PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: info@ArmenianOrthodoxChurch.org
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

THE YOUTH DEPARTMENT OF THE CATHOLICOSATE HONOURS THE ARMENIAN GRADUATES OF
ALL SCHOOLS IN LEBANON

On the evening of 1 July 2009, more than sixty young women and men gathered
at the Cilicia Museum to take part in a celebration organized in their
honour. The event was jointly organized by the Youth Department, the
Armenian Church University Students’ Association (ACUSA), and their
spiritual advisors the young priests Sahak and Mesrob.

The President of the Youth Committee welcomed the graduates and said that
His Holiness Aram I’s declaration of 2009 as the Youth Year gave the
gathering a special meaning. Recalling the words of the Catholicos, he
continued: "Our Church is committed to empowering the youth so that we build
sustainable communities in Lebanon, in Armenia and in the Diaspora."

After the welcome, those present watched a DVD, telling the story of the
Armenian youth participation in the ecumenical movement. At the end of the
show, His Holiness Aram I concluded the evening with the following message:
"Our church headquarters in Antelias belongs to our people. It is through
the dynamic presence of our youth that our church will be revitalized
locally and globally. We are actively present on the international scene
through the ecumenical movement and other fora. We could achieve all these
because we believed that the Church is not an institution but a mission. A
mission to be carried out by every member of the Church especially the youth
The active presence of our youth in the church will further strengthen our
contribution to the ecumenical movement whether in Geneva or in North
America."

After the blessings, the graduates received books and DVDs on the faith and
spirituality of the Armenian Church as gifts.

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View the photos here:
tos/Photos389.htm
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the youth
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.