
This year's theme was “Resilience, Resistance, and Persistence," with 38-member communions of the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African-American, and Living Peace traditions represented. The seminarians attended seminars and workshops during the course of the three days. One of the presentations was the Middle East Situation Report, where the NCC Middle East Delegation – including Abp. Vicken Aykazian – shared their experience of traveling to Iraq in January 2017.
The seminarians also had an opportunity to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, a new Smithsonian Museum that opened in September 2016. “Attending the 2017 Christian Unity Gathering was a valuable experience in creating dialogue with Christian denominations of diverse backgrounds,” commented Dn. Michael Sabounjian. Dn. Albert Hambardzumyan added, “Coming together for a common cause was insightful, and interacting with seminarians from other seminaries was helpful.”