NEW YORK – July 20, 2018, marked a celebratory evening at the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America in New York City, as Armenia’s new Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan was honored at a special reception in Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium.
Diocesan Primate Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan hosted the evening and welcomed the foreign minister — a longtime friend of the Eastern Diocese—and numerous dignitaries in attendance. These included Armenian religious leaders, ambassadors and diplomats from the United Nations, and leaders of the Armenian community and its organizations.
Among the guests in attendance were Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, and Very Rev. Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan; United Nations Under Secretary-General for the General Assembly Dr. Movses Abelian; Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan; and some two dozen diplomats from the UN, including the Ambassadors of Canada, France, Iran, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Finland, and Turkestan.
Dr. Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, addressed the enthusiastic crowd and called the foreign minister “an erudite gentleman born to be a diplomat.” He remarked that the event was an opportunity not only to honor the foreign minister, but also to bid him farewell as the highly respected Ambassador of Armenia to the United Nations.
Diocesan Primate Fr. Findikyan said: “We are a small country; but we are much more than that, with a rich history, culture, and civilization—in Armenia and in the diaspora.” Wishing Minister Mnatsakanyan great success, he commented, “You bring great honor, and will bring justice to our people.”
Justice, Faith in Humanity, Peace
