Father Zaven Yazichyan Receives Rank of Archimandrite
29.12.2016
On December 29, with the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; Rev. Fr. Zaven Yazichyan, a member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See; Armenian Spiritual Pastor of Myanmar, Singapore and Dhaka, and Representative of His Holiness in the Far East, received the rank of Archimandrite at the St. Mesrop Mashtots Church in Oshakan, by His Grace Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan, Grand Sacristan of Mother See.
The previous day, Father Zaven had successfully defended his thesis titled: “The Importance of Psychology in the Service of a Spiritual Pastor”.
His Holiness congratulated Father Zaven for receiving the doctoral degree and stated in part: “Our soul is joyous on the occasion of this beautiful event, as one of the Armenian Apostolic Church monks has been awarded a high honor and grace. The successful defense of a Doctoral thesis is testimony that a clergyman has a high intellectual ability and along with his pastoral mission must always contribute to the life of the faithful through his intellect, and through his writings contribute to the responsible task of spiritual education”.
Conveying his Pontifical gratitude and blessings to Fr. Zaven, His Holiness specifically noted that hereafter Fr. Zaven is the bearer of the greatest honor and responsibility. His Holiness reflected on the dedicated service of Fr. Zaven and stated that it was marked by modesty, a courageous spirit and commitment, and was aimed at the glory of the Armenian Church and the strengthening of the spiritual life for the faithful.
At the conclusion, His Holiness granted him the Pectoral Cross and through the “Protector” prayer blessed Fr. Zaven, asking God to strengthen him in his pastoral service.
