PRESS RELEASE
PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212)-686-0710
Fax: (212)-689-1934
<;
May 26, 2009
_______________________________
STANDING CONFERENCE OF THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN AMERICA HOLDS
SPRING MEETING
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), attended a meeting of the Standing Conference of the
Oriental Orthodox Churches in America on Tuesday May, 18.
The meeting, held at the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in
Paramus, NJ, was led by Standing Conference chairman Archbishop Barsamian
and hosted by Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, the head of the Syriac
Archdiocese of the Eastern United States.
It was also attended by other clergy of the Eastern Diocese who are members
of the Standing Conference, including the Very. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan,
the Very Rev. Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian, and the Rev. Fr. Tateos Abdalian.
Participants discussed programs for youth, the development of a brochure
about Oriental Orthodox Churches, and an effort to strengthen the presence
of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches in Washington, DC through the
creation of a special joint commission.
In addition, participants began to make plans for this year’s Orthodox
Prayer Service, the annual gathering organized under the auspices of the
Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas and the
Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, to give Orthodox
Christians an opportunity to come together for worship and to learn more
about each other’s culture and heritage.
Last year’s prayer service was held at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral. The
gathering included worship and a program focusing on the United Nations
Millennium Development Goal to stamp out poverty and inequality.
Also under discussion was the upcoming Roman Catholic Church and Oriental
Orthodox Churches Dialogue, scheduled for September 30, 2009, and the
proceedings from the last international Roman Catholic and Oriental Orthodox
Dialogue held in Rome in January.
Before adjourning, participants prayed together and shared news from their
respective churches.
Bottom of Form
###
Photo attached: Participants at the Standing Conference of the Oriental
Orthodox Churches in America meeting last week.