Catholicos Aram I Visits Youth in Fresno

Armine Sargsyan
Staff Writer

Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, arrived in Fresno on October 10, and on the first day of his visit it was his mission to meet the youth-students from colleges, Sunday school, and the community, who gathered to hear his message.

The excitement for the long anticipated event finally culminated in a warm welcome, concluding with shouts of “Astvats oknakan Vehapar der” in a unified voice, which translates, “May God be your helper, Your Holiness.” Brett Surabian–a student from the Holy Trinity Sunday school–welcomed His Holiness with a speech on the issues that are challenging to the Christian world and the youth especially, providing an introduction to what was to be the main theme of the day’s discussion.

Gathered around the Catholicos were children of all ages and a large adult audience, who, much like the children, listened to the speech with the same degree of curiosity.

His Holiness Aram I opened his speech by informing his audience that youth is not a question of age; rather, a matter of being–for the audience consisted not merely of the youth of today, but those of yesterday and those of tomorrow.

His Holiness stated, “We are in a world of constant change, a world full of challenge… as Christians and as youth we need to identify our place in the world.” His Holiness’ message to society was to urge it to sustain moral and spiritual value through education. “We all need to Christianize and re-Christianize ourselves,” he said.

The first question asked following His Holiness’ message pertained to the duties of the Catholicos. Aram I answered that it is a multifaceted vocation and listed his common tasks as Catholicos.

Another child asked, “Do you have hobbies?” The Catholicos humorously emphasized the possibility that he might even be just like us–the regular folks. He likes sports such as soccer, basketball and football, as well as all types of music. The youth were delighted to hear such an answer. Following the questions, the youth presented a T-shirt to the Catholicos.

As the gathering came to a close, the strong bond that developed between His Holiness and the audience became especially evident.