On October 16, 2016, the Sunday following the Feast of the Holy Evangelists, the Primate celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Paul Armenian Church in Fresno. His Eminence was assisted at the Holy Altar by the Rev. Fr. Yessai Bedros, the pastor of the host parish and the parish deacons.

During the service, the Primate ordained granted the order of sub-deacon to Tigran Iskenyan and four minor orders of acolyte to Armen Boyajian, Jonathan Chardukian, Erik Parsegian and Mark Topoozian. Archbishop Derderian congratulated the altar servers commending their zealous Christian spirit and their enduring affection for the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In his homily, (St. Luke the Evangelist 4:13), His Eminence reflected on the apostolic succession following the earthly ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “We all are called to spread the light of the Gospel of Christ to the poor in spirit and to the blind in faith. We aim to emulate Christ, the Son of God, through our actions and our deeds. Priests are ordained and consecrated to carry on the apostolic succession. The laity is the body of Christ. The laity, the flock of Christ is the Church. Therefore, let Christ’s divine ordinance ring in our hearts,” said the Primate in part.