We are delighted to inform the Diocesan faithful that during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, February 7, the Rev. Fr. Vazken Movsesian was recognized as the Priest of the Year by the Diocesan Primate H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

"In recognition of his unwavering ministry, visionary leadership, and numerous accomplishments in the life of the Armenian community in North America, we recognize the Rev. Fr. Vazken Movsesian as the Priest of the Year. His passion and love for the Armenian Church have been deeply felt in the hearts of our youth and communities. His moving sermons and messages have constantly reawakened the sense of commitment in each of us in our quest to reclaim our Christian identity," stated His Eminence in part. 

We wholeheartedly congratulate Fr. Vazken Movsesian on the auspicious occasion and wish him continued success in his pastoral ministry.

Vardzged Gadar, Der Hayr.

FR. VAZKEN MOVSESIAN - BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Below are excerpts from Fr. Vazken's sermon which was presented last Sunday, on the Feast of St. Ghevondiants.
___________________

From childhood, we have learned poems and songs which connect us as if we were from the same generation.

Interesting (and many do not understand why) we celebrate a defeat, a battle where were outnumbered and lost.

The mystery (khorhourt) of Vartanants is ongoing and even continues today when in 1968 St. Vartan Cathedral was consecrated in New York and in 2010, the St. Ghevont Cathedral was consecrated in Burbank: We are guarded from both sides of the United States by the Warrior and the Priest

Vartanants 451 is history. Vartanants 2021 is a reality. The war began in 451 and we are the generation that will decide who won this war.

The enemy I’m talking about is not the Turks or the Azeris. You can see them so you can overcome them. The enemy is not a white massacre, you can take steps against it through schools and cultural organizations.

The enemy is invisible and all around us. We find ourselves in a flow, taking us, moving us in directions we can’t realize we’re moving in. It is our indifference, our egos that suffer from sins such as pride, envy, anger, and laziness and keep us from being concerned about others, about the community, about our world.

Today, businesses will spend $11million per minute at the Superbowl to convince you to drink a certain drink, eat a certain food, attend a certain movie, drive a certain car. And they’ve calculated it so that if they’re spending $11million a minute they will not only recover that amount but enough to make hundreds of times the same in profit.

If you need proof of how much we are in this flow, ask your children to describe the parts of their car, or the stats on Tom Brady and listen to the detail they give you. Ask them to tell you who is Vartan and they might say Vartan is their uncle’s son.

Our biggest weapon against the enemies we fight is the same weapon we had in 451 at Avarayr when Ghevont the priest offered the Holy Communion: “This is life, hope, and resurrection.” Jesus Christ was the center of Vartan and Ghevont’s life, Jesus Christ is the center of our Church life, and Jesus Christ is the only way to overcome the immense flow that makes us lose the war.

When you come to church, you kneel, you pray, you acknowledge that there is something greater than yourself and that’s the beginning of finding the victory.

The mystery of Vartanants is the consistent and eternal call to activism, to stand between Vartan the Warrior and Ghevont the priest and understand that our being and identity are intertwined by the inspiration these saints give us.

Fr. Vazken Movsesian