ARMENIAN PONTIFF TELLS YOUTHS TO STUDY HARD\Karekin I applauded at Pasadena rally.

Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer

Visiting Pasadena for the first time since his appointment, the supreme patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church urged youngsters at an afternoon rally Saturday to be responsible individuals and take advantage of all opportunities to learn.

Karekin I was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of about 800 youths and adults at the Armenian General Benevolent Union center as he delivered his down-to-earth message of hope and encouragement, aimed mostly at young people.

"Youth is that age which makes things happen," the supreme patriarch told his audience, which showed its appreciation throughout his 40-minute speech with several standing ovations. "I think the youth is that generation which makes history."

Karekin I was appointed leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church in April. He is the 131st pontiff in a line dating back to the fourth century. He replaced Vazgen I, who died in August 1994 after nearly four decades as supreme patriarch.

The religious leader's visit to the center was one in a series of public appearances since he arrived Thursday in Los Angeles. He is scheduled to celebrate morning worship at the St. Peter Armenian Church in Van Nuys at 10 o'clock today.

The leader of more than 6 million Armenians worldwide - 350,000 of them in Southern California - Karekin I began his Pasadena visit Saturday morning at a reception hosted by the city's mayor, Bill Paparian, at Pasadena City Hall.

He arrived at the Benevolent Union center just after 3 p.m., shrouded in his traditional black robes and flanked by several Armenian Apostolic Church leaders from the West Coast.

Outside the center, Karekin I worked his way through a crowd of media photographers and excited onlookers to lean over a stroller and a bless bundled but alert 6-month-old, Armand-Nareg Yerjanian, to the surprise of his parents Nerses and Varteni Yerjanian.

"We're impressed," said the child's mother, Varteni, who said she had adopted her son from Armenia only two months ago. "He blessed him. I feel that he will be protected."

Karekin's audience inside was a mixture of adults and youths from throughout Southern California, and as far away as Phoenix. Anxious young people filled the pews, awaiting a glimpse of a man whose status among Armenians equals that of the Roman Catholic pope, John Paul II.

"My mom's been telling me he's a really good man," said Chad Bousleiman, 10, of Tujunga. "This is, like, better than (seeing) a movie star."

The service began with the singing of both the American and Armenian national anthems. Karekin I then approached the podium, removed his hood and spoke briefly in Armenian before switching to an accented, but fluent, English.

He combined subtle humor with a stern demeanor to impress upon the youngsters to act responsibly, become involved, protect their Armenian heritage and hungrily seek knowledge.

Acknowledging that as a youth he didn't take his studies as seriously as he could have, Karekin urged his young audience to be diligent in school.

"Don't miss one iota in your studies . . . because later it will be impossible to recapture," he said.

Karekin called on the youths to learn about the Armenian Apostolic Church, which traces its history to 301 A.D., and about Armenia, which has endured struggles with the Greeks, Romans, Persians and Turks, and only recently gained its religious freedom with the fall of communism.

Saying he was at the center Saturday to listen as much as express his own views, the pontiff took questions from a handful of audience members, most of them teen-agers seeking advice on their roles in the church.

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Photo Karekin I meets 6-month-old Armand Yerjanian and his mother, Varteni Yerjanian, during a visit Saturday to Pasadena. John McCoy/Daily News