Clergy Conference On The Feast Of Sts. Ghevontiants

A two-day clergy conference was held at the Headquarters of the Western Diocese on February 2-3, in preparation of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Western Diocese which will be marked in 2017 with a grandiose celebration. 

The day commenced with the morning prayer service at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral during which the clergymen beseeched the Almighty to bless and have mercy upon the flock of Christ and to preserve and protect the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian nation.

The first clergy conference of the year, held at the Hampar Family Room, was presided by His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America. Archbishop Derderian explained the main purpose of the conference, noted the significance of the topics to be presented, highlighted the importance of an active discussion and emphasized the need to strengthen the mission on the religious as well as the pastoral levels.

The Primate informed his fellow brothers in Christ about the construction projects currently taking place at the Western Diocese (Arizona, San Diego, Las Vegas, La Crescenta and Hollywood). His Eminence reflected on the number of Diocesan publications over the last ten years, the plan to honor 90 exemplary couples in the Western Diocese, the project to launch a church newspaper, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy specifically for the youth. The Primate also spoke about upcoming Diocesan publications, the recruitment of priesthood-candidates, the need support the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund among other topics.

Special emphasis was placed on religious, theological, pastoral, social and canonical issues, creating the need to revitalize the church's mission of evangelization. Reports were presented by the clergymen on the aforementioned issues which were analyzed and discussed at length. 

"A Religious Reawakening" was the central theme of the conference. 

The following topics were discussed and presented at the conference including:

"Immersion of the youth in the life of the Church" (Rev. Fr. Mesrop Ash)
"The negative effect of Non-Orthodox or other mainstream religious beliefs on the faithful of the Armenian Apostolic Church" (Rev. Fr. Yeghia Isayan)
"Piety and the significance of rites in the spiritual advancement of a Christian" (Rev. Fr. Zaven Markosyan)
"Reverting to the true roots of the Church" (Rev. Fr. Avedis Abovian)
"Ways to modernize the Church" (Rev. Fr. Vazken Movsesian)
"The Church is not the gathering of saints but rather the place of repentance" (Archpriest Fr. Shnork Demirjian)
"The Armenian Apostolic Church in North America" (Archpriest Fr. Sarkis Petoyan)
"Defending the Christian Faith" (Archpriest Fr. Vartan Kasparian)
"The Armenian Church in the 16th and 17th centuries – Religious and cultural reawakening" (Archpriest Fr. Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian)
"The Kiss of Peace of the Divine Liturgy from the theological perspective" (The Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian

The following important topics including "the participation of the laity in the religious life of parishes," "the Christian identity of the faithful and strengthening their sense of belonging in the Church," "witnessing the Christian Faith in modern times" as well as "the influential role of the Divine Liturgy in the life of the faithful" were also discussed by the clergymen. 

About the Feast of Ghevontiants

The Feast of Ghevontiants is the feast day of priests. The amazing story of the Vartanants and Ghevontiants martyrs is recounted by two Armenian historians of the time: Yeghishé the Historian and Ghazar Parbetsi. St. Ghevont is remembered as the priest who, on the night before the decisive battle against the Persians in 451 A.D. assembled the Armenian troops on the battlefield and baptized those that not yet been received into the Church. This was just over a century after the Christian conversion of the Armenian people by St. Gregory the Illuminator, and we know that there were still pockets of the population that had not yet been evangelized. St. Ghevont then celebrated the Divine Liturgy and distributed Holy Communion to every soldier.