Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On September 14, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and with attendance of Mr. Serzh Sarkisyan, President of the Republic of Armenia; the solemn opening ceremony of the new Eurnekian Public School Educational Institution was held.

Attending the event were Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian of Argentina, the school benefactor; Mr. Levon Mkrtchyan, Minister of Education and Science of Armenia; Ms. Hranush Hakobyan, Minister of Diaspora of Armenia; Mr. Ashot Ghahramanyan, Governor of Armavir; Mr. Karen Grigoryan, Mayor of Etchmiadzin; government and local officials; representatives of foreign diplomatic missions; organizations representatives; benefactors; honorable guests; the teaching staff, students and parents.

The Eurnekian Public School educational institution was founded on September, 2009 by His Holiness Karekin II, and with the sincere sponsorship of Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, in memory of the benefactor's parents Mrs and Mrs. Panos and Srbuhi Eurnekian. In 2012, by the initiative of His Holiness and with the sponsorship of Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, construction began on a new Eurnekian public educational institution  complex. The architect was Artak Ghulyan, and the builder was Aramayis Voskanyan. The complex, built to contemporary educational requirements, has 27 classrooms, 8 laboratories, a reading room, library, events auditorium, dining hall, medical center, teachers' workroom and break room. Currently, there are 32 classes of grades 1-12 in the school with 471 pupils, who are taught by 58 professional and skilled teachers.

At the entrance to the school, the Catholicos of All Armenians, President Sargisyan and the Mr. Eunekian were welcomed by trumpeters and drummers, following which two Eurnekian school students offered traditional greeting of salt and bread, following which, the official opening ceremony began.

The State Anthem of the Republic of Armenia was performed by the choir of the school, under which the Armenian and Pontifical flags were raised.

Following the welcoming remarks by students Gor Harutyunyan (10th grade) and Gohar Aghajanyan (11th grade), the Hrashapar hymn was sung. The Catholicos of All Armenians, then offered a blessing service for the new school.

At the conclusion of the service, His Holiness blessed the philanthropist Eduardo Edunekian with the "Savior" prayer, following which His Holiness and Mr. Eduardo cut a ceremonial ribbon at the entrance of the school.

His Grace Bishop Vardan Navasardyan, Director of the Christian Education Center of the Mother See and Spiritual Dean of the school, provided a tour for the honored guests, and spoke on the effective organization of the educational process and conditions created at the school, which promotes the development of a creative and moral education. The high-ranking guests visited classrooms equipped with modern equipment; the Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Informatics laboratories equipped with the necessary materials and equipment, the linguaphone classroom, which creates a solid foundation for achieving deep and stable knowledge, skills and abilities.

Following the tour, a presentation was held in the events hall.
After the hymn of the Eurnekian school, Bishop Vardan addressed his remarks to the attendees. “By building a school, we build an army, build a monastery and a church, build an economy and take the first step towards building a healthy family, which is a sacred obligation for Armenians, which was not only limited by  a material understanding, but through spiritual and cognitive creation, by which we have ensured the existence and the continuity of our nation.

The center of Armenian life has always been and remains the human being, and education. By building a national Armenian school we build our faith, fulfilling the full description of the Armenian identity through our children: the school, which from the golden age until our times has been the basis of faith that has never betrayed us, and been the source of truth”, stated Bishop Vardan, stressing that the true values learned sitting the school desk, guided the great people of our nation to perform heroic deeds.

The attendees watched a film produced by the Shoghakat TV about the foundation of the school, its’ achievements and successes, and a time-line of the construction of the new modern complex.

Minister Mkrtchyan made remarks on the occasion of the school opening, stating that the Republic of Armenia received a wonderful gift, which can play a serious role in the implementation of larger projects in the region and in the Republic of Armenia. The Minister expressed gratitude to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, for standing alongside the educational system and being a part of it, as well as expressed  gratitude to His Holiness for the attention shown for education. Minister Mkrtchyan also expressed his gratitude to the national benefactor on the occasion of the establishment of the school in the heart of the country, Holy Etchmiadzin, and noted that it can be an example to many, and for many other benefactors. The school principal, Ms. Susanna Vardanyan, also expressed her words of gratitude.

