St. Gregory of Datev Institute Holds its 23rd Summer Program About fifty students (mostly 13-18 year olds) from 10 Prelacy parishes and 11 instructors gathered at the St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania, for the 23rd St. Gregory of Datev Institute Summer program, from Sunday, June 28 to Sunday, July 5, 2009, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan, the Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Approximately twenty of the participants began the annual summer program with a weekend retreat that started on Friday, June 26, under the directorship of His Grace Bishop Anoushavan, the Vicar General of the Eastern Prelacy.
Sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) of the Prelacy, the Institute provides an intensive weeklong program for Christian formation, through Bible studies and discussions, prayer and worship services, communal activities and fellowship. “Christian formation is not about memorizing a few Bible verses, or learning a few dates and facts about the Armenian Church and its history, or reciting one or two ready-made prayers – important though they are,” said Dn. Shant Kazanjian, Director of AREC. “Christian formation is about living the mandate of the Gospel of Christ, wherever we may be; it is learning to ever more fully submit our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ.”  |  | His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan, Prelate of the
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, flanked by the
clergy, instructors and the participants of the St. Gregory of Datev
Institute. | Class of 2009 – (Top: L to R): Shaheen Adelinia,
Berj Tenguerian, Shoushig Tenguerian, Dn. Shant Kazanjian, H.G. Bishop
Anoushavan, Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, Levon Zobian, Sevan Zobian (not
in photo: Shoghag Aktavoukian and Sareen Streeter). |
Each day the program began with Morning Service from 7:15 am to 7:45 am. Classes were held from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. In the afternoons, the students enjoyed recreational activities, such as volleyball, soccer, basketball, kickball, dodgeball, swimming, board games and music. In the evenings, panel discussions were held from 7:30 pm to 8:20 pm, followed by three concurrent Bible studies from 8:30 pm to 9:20 pm for different age groups. Each day came to a close with the Compline Service (Husgoom) from 9:45 pm to 10:30 pm. “I was extremely excited to come back for my second year of Datev,” said Erica Mengouchian from St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Douglaston, New York. She continued, “going to classes, having free time, and attending both morning and evening services allows us to balance our days. We are able to have fun and make new friends, while learning about our faith and Armenian culture. I would never trade my experiences at Datev for anything. I look forward to my future years here and plan to return after my four years are completed as a post-grad student.”  |  | Datevatsies participating in an evening service. | Datevatsies engaging in a group discussion. |
The Institute is a four-year program (one week each summer). Students who complete the four-year program have the option to return for postgraduate classes. Classes for all five levels of study take place concurrently. During the weeklong program, one hundred 50-minute classes were held, 20 per level, plus evening panel discussions and Bible studies, all conducted by eleven instructors and three guest instructors. The instructors of the Datev Institute this year were: Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Rev. Fr. Khoren Habeshian, Rev. Fr. Antranig Baljian, Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian, Rev. Fr. Stephan Baljian, Dn. Shant Kazanjian, Dn. Bedros Kalajian, Dn. James Haddad, Mrs. Denise Borekjian, and Ms. Jeanette Nazarian. And the distinguished guest instructors were: Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, Professor of Biblical Studies and Biblical Languages at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary; Michael Papazian, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Religion and Philosophy Department of Berry College; and Edward G. Mathews, Recurring Visiting Professor of Early Christian Languages and Literature and Director of Research at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary.  |  | A scene from the 4th of July picnic. | Datevatsies at various recreational and sports activities. |  | | Datevatsies at various recreational and sports activities. | |
