The online academic forum/blog of the Society for Cultural Anthropology published an article written by Dr. Christopher Sheklian, Director at the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center and member of the St. Nersess faculty. The article is called "Communion in Quarantine: How Liturgical Churches Celebrated Easter." It featured Dr. Sheklian's St. Nersess virtual course for students and clergy and the seminary's Good Friday service.  
 
"The premier academic association of anthropologists put out a call for pieces for an edited collection of essays to 'provide a forum for early observations and reflections on the pandemic as it unfolds'," commented Dr. Sheklian.   
 
"... like Armenian Orthodox Christians, for whom liturgy is not merely a gathering of individual believers but an active partaking in Holy Communion that therefore stitches together the Church as such, there are fundamental theological concerns over the inability to physically come together for robust sacramental life," exclaims Sheklian in an excerpt from the article. "Though the ecclesial conundrums continue, for Armenian Apostolic Christians, alongside all Christians with a strong liturgical tradition, Holy Week and Easter has gone on in the midst of the pandemic, albeit with ad hoc, imaginative alternative liturgical celebrations," concludes the article.  
 
To read the entire article, go to https://culanth.org/fieldsights/communion-in-quarantine.
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His Grace Bishop Daniel Findikyan, Primate of the Eastern Diocese and President of the St. Nersess Board of Directors, ordained Dn. Arman Galstyan, a 2018 St. Nersess graduate, to the holy priesthood during a special Divine Liturgy at St. George Armenian Church in Hartford, CT, on Saturday, July 27.

Consecrating Dn. Arman’s forehead and hands with Holy Muron (oil), Bishop Daniel gave him the priestly name “Fr. Voski,” after an ancient saint who holds a special significance for the church.

“For the second time in my young ministry as a bishop, I was graced with the opportunity to ordain a devoted servant of God to the holy priesthood. I thank the good Lord for this great blessing. I can testify that Fr. Voski truly is GOLD as a humble and committed man of faith. I named him VOSKI after the first-century disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus, the first priest in Armenia mentioned by name. By their saintly, hope-filled lives St. Voski and his companions (the “Voskians”, whom we recall at every Badarak) inspired waves of Armenians to follow Jesus Christ centuries before St. Gregory our Illuminator would come on the scene. Today when examples of fervent, life-changing, joyous faith in Christ are all too few, we need to inspire a new era of genuine faith in the Son of God, a gift “more precious than gold.” (1 Peter 1:7). I pray that Fr. Voski and Fr. Andreas will be on the holy vanguard of that new era so that all of us—priests, men and women, young and mature—may do our part to “build up the Body of Christ” in the Armenian Church,” proclaimed Bishop Daniel.

The church sanctuary was filled with clergy, parishioners, family, and friends who travelled to witness the ordination. The Rev. Fr. Gomidas Zohrabian served as the sponsoring priest, and Mr. and Mrs. Sarkis and Ruth Bedevian of New Jersey were his godparents. The Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, who served as the ordination coordinator, was also present.
At the conclusion of the service, the newly ordained priest gave his first blessing to the faithful where he has served for the past several months as Deacon-in-Charge. A celebratory banquet followed.

On the evening prior, the Service of Calling took place at St. George. Fr. Voski is currently spending his 40 days in seclusion and prayer at St. Nersess Seminary, before returning to Hartford to serve as the pastor.

Fr. Voski’s ordination is the culmination of a lifelong calling to serve Christ, his church, and the Armenian people. Click here to read more about the ordination and the personal journey leading to it.

​Click here to view a gallery of photos. Additional photos of all the ordination events can be viewed here.