Diocese of the Armenian Church Invites Parishioners to St. Vartan Cathedral on Sat., Jan. 6, 2001 for Opening Ceremony of Yearlong Celebration Marking 1700th Anniversary of Armenia's Conversion to Christianity

Young People From Parishes Across Diocese Will Participate

NEW YORK, NY - Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, is inviting parishioners from throughout the region to participate in ceremonies marking the opening of a yearlong celebration of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity.

The celebration marking this extraordinary event in the history of the Armenian people will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2001, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (lantern-lighting ceremony to begin approx. at 12:00 noon) at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, 34th Street and Second Avenue, in New York City.

Participating in the ceremonies will be a number of young men and young women -- one of each selected from every one of the Diocese's local parishes -- who will celebrate with the Primate, in conjunction with Armenian Christmas, the beginning of this yearlong historical remembrance.

Each local parish, in addition to sending two of its young people to St. Vartan Cathedral on January 6, will hold its own opening ceremony a week later on Sunday, January 14, 2001.

OFFICIAL START OF ANNIVERSARY YEAR IN ARMENIA

But the opening ceremonies will actually begin weeks earlier, with an exciting event in Armenia. From the many young men and women representing the parishes, one pair will be chosen to accompany Archbishop Barsamian to Armenia in late December of 2000. There, on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2000) at the stroke of midnight, they will take part in ceremonies at Khor Virab -- site of St. Gregory the Illuminator's imprisonment. His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will light a torch at Khor Virab -- after which the whole entourage will follow His Holiness as he conveys the flame to Holy Etchmiadzin, where he will light a lantern on the Altar of Descent.

The primates from all over the world, accompanied by young people from their respective dioceses, will light their own lanterns from the same flame on Holy Etchmiadzin's altar, and will return to their homes bearing these lanterns.

Archbishop Barsamian and the young Armenian American couple will return to New York with their lantern bearing the symbolic "Light of St. Gregory" for the ceremony at St. Vartan Cathedral on January 6. At that time, the "light" will be shared with the remaining young people from each parish, who, in turn, will take the flame back to their home communities. Finally, in local ceremonies on January 14, the "Light of St. Gregory" -- having progressed from Khor Virab, to Holy Etchmiadzin, to St. Vartan Cathedral, to each local parish -- will be shared with each and every local parishioner.

"This is a unique opportunity for members of our younger generation to participate in the exciting and beautiful beginning of our jubilee year. They will share and spread the 'Light of St. Gregory' throughout our communities," said Archbishop Barsamian. "The purpose," he added, "is to pass the symbolic Light of St. Gregory from the source of our faith to each diocesan center, and finally to every Armenian parish and every Armenian home."

The story of St. Gregory the Illuminator is at the very heart of Armenian Christianity. The patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church survived 13 years of imprisonment in the ancient fortress of Khor Virab. Upon his release, he inspired King Drtat to proclaim Christianity as Armenia's state religion in the year A.D. 301 -- thus making Armenia the world's first Christian nation.

The commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity will be celebrated throughout 2001 -- and will officially begin on New Year's Eve with the passing of the "Light of St. Gregory." It is a momentous occasion for Armenians all over the world.

Throughout 2001, there will be events both in the United States and in Armenia. Here in the U.S., the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America will sponsor concerts, conferences, a Memorial Day weekend full of special activities, and a pilgrimage-tour of historic sites in Armenia and Turkey.