Dear Readers,

As we bring you news of our bright future during this joyous holiday season, we wish you and your family Shnorhavor Nor Daree yev Soorp Dznoont.

Our fall/winter issue offers you a mix of news from the past year. While we celebratethe accomplishments of our clergy and organizations throughout the Eastern Diocese in our Milestones section, we bring you news of a very important expansion project that will insure the Armenian Church grows for decades to come.

Pictured on our cover and inside this issue is a chronicle of the ground blessing ceremony for expansion of our St. Nersess Seminary in New Rochelle, N.Y., thanks to two remarkable stewards of the Armenian Church. Haig and Elza Didizian embody the word “steward,” with their years of service to the church, and most recently a generous donation to fund a massive expansion of our own theological seminary to educate future church leaders.

Our latest accomplishment in our mission to communicate with the Armenian Church community is the College Ministry website, featured on our back cover. The College Ministry program is reaching out to connect college students with the Armenian Church community. You can learn more about the program’s offerings, such as “Eh-mail”—an electronic newsletter designed for college students—by visiting www.college301.org.

While you’re on the internet, you can order the St. Vartan Bookstore catalog items featured in this issue and hundreds of others with the click of a mouse by visiting www.stvartanbookstore.com.

Yours truly,

Arpie Nakashian McQueen
Editor