From a War Zone to Down Under:

In this episode of Awakened, Fr. Nareg Terterian sits down with his friend, Very Rev. Fr. Ardag Arabian, for an unscripted conversation. The two come from the same hometown of Kessab.

Fr. Ardag describes volunteering to serve in Syria from 2016 to 2018, during the war. He lived as his people did, with little water, bread, or electricity. He met young soldiers whose eyes seemed empty and felt he lacked the tools to help them. Yet he calls those years his "baptism of fire," the time his faith was revived.

He then tells of arriving in Sydney, thin and worn, to study theology. He found a welcoming university, explored liberation and practical theology, and wrote his thesis in a single week when COVID cut his stay short.

Now serving in the United States, he hopes to study counseling. Both priests stress that clergy are human too, and that they also need to be heard.

The episode is a candid look at faith, service, and humility. Listen for the story, and for the reminder that guidance goes both ways.