BISHOP MEETS WITH YOUTH

On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Canadian Diocese, together with Reverend Fr. Myron Sarkissian, diocesan Youth Director, visited Holy Trinity Armenian church for a meeting arranged with the youth of Toronto and Golden Horseshoe.  20 young people attended.

After opening the meeting with prayer, Bishop Bagrat gave his message:

“Don’t prepare a future for our youth, but rather prepare our youth for the future.”

Bishop Bagrat further introduced the two main projects for the youth in our Diocese this year: - Youth pilgrimage to St. Catharines during the Annunciation weekend, mid-August; and - World-wide ACYO assembly in Armenia in mid-July.

Mher Torossian, ACYOC Central Council Chairman and Chairman of the Golden Horseshoe chapter, spoke about the projects as well.  He stressed the reorganization of ACYOC Central Council, and noted that there are representatives from every chapter across Canada.  They have teleconferences at least once per month, keeping in touch electronically if not physically.

Mher further presented plans for the overnight pilgrimage to St. Catharines, and gave a few details about the ACYOC World Delegates’ Conference and Pilgrimage to Armenia July 9-13, 2008.

The Diocesan Assembly will be held at the end of May in Montreal, and senior executive members have been invited.  Later in the year, a separate event is being considered, where senior members from the more successful and active chapters will visit Montreal to help organize the Montreal and Laval chapters.

There was group discussion, introduced by Bishop Bagrat, regarding “what do you expect form your church?” Bishop Bagrat wrapped up the meeting by stating that: 1)      he prefers listening, not administering 2)      he feels there is a lack of sufficient guidance 3) he prefers to be a good example, and for all of us to be good examples.

Bishop Bagrat further urged the youth to be bearers of faith, bearers of hope, and bearers of love.  He expressed his wish that we come away from being event oriented, and become instead more institution oriented.

All the youth promised to look up and find the historian Yeghishe’s eye-witness account of the “Battle of Avarair”, specifically the section where Yeghishe describes the warriors, noting that each one himself was a church.

SERVICE – EDUCATION – FELLOWSHIP - MISSION