mission and the accomplishments of the only Armenian seminary in the Western Hemisphere. St. Nersess Seminary, which has been preparing leaders for service in the Armenian Church since 1961, will host its annual summer conferences for the youth starting in June.

For more information about the conferences, click here.

Various projects pertaining to the coming year were discussed including collaboration with Christian Education Council and the participation in the 2018 Summer Camp program.

A thorough report on Christian Education was presented by Christian Education Council (CEC) Chair Mrs. Gail Chelebian who emphasized the importance of the collaboration of Sunday Schools and the ACYO. Click here on the banner below to watch an informative CEC/ACYO Powerpoint presentation. 

Primate's Message - Second Session

In the third and final session of the 69th Annual Assembly, highlights from previous years’ CYMA trips were presented. Registration for the 2018 CYMA Trip will begin in February. The CYMA presentation was followed by Liturgical Music 101, a presentation by Sevag Derderian, Chair of the Association of Armenian Church Choirs of the Western Diocese. Click here or on the banner below to view the presentation. The youth practiced together various hymns from the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church. Elections were held and the results will be published in next week’s newsletter.

The ACYO Convention Banquet was held on Saturday January 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the church hall. In his remarks, the Primate congratulated the youth on the fruitful convention. "This year's assembly has been a great success in the life of our youth family and te Western Diocese. The Assemlby Sessions have been tremendously productive in many ways. As delegates, you have renewed the past year's activities, made presentations, set new missions and above all renewed your calling to live the Christian faith with a new zeal and vision.

The year 2018 has been declared as the Year of the Youth. Thus we ought to take on the lead to be unifying strength of the Diocese initializing and organizing many missions and projects to make the ACYO a strong institution for the glory of God.

Archbishop Derderian once again exhorted the youth to reconnect with their roots through this year's pilgrimage to the Mother See. "Dear ACYO, I urge you all to be part of the July 2018 Pan-ACYO pilgrimage to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This mission will be an exceptional event; the youth rally will be marked as a milestone. The pilgrimage will be a time of praying together, learning from each other, coming closer to God, and living the spiritual rebirth of our youth."  

His Eminence thanked all of the individuals and committees who helped realize the ACYO convention. The Primate expressed his gratitude to the Very Rev. Fr. Pakrad Dz. V. Berjekian and the ACYO Convention Committee for their hard work in coordinating the event. He also thanked the members of the AYCO Central Council for their hard work and dedication throughout the year and the parish priests and delegates for devoting the time and attention to attend and participate in the important event.

On Sunday morning, the delegates participated in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. The day's celebrant was the Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, Dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary.