| May 5, 2011 St. Nersess Seminary's 2011 Commencement ceremonies will take place at the Seminary on SUNDAY, May 22, 2011. Archbishop Yeghishé Gizirian, the Seminary's Spiritual Father, will preside at the ceremonies together with the Dean, faculty, area clergy, students, alumni and guests. Deacon Mkrtich Ksachikyan will be feted for completing his four-year course of studies and receiving the Master of Divinity degree. Deacon Mkrtich is a student of the Western Diocese. Upon graduation, he will return to his Diocese, where, under the guidance of the Primate, His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian, he will continue his path toward eventual ordination as a priest of the Armenian Church. Sociology and Armenian Studies at U.C.L.A. Deacon Mkrtich KsachikyanA native of Yerevan, Armenia, the 26-year old Deacon Mkrtich immigrated to the United States with his family as a young boy and received most of his education in the United States. In 2006 he was graduated from UCLA with a B.A. degree in Sociology and a minor in Armenian Studies. His involvement in the Armenian Church did not begin until he was a teenager, when he began serving at the altar of St. Peter Armenian Church in Van Nuys, California with the encouragement of his pastor, St. Nersess alumnus Rev. Fr. Shnork Demirjian. |  Fr. Untzag Nalbandian and Fr. Daniel Findikyan pose with graduates following last year's St. Nersess Commencement Ceremonies  Deacon Mkrtich Ksachikyan |
"Somehow the Idea of Becoming a Priest Was in My Head"
"My sense of calling to become a priest was rather sudden, when I was a late-teenager," says Ksachikyan. "I was speaking with one of my friends about the difficultues that the Armenian people had faced throughout history and the challenges that Armenia was facing after its independence in 1991. The day after the conversation, I woke up and somehow the idea of becoming a priest was in my head," he said.
"My sense of calling to become a priest was rather sudden, when I was a late-teenager," says Ksachikyan. "I was speaking with one of my friends about the difficultues that the Armenian people had faced throughout history and the challenges that Armenia was facing after its independence in 1991. The day after the conversation, I woke up and somehow the idea of becoming a priest was in my head," he said.
| Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Seminary Dean, spoke with gratification about the graduate. "I first met Deacon Mkrtich in Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was a lanky teenager, shy, and not able to say much about his sudden impulse to come to Seminary," the dean said. "What a grace it has been for me to watch Mkrtich mature into an eloquent and faith-filled young man, possessing wisdom far beyond his years. He will be a wonderfully effective priest of our beloved church." The Commencement ceremonies, which will begin with a brief prayer service, will begin at 4:00PM and are open to the public. A reception will follow. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by email or by phone: (914) 636-2003. |  Abp. Yeghishé Gizirian will preside over the 2011 St. Nersess Commencement. |
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