On the commencement of the 2023-2024 academic year, with Christian love and fatherly spirit I greet the Board of Regents of Prelacy Armenian schools, local School Boards, School Principals, Preschool Directors, teachers and staff, benefactors, dedicated supporters, volunteers, friends, students, and parents, from the halls of the Western Prelacy.
This year’s commencement of the Prelacy Armenian Schools and Preschools gloriously coincides with the 850th anniversary of the passing of Catholicos St. Nerses the Gracious (Shnorhali). On this occasion, we wholeheartedly congratulate all our students and their beloved teachers and educators, who have undertaken the important mission in providing Armenian-Christian education to our students, who not only enlighten and nourish their minds with wisdom and knowledge, but also they shape the minds of our young generation by instilling in them the importance of spirituality and national identity, where the spirit of the Armenian alphabet, the awareness of the beauty and inspiration of knowledge shape their small minds and hearts, with the belief and conviction of harvesting the benefits in future years to come.
May our Heavenly Father always look down upon all our Armenian educational institutions. May the educational life of our schools and students ensue uninterrupted, with the essence of our great Catholicos, national figure, theologist, writer, poet, and hymnist, our beloved St. Nerses (the Gracious) Shnorhali’s message of “Light of Wisdom.” May St. Nerses (the Gracious) Shnorhali and his message guide our Prelacy Armenian Schools and Preschools and further strengthen the relationship and special bond of our teachers and students as well as their mutual respect and dedication towards one another.
God’s servant Nerses the Catholicos was bestowed the title of “the Gracious” for his genuineness and talents, which he utilized for the growth and development of the spiritual life of medieval Armenians, in the advancement of Armenian literature and education, and in the enrichment of the scientific and moral values of all humanity. We pray that our students in Armenian schools, who also bear a part of the Great St. Nerses the Gracious, will be gracious, kind, and compassionate, and will prosper our nation and homeland for generations.
With Prayer,
Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Prelate
Western Prelacy of the United States
