Spotlight On Bridging Generations

The “Bridging Generations” group is the newest mission at the Western Diocese. Founded by the Diocesan Primate His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian last month, the committee of over 20 young men and women, under the guidance of the Primate, will seek ways to bring Armenian-American youth closer to God and the Armenian Church. The Bridging Generations group is chaired by Daniel Repchian.

The core group of devout young faithful is divided into three smaller groups, namely Bible Training Classes, educational lectures and pilgrimages in which the members of Bridging Generations are engaged are meticulously designed to prepare the lay ministry leaders of tomorrow.

This week, the members of Bridging Generations took part in Christian Study Courses led by the Ecumenical Officer of the Western Diocese Mr. Hayk Madoyan.

CHRISTIAN STUDY COURSES

Christian Study Courses is a Diocesan educational program that was established in 2013 with the guidance and blessings of Diocesan Primate H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian. Led by Hayk Madoyan, the Ecumenical Officer of the Western Diocese, the mission of the program is to assist the faithful to rediscover and learn from the essentials of our Christian faith and get familiarized with the sacred teachings and rich traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since its establishment, CSC has organized more than 300 lectures and presentations, reaching out to many parishioners throughout the Western Diocese.

Topics:

1. God / Holy Trinity
2. The Church
3. Holy Bible
4. Armenian Apostolic Church
5. Ecumenical Councils
6. Nicene Creed / Creeds in general
7. Church Fathers – 12 Vartabeds of the Armenian Church
8. Sacraments
9. Divine Liturgy
10. Prayers
11. Fasting
12. Ten Commandments
13. Beatitudes
14. Lord’s Prayer
15. Fruit of the Spirit
16. Similarities and differences of world religions
17. Similarities and differences of Christian denominations
18. Hope
19. Faith and Knowledge
20. Love and Service

BIBLE TRAINING CLASSES

Mashdots Jobanian, Director of the Christian Education Department of the Western Diocese leads the Bible Training classes, which aims to train the future lay ministry leaders the proper ways of conducting Bible Studies. During these sessions, he emphasizes and utilizes the R.E.A.L. method (Reading, Exploring, Applying and Living the Holy Bible) of full comprehension of the Holy Bible. Mashdots Jobanian’s classes take place also are live-streamed via Zoom Video Conference, which allows the participants to engage in question and answer sessions as well.

PILGRIMAGES

The Bridging Generations group will also take part in pilgrimages headed by the Rev. Fr. Vazken Movsesian.