On September 14, 2017, the officials of the Diocesan Headquarters, led by the Diocesan Primate, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, were hosted at the St. Gregory of Narek Educational, Cultural, Youth and Spiritual Center in Rustavi (Armenian Diocese in Georgia).

The center was crowded; representatives of Armenians of Rustavi, Gardabani and Marneuli, as well as members of the staff of the Center were attending the meeting.

Following the Lord's Prayer and the blessings of the Diocesan Primate, the Pastor of the Center, Rev. Father Narek Ghushyan, touched upon the activities that were recorded in the pages of the Center’s history. Among these are the Divine Liturgies celebrated at the Center, the Armenian language teacher participated in teacher training courses in Yerevan, the local youth visited Armenia as a part of the “Ari Tun” Program, the formation of song and dance ensembles, the creation of the youth union, etc.. The aforementioned activities are the demonstration of spiritual power, which has been within the Armenians for decades.

On behalf of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, Father Narek expressed deep gratitude for special attention paid to the center and the pastorate, for donated chairs, tables and teaching accessories, as well as textbooks, notebooks and methodological materials from Armenia.

Later, Director of the Cultural Department of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, Levon Chidilyan; Eugenia Markosyan, Director of the Educational Department of the Diocese; Susana Khachaturyan, the Director of Press and Media Department of the Diocese;  the Youth Department Director, Valery Badalyan; Youth Programs Coordinator, Nina Seropova; welcomed the Center’s activists and Armenians from nearby settlements; and spoke about the guidelines for activities and shared their experiences with others.

Karine Manukyan, the Coordinator of National School Projects at the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia; who was also in attendance, noted that the Georgian authorities have caring attitude toward the schools, teaching in Armenian, emphasized that the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the RA Ministry of Education and Science provides textbooks to the Armenian schools.

The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia offered his blessing remarks to the participants of the meeting. Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan emphasized the staff’s responsible approach, led by Rev. Father Narek, to the center’s and pastorate’s activities, evaluated the aforementioned educational, cultural and youth projects and promised that the diocese would support implementation of the projects. An instruction was given to the Youth Department to organize social issues courses.

Let us add that the center started its work in the new 2017/18 academic year with its schedule and the professional educators. Teacher of Armenian language at St. Yeghishe Sunday School, Marietta Shatarevyan received her first 50 students.

The center also has creative groups. The Berkri choir, led by choirmaster Inna Davitashvili, will perform spiritual hymns during the Divine Liturgies, and will perform Armenian national and patriotic songs during the events. The members of the Nemrut Dance Ensemble will learn how to dance traditional Armenian dances. Soon the Armenian children of Rustavi will learn how to play duduk.

The St. Gregory of Narek Educational, Cultural, Youth and Spiritual Center will host different events, including an exhibition showcasing the works of talented artist Gary Nalbandyan and the Feast of the Holy Translators.