More than 250 young people representing 17 parishes of the Eastern Diocese gathered at Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church in Providence, RI, over Columbus Day weekend, October 9-12, for the ACYOA Juniors Fall Sports Weekend. Joining them were nearly 40 adult chaperones, along with clergy, youth advisors, and volunteers who helped organize four days of athletic competition, worship, and fellowship.
The Providence ACYOA Juniors chapter hosted this year’s gathering under the theme “Planting Seeds”—a reference to the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America, which was established in Providence in 1946.
The weekend began on Friday evening as participants arrived from parishes throughout the Diocese. Youth advisors Steve Megrdichian and Adam Parnagian welcomed the visitors.
Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan traveled to Providence for the occasion, and led the young people in an evening prayer service, joined by parish pastor Fr. Sevak Gabrielyan and visiting clergy.
Saturday’s activities centered on basketball, volleyball, and individual athletic competitions. Between the games, participants had opportunities to renew friendships and meet young Armenians from other parish communities. The evening featured games, music, and dancing.
On Sunday morning, the young people joined local parishioners for the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Bishop Mesrop. The occasion coincided with the Armenian Church’s Feast of the Holy Translators, commemorating Sts. Sahag and Mesrob and their disciples, whose work gave the Armenian people a written alphabet and made possible the translation of the Holy Scriptures into Armenian.
Carrying the Baton of Faith
In his sermon, Bishop Mesrop drew a connection between the legacy of the Holy Translators and the responsibility of each new generation to preserve and carry forward the Armenian Christian faith.
He invited the young people to think of the Christian life as a relay race, in which each generation receives a baton from those who came before, carries it for a time, and eventually passes it to those who follow.
“For generations, that baton—our faith, language, culture, and sacred traditions—has been carried forward,” he told the gathering. “Our grandparents and parents carried it across oceans so that one day it could reach us. And now the baton is in our hands.”
But receiving that inheritance, he continued, is not the same as choosing to embrace it. Parents and grandparents can introduce their children to the church, its prayers, and traditions, but each generation must eventually decide for itself how to live the faith it has received.
“The future of our Armenian Christian faith does not depend only on institutions, programs, or buildings,” Bishop Mesrop said. “It depends on people who choose to live what they have received.”
Following the Divine Liturgy, participants returned to the athletic competitions, which continued through Sunday afternoon. The weekend concluded with an evening celebration and presentation of awards.
Awards and Honors
St. Leon Church of Fair Lawn, NJ, emerged as the overall Sports Weekend champion, taking first place in girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball, and volleyball. Second-place honors in girls’ basketball went to St. James Church of Watertown, MA; in boys’ basketball to Sts. Vartanantz Church of Chelmsford, MA; and in volleyball to St. David Church of Boca Raton, FL.
The Sportsmanship Awards recognized Julietta Barseghyan of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, MA, in the girls’ category, and St. David Church of Boca Raton for overall sportsmanship.
During the closing program, Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Nersess Seminary, reflected on the origins of the ACYOA and the vision of Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, whose leadership helped establish the organization eight decades ago.
Diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministries coordinator Serien Keleshian also addressed the participants, drawing on Christ’s Parable of the Sower to revisit the weekend’s “Planting Seeds” theme. She encouraged the young people to become the “good soil” in which the seeds of Christian faith can take root and flourish.
The gathering concluded on Monday morning with breakfast before the visiting participants departed for their home parishes.
The weekend was organized by the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob parish community under the pastoral leadership of Fr. Sevak Gabrielyan, with the assistance of Yn. Julietta Gabrielyan, youth advisors Steve Megrdichian and Adam Parnagian, and numerous parish volunteers, host families, and chaperones.
The gathering offered ACYOA Juniors opportunities for athletic competition, friendship, and shared worship, while connecting the organization’s 80-year history with the young people who will carry its mission into the future.
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ACYOA Juniors Fall Sports Weekend (Oct. 9-12, 2026)
COMPETITION WINNERS
Advanced Tavloo:
1st – Rafael Kazazian – Boca Raton
2nd – Armen Avetissian – Cambridge
Advanced Chess:
1st – Samvel Hovsepyan – St Leon
2nd – Lukas Ciamician – Bayside
Beginner Chess:
1st – Suren Makichian – St Leon
2nd – Garo Tateosian – Bayside
Beginner Tavloo:
1st – David Ashot – Cambridge
2nd – Aram Parnagian – Watertown
Girls’ Ping Pong:
1st – Julietta Barseghian – Cambridge
2nd – Nina Asatrian – St Leon
Boys’ Ping Pong:
1st – Gavin Pica – Cheltenham
2nd – Rafi Avakyan – Providence
Volleyball:
1st – St. Leon “B” – Fair Lawn
2nd – St. David – Boca Raton
Girls’ Basketball:
1st – St. Leon – Fair Lawn
2nd – St. James – Watertown
Boys’ Basketball:
1st – St. Leon – Fair Lawn
2nd – Sts Vartanantz – Chelmsford
Sportsmanship Individual Award:
Julietta Barseghian – Cambridge
Sportsmanship Team Award:
St. David Church, Boca Raton