Reclaim 2024
Our Christian Faith In The World Today
Reclaim: Service as a Pillar of the Armenian Church
When Deacon Levon Barsoumian (St. Andrew, Cupertino) boarded the plane to Burbank Saturday morning, he did so because he didn’t want to miss another one. It was the eighth year of the Reclaim Conference and he had heard so much about this opportunity to “reclaim” the essence of what our Holy Church is all about. It was Deacon Levon’s first time at Reclaim. After hearing the lectures, and sharing his ideas in the panel discussions, he wrote a note to the Primate and organizers, “The opportunity to connect in person with so many others who have the same spirit of service was a strong reminder of the connectedness of our Church family.”
That connectedness is what Reclaim is all about. Close to 100 people from across our Diocese assembled at the Diocesan headquarters for this annual event on March 2 in the beautiful Hampar Family room under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate
In Brief…
Sousanna Pogosyan, very capably emceed the Conference. Sousanna is the host of the popular “Basement Tapes” podcast on Epostle.net. “Service” was the theme of this year’s Reclaim: Service as a pillar of the Armenian Church. Fr. Nzhdeh Keshishyan, offered the opening prayer and read welcoming remarks on behalf of the Primate.
Those who lead a life of service towards humanity are certainly the ones who have embraced true joy. Hierarchy is all about servitude. The higher the positions we hold in the Church, the more visible our service should be. The ranks in the hierarchy ought to mark the level of maturity of serving others. – Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate
Fr. Vazken Movsesian, the architect of the Reclaim conference, shared the vision for Reclaim and explained with idea of reclaiming faith by referencing Luke 2, how Sts Joseph and Mary went back to Jerusalem to “reclaim” Jesus. They had not lost him, but needed to reclaim what was theirs. So too, Fr. Vazken explained, we turn back to reclaim our faith. Reclaim always takes place during the Lenten Season, on the fourth Saturday of Lent (Steward’s week).
Fr. Kevork Arakelian, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary of ordination into the sacred priesthood, gave the keynote address. Fr. Kevork spoke about Service in the Church beginning from the time of Christ, and the actions of St. Stephen the first deacon, and challenged the audience to consider the responsibility of service to our Church.
Next, two young men with a passion of the history of our Armenian Church and it’s Christ-centeredness, captivated the audience with their brilliant and intellectually stimulating presentation on “How the Armenians rejected Orthodoxization and worldly powers to maintain the True Faith.” The topic and presentation were accented by the speaker’s visits to the Lori region of Armenia. Undoubtedly, this presentation will be studied (video available) over and over again by scholars and those concerned with reclaiming the true apostolic faith in Jesus Christ.
Fr. Gregor Gregoryan, the founder and president of Sun (Arev) Children Down Syndrome health services traveled from Armenia to make his presentation, assisted very capably by his daughter Luiza who gave an in depth and thorough overview of this unique ministry. As a surprise, they premiered a short subject video. We were honored to host this world premiere at Reclaim and we will feature in on our Diocesan social media pages once it is released in Armenia after March 21. Fr. Gregor and his “Sun” children captivated the hearts of all who heard him and Luiza. At the Primate’s invite, Fr. Gregor is fundraising for the Sun Children’s health services throughout the diocese. At the conference he provided a beautiful oil painting depicting an Armenian landscape, painted by Narek, one of the Down Syndrome children in his care. The painting was put up for auction and was won by Subdeacon Vartan Arzumanyan, for his very handsome and generous donation to the Arev children.
Fr. Vazken Movsesian and Gregory Beylerian were next up with a presentation that gave a first glance at the Armenian Church on the Metaverse. The presentation began with a summary of the Epostle.net website and then a video of the metaverse experience. You could feel the excitement in the room as they described the moment we find ourselves in as the transition to virtual and augmented reality becomes even more accentuated with Apple Computer’s entrance into the market. The video served as a teaser for the official launch of the Armenian Church on the Metaverse on April 24, 2024.
Fr. Mardiros Chevian, Dean of the St. Nersess Seminary was on hand to share how the seminary prepares individuals for service within the church. Fr. Mardiros shared insight on the educational process through the seminary and the various programs offered there. St. Nersess Seminary is belongs to both the Eastern and Western Dioceses.
The second part of Reclaim was made up of discussions by the attendees. Members of the Deacons Council of the Western Diocese prepared statements and solicited reactions. Mostly, the afternoon offed the audience a chance to ask questions and discuss the lectures they heard in the morning.
Deacon Kevin Kestekyan, presented a talk “From St. Stephen to Today: In Practice for the Church today” as the invitation for the panels. The first panels, moderated by Deacon Christaphor Movsesian was titled, “Service as a Christian Responsibiliity: How can it be exercised through our parishes and with our parish priests.” The second panel, moderated by Deacon Sevan Movsesian, was titled, “Service in a world that is drifting farther and farther apart. With the current atmosphere of polarization and intolerance in our world does service to others have a place in our communities.” The members of the Deacons Council reflected thoughtfully on these topics, soliciting response and discussion by everyone.
The Conference came to an end with Archbishop Hovnan’s reflections. He summarized the day of learning and expressed his sincere delight at the open and candid discussions that took place throughout the day.
A tour of the Zorayan museum was offered to the guests, led by Savana Aghamal. The final act of Reclaim was an Agape meal with “hand washing” as inspired by the Gospel of John, chapter 13, as a gesture of humility and service. Thanks to Yn. Susan Movsesian for the spiritual exercise during the meal.
Reclaim 2024 was chaired and organized by Lusine Takmizyan and the Reclaim 2024 committee. Special appreciation is extended to Heidi Kavoukjian and the Circle of Faith for providing and tending to all the food services of the conference. Vahe Sargsyan for technical services and photos. Reclaim 2024 committee members: Maria Hamparian, Heidi Kavoukjian, Michelle Markarian, Savana Aghamal, Dn. Nareg Kasian, Dn. Gevork Takmizyan, Sousanna Pogosyan and Dn. Dikran Harutyunian and the Deacons Council.