The school choir performed the songs “I love the sun-sweet taste of the word Armenia” and “A world without wars”.

The ceremony concluded with blessing remarks of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

“Today is a festive day in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The new, spacious and
beautiful building of the Eurnekian School opens its doors to welcome its students and teachers. From now on the school will operate on the grounds of the Mother See where Armenian writing and literature originated.

Since her foundation, our Church has paid special attention to education and science, so that the enlightened mind and soul of our nation may learn about the world and its Creator. Church and school are the lineaments of our life. Our people, wherever they lived, have always prioritized building these cradles of enlightenment which secured the preservation of our identity and became a vital source for it.

Nowadays, in the era of understanding the universe and of unprecedented scientific and
technological achievements, it is necessary that humanity advance in learning the rules of spiritual life. Otherwise, in which direction shall the exceptional intellectual abilities of our contemporary man be led, by a blind heart? The Apostle orders, “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), because it does not conceive anything bad and does not do bad.

The role of the school is irreplaceable in affirming our children with kindness, being
nurturing with spiritual values, and in conveying all essential knowledge. School is a place
where children spend an important part of their lives: more than a decade of receiving education, and maturing.

Indeed, we shall build the foundations of the character of growing generations upon rock,
which, as our Lord says, stands firm against storm and surge. This is so that they may withstand difficulties and may be filled with the ability to create, and to improve and develop their lives.

Today we note with appreciation that the administrative staff and instructors of the Eurnekian School, with the support of the Department of Christian Education of our Church, make efforts to holistically educate intellectual individuals who adhere to spiritual-moral values and are responsible sons and daughters of our people and country. All the achievements that our students have reached in national Olympiads, international competitions, in the sphere of information technologies, and in cultural festivals, have been conditioned by the love shown to students as well as the observance of decency. We believe that they shall continue on and increase their achievements.

The Bible teaches us, “Whoever loves his son will find assistance from him and take pride in him among his friends” (Sir. 30:2): Indeed dear students of the Eurnekian School, with your hard work and diligence you shall grant that feeling of happiness to Ourself, and to the honourable Mr. Eurnekian, so that according to  the biblical witness, not only may we feel proud of you, but also everyone, and so that you may be helpful to our country by contributing back thirty, sixty or a hundred times what you have received in this school.

On this joyous day of the opening of the new Eurnekian School, His Holiness recollected with bright feelings how, during one of his visits to the Mother See, the Argentinian- Armenian national benefactor Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian expressed willingness to support the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Offering prayers for the rest of peace of the souls of Mr. Panos and Ms. Srbouhi Eurnekian, the Catholicos of All Armenians noted that Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian’s respect towards parents, patriotism, philanthropy in national and patriotic life and personal successes are an excellent example for the schoolchildren and all the Armenians.

The Catholicos of All Armenians conveyed his Pontifical blessings and best wishes to the government officials, guests and all the friends of the school. With deep gratitude, His Holiness expressed his best wishes to Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, his family members, his staff, due to whose efforts it became possible to realize  all the project.

His Holiness extended his fatherly blessings and appreciation to the headmaster of the school and to the entire staff, members of the board of trustees, to the parents, to our dearly beloved students and to all who have given their input to the establishment of the school, as well as in the construction of the new building.

At the conclusion, His Holiness asked that God Most High, keep the homeland and people in peace, and grant advancement and progress, and that He may illumine the path of the school and keep prosperous the Armenian Holy Church.

At the end of the ceremony, a tree planting was held. The Catholicos of All Armenians, President Sargisyan, and Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian planted evergreen firs, memorializing the opening of the new school.
The opening ceremony of the new educational complex was concluded with a dance performance by the Eurnekian students.