The curriculum for the first four years is the same, covering the traditional essentials of our faith, including the Bible (about one third of the sessions), the sacraments with a particular emphasis on the Divine Liturgy (Soorp Badarak), Feasts and worship, the Creed and Church history, the Ten Commandments and contemporary moral issues. The post graduate curriculum changes every year, the classes providing further explanation on the elements of our faith. In addition to the clergy-instructors, guest lecturers are invited to teach the postgraduate classes. A popular guest lecturer at the Institute, Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, very much loved and respected by the Datevatsis, presented four sessions on the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. Fr. Tarazi also led a 2-hour session on the same topic with the clergy-instructors of the Institute. Professor Michael Papazian presented two sessions on Stepanos Sunetsi’s commentary on the Gospels, an 8th century Armenian theologian. Prof. Edwards G. Mathews presented two lectures on the Holy Translators’ Heritage, focusing on St. Ephrem the Syrian. On Tuesday, June 30, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan visited the Institute and engaged the students in a lively open discussion, entertaining their questions, the students appreciating his responses and presence. At the end of the session, to everyone’s pleasant surprise, His Eminence announced that next year in August, the Armenian Prelacy will sponsor a “youth pilgrimage.” He said that on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we will go on a pilgrimage to Der Zor, as well as to the Forty Martyrs’ Cathedral in Aleppo (which recently has become a place of pilgrimage for countless believers) and to Kessab, an Armenian village in Syria; it will culminate with the visit to the Holy See of the Catholicossate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. This pilgrimage will be open to the upper level Datev students. By now the 4th of July picnic has become an important part of the Datev Summer Program, an event that all participants await eagerly, a day of copious delicious Armenian food and table fellowship, coupled with games and music and dancing, made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Asdghig Kazanjian (owner of “Armenian Delight” in Broomall, Pennsylvania). The Datev Program came to a close with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy (Soorp Badarak) at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday July 5, followed by a luncheon graciously hosted by the Artemis Chapter of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS). The celebrant was His Grace Bishop Anoushavan. In his sermon, His Grace spoke about the Datev Summer Program, its goals and aims, and emphasized the importance of Christian formation, particularly in the formative years of youth. For that reason, he added, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has declared this year as the “Year of the Youth,” exhorting all of us to give this segment of our community greater attention in their religious development. *** Words of Appreciation
A program of this scope is possible only through the collaborative efforts of AREC and parishes, parents, volunteers, and a number of organizations and individuals. The Institute thanks the instructors for their labor of love and the parents for entrusting their children to the Institute for a week of spiritual formation. The Institute expresses its gratitude to the following for their invaluable services as supervisors and counselors: Dn. Bedros Kalajian, Dn. James Haddad, Barbara Baljian, Denise Borekjian, Ari Nalbandian, Jeanette Nazarian, Ani Yaghmourian and Jasmine Yedigarian. The Institute extends its appreciation to those parishes that subsidized a portion of the expenses by providing scholarships to church-server participants, to the Pashalian Family Education Fund and to the following for their generous support and donations: Mr. and Mrs. Hagop Kouyoumdjian (New Jersey), Dr. and Mrs. Drtad Manguikian (Maryland), The Prelacy Ladies Guild (PLG), the National Association of Ladies’ Guilds (NALG), Artemis Chapter of the Armenian Relief Society (Pennsylvania), Mrs. Asdghig Kazanjian. Thanks also to the following donors: Mr. and Mrs. Noubar Megerian, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Nalbantian, Mrs. Iris Papazian, Mr. and Mrs. Kevork Shirozian, Mr. and Mrs. Antranig Bedrossian, Mrs. Helen Guveyian, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Jehanian, Mrs. Sirvart Kaloustian and Ms. Maral Kaloustian, Mrs. Shnorhik Karakelian, Mrs. Valentine Kazanjian, Mrs. Takouhi Mengouchian, Mr. Vartkes Mengouchian, Dr. and Mrs. Pierre Mouradian, Mrs. Takouhi Oranjian, Mrs. Jeannette Ounjian, Ms. Margaret Papazian, Mr. Martin Tourigian and Ms.Virginia Tourigian. A special thanks to the pastor and board of trustees of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of Philadelphia for their hospitality. *** Participants:
The participants of the Institute came from the following 10 parishes:
19 students from Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey (6 church servers),
12 from Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island (8 Church Servers),
7 from St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, Philadelphia, Penn. (4 Church Servers)
4 from Holy Trinity Church, Worcester, Massachusetts (2 Church Servers)
4 from Sourp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church, Washington, DC (1 Church Server)
3 from St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York (1 Church Server)1 from St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, New York, New York, 1 from St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church, Watertown, Massachusetts,
1 from St. Stephen’s Church, New Britain, Connecticut (1 Church Server)
1 from St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, (1 Church Server) *** For information about the Datev Institute, please visit the Prelacy website at http://www.armenianprelacy.org/datev.htm or contact the AREC office at 212 689 4481. |
