May 18, 2015

On Friday 15 May, Catholicos Aram I visited the Hovnanian School and the Emerson Armenian Centre.

The faculty, the board members, parents and students welcomed His Holiness and the accompanying delegation at the school gate. After the blessing of the bread and salt ritual, Mrs Silva Mesrobian, the principal, and Greg Simonian, the President of the Board, welcomed him and invited him and his delegation to assist the cultural programme prepared by the students. The students ended their rich presentations of poetry, songs and hymns with the “Cilicia” anthem. His Holiness then spoke to them about the importance of the Armenian school in sustaining identity and pursuing the demand for justice on behalf of the victims of the Genocide and their descendants. Aram I then invited the students to ask questions. At the end of the dialogue, the Catholicos left for the Emerson Home for the Elderly.

 

The members of the Board and the resident elderly welcomed His Holiness. The Catholicos greeted everyone and spoke of the Church as a serving and caring community. The visit ended with everyone singing folk and spiritual songs and the “Cilicia” anthem.

 

His Holiness Aram I meets the community in New Jersey

 

14 May 2015. On Thursday evening, Catholicos Aram I visited St. Vartanantz Church in New Jersey where the priests, members of the church council, scouts and the faithful received him.

 

After canonical prayers, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan welcomed His Holiness Aram I on behalf of the Eastern Prelacy of the USA and invited him to transmit his message. Building on the theme of the pastoral visit, “staying loyal to our Christian Armenian roots,” he told the people that the Church is not an institution, but the Body of Christ, which transforms it into a community, a spiritual home and a source of national identity. Historically, Armenians have survived all challenges because of the transformative and bonding power of the church. Therefore, he concluded, “In order to remain rooted in our Armenian identity in the Diaspora, we should organize and be renewed as community in the Church.” At the end of the message, His Holiness received individual greetings of the faithful and gave them his blessings.

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