Support Our Seminary This Fall!
Dear St. Nersess Supporter,
As we progress through the Fall Semester, I would like to share how your support continues to benefit our seminarians in their education and how our programs reach many beyond our campus.
We have seven full-time students this semester, including five who are on the priestly track, one in diaconate studies, and the other in religious studies. Three students hail from the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. We also have three part-time students studying in person and remotely. We wish them all success as they progress through their studies.
This summer was a step in a positive direction in a post pandemic world, as we welcomed the youngest leaders in our church communities to grow in faith and character in four well attended and staffed programs.
At the four-day Youth Choir Workshop, participants ages 13-17 learned the hymns of our Yegmalian Divine Liturgy. Their sincere interest in learning and singing our liturgy in 4-part harmony made the inaugural program a success. The workshop will be extended to five days next year and is underwritten by the Yn. Diane Chevian Memorial Fund.
Our week-long High School Summer Conference educated and inspired high school students from our Eastern and Western Dioceses, through Armenian language classes, Badarak music lessons, Bible Studies, and lectures and discussions on faith topics. The students formed lifelong friendships and valuable connections with clergy and lay leaders.
The Deacons’ Training Program, offered in both the Eastern and Western Dioceses, helped altar servers learn how to participate in the liturgical services of the Armenian Church. Participants spent the week reviewing chants, hymns, and liturgics of the Badarak, as well as obtained invaluable theological explanations behind our sacred rituals. This training is critical for service to the church and our communities.
Through our Deacons’ Training Program in Jerusalem, deacons and subdeacons were selected to travel to the Holy Land during the first two weeks of August. There they studied the most integral week of the Armenian Liturgical calendar, Avak Shapat, at the seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The pilgrimage combined an educational program with the opportunity to visit the holy sites of our Lord’s birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension.
With your renewed support, we will be able reach our spiritual and educational goals for the 2022-23 academic year. Your gift directly impacts the education and training available for our seminarians, as well as supports the many other programs the seminary offers.
Please make your gift today on our website. Thank you for your continued dedication and support to strengthen the leadership and community of our Church.
With prayers,
Fr. Mardiros Chevian
Dean
