Armenian Apostolic Holy Church Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On June 30, with the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Gevorkian Theological Seminary held the closing ceremony of the 2024–2025 academic year at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The event began with the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the national anthem of Armenia and the Seminary hymn.

The audience was then welcomed by Very Reverend Father Proto-Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan, Principal of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary and the Vazgenian Theological Seminary of Sevan.

In his address, Fr. Shahe underscored the Seminary’s vital role in the life of the Church and the Armenian people:

“The Seminary is not merely an educational institution or a traditional school fostering love for homeland, patriotism and national identity. Above all, it is a place where followers of the Lord’s Apostles, Prophets, and Disciples are formed. Beyond individual formation, it is a cradle of spiritual development, here at the heart of our Armenian Apostolic Mother Church, in Holy Etchmiadzin.

Spiritual formation requires an eternal vision — a radiant light measured not in hours, minutes, or seconds, but in centuries and epochs — from which the leaders and servants of our Church have been, and will continue to be, nourished. That lamp of light burns here, close by, in the foundations of the Mother Cathedral, established through a vision bestowed by Christ.

No seminarian or ordained servant of the Seminary can serve any other vision; no other light can heal their eyes, dimmed by the trials of life and the world; no other voice will sound as intimate and familiar in their soul as the melody of Holy Etchmiadzin, which, in the words of St. Gregory of Narek, is ‘shattered and distributed in indivisible relics’.”

Fr. Shahe urged the graduating seminarians to be courageous and valiant soldiers of Christ’s Holy Church, ready to defend the sacred values and heritage passed down by their ancestors, even at the cost of their lives.

Concluding his speech, the Principal expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Catholicos of All Armenians for his paternal care and attention toward the Seminary, as well as to the Seminary’s faculty for their devoted service.

Following a performance by the Seminary’s choir, remarks were offered on behalf of the faculty by Dr. Avetis Harutyunyan, and on behalf of the student body by Deacon Arman Baghdasaryan, a sixth-year seminarian.

During the ceremony, His Grace Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the Mother See’s Department of External Relations and Protocol, presented awards to students who had demonstrated outstanding academic achievements.

At the conclusion of the event, Archbishop Nathan delivered his address.

Conveying the love and blessings of the Catholicos of All Armenians, he congratulated the clergy and the educational institutions of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on the occasion of the academic year’s closing.

The Archbishop expressed satisfaction that sacred spiritual traditions continue uninterrupted, despite the challenges and turbulence affecting both the nation and the Church.

“Responding to God’s call and living by it is the very foundation of spiritual formation. That is why it is essential not only to impart knowledge and cultivate a national-spiritual identity in the future clergyman, but above all to nurture the ability to heed the Lord’s call and live according to His Word.

In this way, year by year, knowledge and spiritual experience are strengthened, bear fruit, and become the unshakable conviction and principle of selfless service to the Heavenly Master,” said Archbishop Nathan.

He added that in today’s world, various anti-national and anti-Christian ideologies often attempt, with persistent hostility, to silence the voice of the Lord. Yet, thanks be to God, that voice continues to resonate in the sincere souls of young people committed to priestly service.

On this occasion, the Archbishop extended his congratulations to the administrations of the Gevorkian and Vazgenian Theological Seminaries, as well as to the wise, experienced, and devoted faculty entrusted with the historic mission and responsibility of forming worthy servants of Christ’s Holy Church.

He prayed that Almighty God would continue to illuminate the minds and souls of the seminarians, strengthen their calling to the noble priestly ministry, and guide them to remain attentive and zealous servants of the Lord’s call — courageous and steadfast soldiers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The ceremony concluded with the Guardian Prayer.

This academic year (2024-2025), 11 students graduated from the Seminary.