NEW YORK — The Eastern Diocese’s Armenian Language Ministry held its annual Teachers’ Symposium on Saturday, September 7, at the Diocesan Center in New York. Dn. Hovhannes Khosdeghian organized the gathering of some 40 Armenian School teachers and principals from nine Diocesan parishes — hailing from New York and New Jersey as well as North Carolina, Georgia, and New England — who met to discuss the state of our schools, their needs, and ways to make Armenian programs more effective and meaningful.
Cathedral Vicar Fr. Davit Karamyan and Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, pastor of Holy Martyrs Church in Bayside, NY, joined the educators, as did Hovik Mamikonyan, from Armenia’s Permanent Mission of to the United Nations.
Interim Director of Ministries Fr. Hratch Sargsyan welcomed participants and conveyed the blessing Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, and the Primate’s fond wishes for a fruitful conference.
“It is a pleasure to welcome you in the Diocesan Center,” continued Fr. Hratch, “and I thank you all for taking the time to take part in person to this important gathering. Christian religion and the culture of our Armenian language are the two wings which makes our ministry of transmitting these two genuine components of our identity possible to rise and meet all challenges. Our history witnessed time and again the reality of demise every time one or the other of these bastions fell apart.”
He expressed his appreciation to all educators engaged in the daily and most often unrecognized work of keeping alive the flame of our identity. “Through your work, you keep alive the timeless work of Saints Mesrob and Catholicos Sahak and our Translators, giving the Word of God to the next generation,” he concluded.
Speakers and Discussions
