Recently, the seminary embarked on a campaign to reconnect with summer conference alumni. We interviewed two alumni, Sara Andonian and her brother Paul Andonian, who are members of the St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, MI. Find out how St. Nersess has influenced their lives!
 
Question 1: What year/session did you first attend a St. Nersess Summer Conference?
Sara - My first experience at St. Nersess was a high school summer conference in 1981 in New Rochelle.
Paul - And I tagged along with her two years later in 1983 at a post high school conference. 
Sara - Our mother had heard of the summer conferences when they were held near Chicago but never had the opportunity to visit.  She encouraged us to attend. 
Paul - We dropped Sara off for her second conference.  Mom wanted to see the "new" St. Nersess in New Rochelle.     
Sara - We each attended at least three to four conferences.  My connection with St. Nersess continued after I became too mature (old) for the conferences.  I was a counselor and a chaperone for many years for various conferences.  I would escort the middle school and some high school participants to and from the seminary from St. John.
 
Question 2: Do you have children who have attended a Summer Conference?
Paul - I think Sara escorted one or two of my kids to St. Nersess. Three of my children have attended the middle school and high school conferences in the past.  
 
Question 3: How did your St. Nersess experience help you become active in your local parish?
Paul - We are both very active in the St. John parish life. I am the new administrator for the parish and a member of the Men's Society. We have both served on the parish council. We were able to take the knowledge that we gained and learned at the Summer Conferences and use them in our parish life.  
Sara - I currently teach Church School and am on the Women's Guild board. I use what we learned in my Church School classes.  Attending St. Nersess played an important role in introducing us to all parts of stewardship and helped form who we are today.
 
Question 4: How have you stayed connected to or currently support the seminary?
Paul - Last fall, we had the opportunity to visit the seminary at its new campus in Armonk as part of a parish pilgrimage to the Diocese. We were impressed with the layout of the campus and the structures. It is a beautiful setting to educate our seminarians and to host the Summer Conferences for our youth.

On Saturday, May 18, 2019, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary will be hosting Hope and Gratitude to honor the Most Reverend Archbishop Khajag Barsamian and the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan as the past and present St. Nersess board presidents.
 
The event, to be held at the Old Tappan Manor in Old Tappan, NJ, will also celebrate the seminary's distinguished history and bright future throughout the evening. St. Nersess Seminary remains a center of learning and inspiration for its alumni, students, clergy, and youth for the past 58 years.
 
Abp. Khajag Barsamian was the seminary's president of the board of directors for 28 years. During his tenure, he guided the seminary through five deans and ordained 25 St. Nersess graduates into the holy priesthood. He also was instrumental in leading the revitalization and relocation of the seminary from New Rochelle to Armonk, NY. "We are so grateful for his belief in the mission of the seminary and his confidence in our future, which has guaranteed our success today," commented the Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, Dean.
 
Fr. Daniel Findikyan, a 1989 St. Nersess graduate, will be consecrated as a bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, at Holy Etchmiadzin on May 12. Fr. Daniel is the first clergyman born in America to serve as a diocesan primate and president of the St. Nersess board of directors and only the second American-born clergyman to be elevated to the rank of bishop. "We are also appreciative of Fr. Daniel as a former seminary dean and current professor. Under his leadership, the academic level of the seminary was brought to new heights," Fr. Mardiros added.
 
To celebrate their successes and to express the seminary's gratitude to Khajag Srpazan and Hayr Daniel for helping the seminary reach its spiritual and educational goals, a commemorative booklet is being published for the May 18 event. All proceeds will go directly to St. Nersess Seminary and its mission.
 
For booklet donation information and for reservations to Hope and Gratitude, please contact Mrs. Lynn Beylerian, event co-chair, at 201-914-0354 or lynnbeylerian@gmail.com.  Reservations are $150 per person. Booklet donations may also be donated here.

On February 4-5, Dn. Timothy Aznavourian, along with five students, were given the opportunity by the dean of Gevorkian Theological Seminary, the Very Rev. Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan, to take part in a two-day conference commissioned by the World Council of Churches, the United Nations, and the Armenian Round Table. The conference, entitled "Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Church", took place in Tsakhkadzor, north of Yerevan.
 
In 2015, the UN ratified a set of 17 SDGs for each one of its member states to achieve by the year 2030. These SDGs include the elimination of poverty and hunger, the establishment of just and strong civil institutions, as well as taking action on climate change. The conference focused on the Church's role in helping to achieve these goals for the Republic of Armenia.
 
Dn. Timothy was chosen to be the secretary for the group discussions. He presented the group's finding during the conference, which suggested that the Church can assist in achieving these SDGs through its preaching, clergy leading by example in their everyday concern for climate change action, as well as including units on Green Theology in our Sunday Schools.
 
"I am very grateful to the organizers of Sustainable Development Goals and the Church as well as to the Very Rev. Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan, for giving me this unique opportunity to participate in this conference. Furthermore, I am grateful for having been able to make connections with the people who are involved in achieving these SDGs in Armenia on a daily basis -- an experience which will continue to influence the way I think theologically and pastorally," remarked Dn. Timothy.