An exquisite banquet honoring Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian went forward at the Diocesan Center in New York, on Sunday, June 29.
Hundreds of guests from across the New York-New Jersey region—and many from elsewhere in the Eastern Diocese—filled Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium following the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy in St. Vartan Cathedral.
Cathedral Vicar Fr. Davit Karamyan was the master of ceremonies for the afternoon. Among the guests for the occasion was Ambassador Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Armenia’s recently-appointed representative to the United Nations.
A delightful program of musical and poetic offerings was provided by students from area Armenian schools, including St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian School (White Plains, NY), the Hovnanian School (New Milford, NJ), and Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School (Bayside, NY).
Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan spoke warmly about Patriarch Sahak II, and recalled the critical role the Patriarchate played historically in there formation of the Armenian Church in America. He presented the Patriarch with a bronze relief of St. Vartan Cathedral, designed by artist Michael Aram, as a remembrance of the past week’s visit.
Patriarch Sahak addressed the crowd with an uplifting and prayerful message, expressing his gratitude to the Primate and clergy of the Diocese, to the organizing committee and its co-chairs, and to the community as a whole. He recognized a number of people and presented them with gifts of thanks, and also thanked Fr. Harutyun Damadyan from the Istanbul Patriarchate, who has accompanied Patriarch Sahak throughout his sojourn in the United States, visiting both the Western and Eastern dioceses.
The weeklong Patriarchal Visit to the Diocese was organized under the auspices of Bishop Mesrop, by a hard-working committee co-chaired by Fr. Armash Bagdasarian and Tamar Kayserian.
Click here to view photos of the banquet, by photographer Harout Barsoumian.