North American Prelates Meet in New York
The Eastern, Western and Canada prelates of the Armenian Apostolic Chuch convened a meeting at the Eastern Prelacy in New York on Wednesday.
Eastern Prelate Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian and Canada Prelate Archbishop Papken Tcharian congratulated Western Prelate Archbishop Kegham Khacherian on his recent election and assuming the leadership of the Western Prelacy, wishing him success in his mission.
The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the further development of ecclesiastical, religious, and spiritual works of the three Prelacies, as well as the general challenges faced by Armenians.
After the opening prayer and a service dedicated to the memory of the victims of September 11, 2001, the prelates spoke with His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, via videoconference.
The Catholicos highly appreciated the commitment shown by the prelates regarding the cooperation between the Cilician See and the prelacies. He noted that the strengthening of parishes in each Prelacy, and the involvement of human resources to the maximum extent, should be the focus of the collective effort.
Following the conversation with the Catholicos, the Prelates decided to:
- Further develop the program of planning and organizing human resources.
- Revise the Guidelines for the clergy, which cover various aspects of ritual, counseling, disciplinary and social life.
- Exchange and use educational and publishing programs of the respective Prelacies.
- Encourage the adoption and dissemination of the social platform “Miasin,” developed by a French-Armenian expert.
- Organize special programs and events for the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
- Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I with special events in 2025.
- Continue supporting Lebanese and Syrian Armenian schools.
- With the execution of these decisions, the Prelates hope to enhance the mission of the Church in Armenian life for the glory of God.
The three prelates also decided to continue convening these meetings regularly.
Following the meeting, the prelates participated in the ceremony dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of the terrorist act of September 11, at the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church and Shrine in New York.
High-ranking clergymen, military personnel, and family members were present. The Prelates expressed their gratitude to Archbishop Elpidophoros, the Exarch the Greek Orthodox Church of North America, who organized the memorial ceremony.
During the occasion, Western Prelate Archbishop Khacherian presented the recently published Greek edition of “The Armenian Church,” authored by Catholicos Aram I and approved by an official decree of the Holy Synod of Greece, to Archbishop Elpidophoros. The unprecedented decision of the Holy Synod to publish the book is a proof of its exceptional appreciation toward Catholicos Aram I and his tireless work in the ecumenical field
