Sunday, January 14 was a joyous day for Holy Martyrs! Amid special prayers and blessings, Mihran Akyemenicyan, Aidan Apelian, Christian Apelian, Sarkis Bakirdjian, Lukas Ciamician, Marc Gebian, Armen Malkhasyan, Ashot Soghomonyan, Adrian Stepanian and Garo Tateosian were ordained tbirs and Aren Saraydarian was ordained as a subdeacon by the hand of His Grace Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, Primate, with the assistance of Fr. Abraham. At the conclusion of the blessing ceremony, Dn. Karnik Kilicyan was presented a Pontifical Letter of Blessing from His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians and Dns. Krikor Ghazarian and Samvel Zakaryan were presented Episcopal Letters of Blessing from the Primate. The luncheon following the ordination provided an opportunity for fellowship and public reflections on the newly ordained tbirs and subdeacon. Dr. Arthur Asadorian served as Master of Ceremonies for the program. Karina Vartanian opened the luncheon with the singing of the American and Armenian national anthems. The newly ordained tbirs and subdeacon then serenaded the audience with three Armenian songs conducted by Fr. Abraham and accompanied by Ashot Soghomonyan on the piano. Poignant speeches were also offered by Lynn Jamie, Dn. Krikor Ghazarian, Sbdn. Aren Saraydarian, and Parish Council Chair Gregory Saraydarian. Beautiful ornate crosses from Armenia were presented to the tbirs and subdeacon as gifts from Fr. Abraham. Bishop Mesrop inspired all in attendance with his stirring closing remarks and loving message. A slide show was presented to all depicting the newly ordained and training sessions with Fr. Abraham leading up to ordination day. A special guest at the luncheon was Yn. Patricia Buttero, joined by members of her family. Much appreciation to Alexander Vartanian for creating the slide show and the cooking crew who made the delicious appetizers and lunch. Finally, thank you to the ordination planning committee members for a wonderful and memorable afternoon and to all the generous donors for helping make the luncheon a success.

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