PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Media Relations Specialist
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

June 20, 2007
___________________

JUNE DIOCESAN COUNCIL MEETING TO BE HELD AT HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

By Jake Goshert

The Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) will hold its June meeting at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
in Armenia. The trip, which will be paid for by the Council members, is a
chance to meet with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, and gain a better understanding of how the
Diocese can support the work of the Mother See.

"We welcome this opportunity for the leadership of the Diocese to get to
meet with His Holiness in person," Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of
the Diocese said. "It is especially critical now, as we prepare for his
pastoral visit to our Diocese this fall."

While in Armenia, the Diocesan Council will also meet with Armenian
political leaders, such as President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister
Serge Sargsyan.

The members of the Diocesan Council serve as the Board of Trustees for the
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), the Diocesan-affiliated aid organization.
While in Armenia they will visit several project sites run by FAR to
familiarize themselves with the organization’s work. They will also join
the FAR Board of Directors at the dedication ceremony of the newly renovated
Kevork and Sirvart Hovnanian FAR Yerevan Office Building, FAR’s Armenian
headquarters which are being named after the organization’s founder and
honorary life chairman.

The previous meeting of the Diocesan Council in May was the first for the
three new Council members elected by the delegates to the 105th Diocesan
Annual Assembly in May: Fr. Vasken Kouzouian, Sandra Leitner, and Paul
Mardoian.

"During their first meeting, these new members showed their energy,
dedication, and sense of purpose," the Primate said. "We’re glad they are
joining us on the Council and look forward to hearing more from them in the
future."

WELCOMING A NEW GENERATION

Fr. Vasken Kouzouian comes to the Diocesan Council with experience serving
in parishes — his current assignment is as pastor to the Holy Trinity
Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he previously served the St. Mark
Church of Springfield, Massachusetts — as well as leading the Diocese’s
youth ministry efforts.

"I bring to the Council experience in the area of working with the young
people and making the Church more understandable, accessible, and relevant
to their lives. I tend to do that to my ministry and I think I can do that
in the Diocesan Council as well," Fr. Kouzouian said. "I look to make the
Church significant to the lives of people, making it meaningful to their
lives."

He said it is vital that the Council provide support to the Diocese’s theme
of "Church and Home: One in Spirit." Programs aimed at various aspects of
that theme will help keep the church relevant in today’s busy, secularized
society.

"We have to talk to a new generation of parishioners. With every generation
we move further away from the Genocide survivors of the old country; and we
have to find ways to make the timeless message of the Armenian Church
relevant to the Armenian people of today," he said. "It’s a timeless
message that has carried our parishioners through centuries. We must
understand the needs of the people today so we can bridge the gap between
the liturgical life and the life of the people."

Fr. Vasken and his wife, Yn. Arpi, have one daughter, Alina. He received a
bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s degree in divinity
from St. Nersess and St. Vladimir’s Seminaries.

CRITICAL JUNCTURE

Sandra Leitner, a long-time leader and former parish council chair for the
St. Leon Church of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, agrees that the Diocese faces a
challenge in meeting the needs of today’s more secular individuals. But,
she said it is important for the Diocese to continue its work.

"I think the Diocese is at a critical juncture in meeting the needs of
American-Armenian Christians in our increasingly hectic and secular world,"
she said. "Parents are seeking tools to help them keep their children safe
and grounded in the values our Church teaches. I see that the Diocese is
aware of these needs and I would like to help in the efforts to meet the
challenge."

She noted that as a mother of three — two grown children, Allegra and Evan,
and a teenager, Olivia — she and her husband Jim have gone through some of
the struggles facing modern families. That experience, she said, will help
her on the Council as the Diocese looks at ways to communicate Christ’s
message to today’s families.

Families are important, because as in the case of Leitner, parental
involvement leads to the next generation taking leadership positions. She
is following in the line of her grandfather, Paul Alexander, who served on
the parish council of the St. James Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, and
her parents, George and Shakae Shahinian, who were involved in the life of
the St. Thomas Church of Tenafly, New Jersey.

"My children were raised at St. Leon, so I know they will always feel close
to the Armenian Church," she said.

"The biggest opportunity and challenge facing the Diocese now is to keep the
Armenian Church as the denomination of choice and center of worship,
identity and commitment of the next generation of American Armenians," she
added. "I would like to see the Diocese develop the tools and impart the
necessary knowledge to today’s parents to help them accomplish this."

BACK TO BASICS

The third new Council member, Paul Mardoian, also sees the need to educate
the Armenian community on the basics of our faith.

"The basics are very important. I believe this has been a missing element
in our Church. I’m not saying people aren’t spiritual, but it seems we have
been more focused on our culture and traditions than on our basic spiritual
needs. In my opinion, in today’s environment this type of focus leads to a
weaker church," he said. "While our culture and traditions are important,
it has to be about the basics, about our spirituality first; that’s the
Mission of our Church: To preach the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to
proclaim its message of salvation. Everything we do should revolve around
this basic purpose."

"To help accomplish this we need to look for and be open to new ideas," he
added. "I believe many of our people are yearning for our Church to be more
accessible and relevant to them. If we take the appropriate actions and are
successful in our approach, our Church should thrive in the future."

He said that in order to accomplish this goal, the Armenian Church must look
for and be open to new ideas.

"I believe many of our people are yearning for our Church to be more
accessible and relevant to them," he said. "If we take the appropriate
actions and are successful in our approach, our Church should thrive in the
future."

To foster such understanding, he hopes to work with the local parishes. "By
providing them with tools, resources, and support, the Diocese can help them
move forward and grow," he said.

Additionally, he hopes to use his skills and background in insurance and
investments to aid the Diocese in more efficiently providing benefits in
such areas as group health insurance and retirement plans for the clergy and
staff.

Active in the Church as a child, in college he strayed away. That changed
when he married a "nice Armenian girl," Susan Boyajian.

"I lost my desire to go to Church, but she brought me back into the Church.
Since then over time I have became more and more involved," said Mardoian,
who is in his second six-year term on the parish council of the Sts. Joachim
and Anne Armenian Church of Palos Heights, Illinois, and in his fifth
consecutive year as chairman.

He and his wife have three daughters: Rachel Talene, 18; Melissa Ani, 15;
and Natalie Anoush, 9. A certified financial planner and benefits
specialist, he owns his own business and also works for Midwest Insurance
Agency, Inc.

"I’m very excited about being a part of the Council and I look forward to
working with Srpazan and all of the Council members to help our church move
forward," Mardoian said.

— 6/20/07

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Sandra Leitner, right, one of three new members of the
Diocesan Council, listens as Diocesan Council Chairman Oscar Tatosian makes
a point during the May meeting, the first for the new members.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern
Diocese, with two of the newly-elected Diocesan Council members: Fr. Vasken
Kouzouian and Paul Mardoian.