NEW YORK, NY—For the first time the acclaimed St. Gregory of Datev Summer Religious Institute will convene a “mini-Datev” program in the Midwest on the weekend of November 11 to 13, 2005, at the Techny Towers Conference Center in Techny, Illinois.

Sponsored by the Eastern Prelacy’s Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), the program, which is designed for youth ages 13 to 18, will be a shorter version of the weeklong Datev summer program held in Pennsylvania.

V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, and Deacon Shant Kazanjian, Director of AREC, will conduct the program. It will begin on Friday, November 11, at 5:00 pm and conclude on Sunday afternoon, November 13. Because space at the retreat center is limited, enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The nominal participation fee of $60 includes lodging, meals, seminar materials, and activities.

Students will attend informative lectures, have relevant discussions on current events and contemporary hot topics, and will form new, fulfilling friendships with youth from other parishes in the Midwest. Participants will be challenged to think critically about issues that they confront in their everyday lives, and to learn about Armenian Christianity and its influence on them.

Just as the annual summer Datev program has become one of the best youth programs in the Armenian community, the upcoming mini-Datev promises to be just as exciting and fulfilling.

For more information and registration contact the AREC office at 212-689-7810, or at arec@armenianprelacy.org, or Dr. Arsen Mekaelian at 847-309-0408.