August 20, 2004
Quality over quantity has always been the guiding principle of St. Nersess Seminary's Admissions Committee. This year, the seminary will be blessed by both.
St. Nersess has eight full-time seminarians registered for the Fall semester plus four part-time students, a significant increase over last year. Three new students were admitted to the seminary's Master of Divinity Program and one student who was studying part-time last year will now dedicate himself to full-time study.
Two additional students will be continuing their part-time studies at St. Nersess ahead of full-time matriculation once they complete college within the next two years. All of the seminarians are preparing for ministry in the Armenian Church, ten of them as priests and two specializing in religious education and youth ministry, respectively.
New this year will be Ara Karamanian, born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. A 2002 graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Ara studied three semesters at U.S.C. School of Medicine before deciding to devote himself to ministry in the Armenian Church. While studying in North Carolina, Ara diligently served the Armenian Church of Charlotte, where he was ordained a sub-deacon in 2003 by His Eminence Abp. Khajag Barsamian.
Quality over quantity has always been the guiding principle of St. Nersess Seminary's Admissions Committee. This year, the seminary will be blessed by both.
St. Nersess has eight full-time seminarians registered for the Fall semester plus four part-time students, a significant increase over last year. Three new students were admitted to the seminary's Master of Divinity Program and one student who was studying part-time last year will now dedicate himself to full-time study.
Two additional students will be continuing their part-time studies at St. Nersess ahead of full-time matriculation once they complete college within the next two years. All of the seminarians are preparing for ministry in the Armenian Church, ten of them as priests and two specializing in religious education and youth ministry, respectively.
New this year will be Ara Karamanian, born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. A 2002 graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Ara studied three semesters at U.S.C. School of Medicine before deciding to devote himself to ministry in the Armenian Church. While studying in North Carolina, Ara diligently served the Armenian Church of Charlotte, where he was ordained a sub-deacon in 2003 by His Eminence Abp. Khajag Barsamian.
Deacon Artak Khachikyan is a native of Gyumri, Armenia. He studied in the Seminary of the Diocese of Shirak and was graduated from the Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin, where he was ordained a deacon in 2001. That same year he worked in the Information Department of the Holy See. By the invitation of His Eminence Abp. Khajag Barsamian and with the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, Deacon Artak came to the United States in 2003 to continue his studies at North Park University in Chicago. "The 1988 earthquake in Armenia changed my life," Deacon Artak says. "Those days, while living in a tent, I learned that life can be taken away at any moment, so I need to seize every minute given to me by God."
"I was born in the holy city of the Armenians, Etchmiadzin, where the air is filled with the blessings of 1700 years of Christianity," says Deacon Artur Petrosyan. "It was years later, when I was in the 9th grade, that I felt an indescribable calling to serve the church," he said. A 2001 graduate of the Vazgenian Seminary at Lake Sevan, Deacon Artur distinguished himself when he taught Christian history in an Armenian elementary school. "I understood that life is given to people not just for living, but for living through serving." By arrangement of His Holiness the Catholicos and Abp. Khajag Barsamian, Deacon Artur studied for one year at North Park University in Chicago before applying to St. Nersess Seminary.
Deacon Sebuh Osgerichian has been taking courses at St. Nersess on a part-time basis for two years. Simultaneously he has served as a pastoral intern with Rev. Fr. Diran Bohajian at St. Leon Armenian Church (Fair Lawn, NJ). After leaving his native Rumania to study for several years in Etchmiadzin, his career path changed when he immigrated to the United States and operated a small business. In recent years he felt a renewed calling to serve the Armenian Church as a priest. By arrangement of Abp. Barsamian, Deacon Sebuh will increase his Seminary course load to nearly full-time this semester. Deacon Sebuh is married to Rita, and has two daughters Jennifer (11) and Cristina (16).
Jason Demerjian is the College Ministry facilitator for the Eastern Diocese. After graduation from Boston College he earned a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Thereafter as a member of the U.S. Peace Corps he spent a year in Armenia teaching English in Stepanavan and working on several community development projects. This experience motivated him to establish the Armenian Volunteer Corps in 2000, which he directed for nearly three years. Jason is taking courses in Armenian Christianity at St. Nersess to complement his previous theology studies in preparation for ordained ministry. He lives in the "Carriage House" on the Seminary grounds with his wife Anna.
Returning students include Dn. Levon Kirakosyan, Yervant Kutchukian, Daron Bolat and Dn. Nishan Baljian.
Returning students include Dn. Levon Kirakosyan, Yervant Kutchukian, Daron Bolat and Dn. Nishan Baljian.
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