Draft:EDIK BARONI

Edik Baroni, Էդիկ Բարոնի, ادیک بارونی (born April 3, 1978) is an Armenian-American bishop. He is a prelate in the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ and the bishop of the Personal Prelature of the Persian Communities Worldwide.

Early life and education
Baroni was born into an Armenian and Christian family of Nazar Baroni and Lidoush Minaskanian in Tehran, Iran. He was attracted to the church and the Christian faith from an early age. At the age of 15, he became interested in becoming a priest. Since then, he started researching churches, religious life, and priesthood. In 1996, he entered the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Tehran, managed by the Salesian Order as a postulant and candidate for the priesthood in the Salesian order. His education started by learning Italian, English, French, and Spanish. He also learned the Catholic Church's catechism and the Salesian order's regulations.

In 1998, he started the year of novitiate and became part of the Salesian order in Rome, Italy. In 1999, he started his philosophical education at the Pontifical Salesian University and graduated summa cum laude. Between 1998-2003, Baroni was a religious member of the Salesian order and besides receiving his academic and spiritual education worked as well as a Salesian clergy in Iran and different cities of Syria.

From 2003 to 2005, Baroni received a seminarian education and completed his theology studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Rome. He later completed his master's degree in Theology at the Latin University of Theology and a Doctorate in Theology, Pastoral Ministry at the Latin University of Theology.

Career
In 2007, Baroni moved to Los Angeles and began working in Fortune 40 best large workplaces in the financial institutions as his secular job. He has held different positions at the Bank of America until now with the title of Assistant Vice President.

In December 2012, he joined the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ and having all the required philosophical, theological, and seminary experience, was ordained a priest.

On May 22, 2022, Baroni, with the unanimous consent of the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ's Ecumenical Primate and the college of bishops, was elected and consecrated bishop in the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ, a nonprofit organization registered as an Apostolic Church in the State of Michigan, USA. He is the founder and CEO of the Holy Apostolic Church of USA.

Baroni also presides and leads The Personal Prelature of the Persian Communities Worldwide, a community for clergy and laypeople who follow the Catholic and Apostolic Tradition of the Church, including the seven universally recognized sacraments. He contributes to different healthcare facilities as a chaplain and performs sacraments for those who request from him.

Publications
Baroni published a book titled Augustine, One Man, One History in Farsi آگوستین، یک انسان، یک تاریخ in Iran, along with many Christian learning material resources. Bishop Baroni wrote a books in 2023 in Italian language about Armenian and Assyrian Gneocide, called "Il GENOCIDIO DEGLI ARMENI E DEGLI ASSIRI". He also wrote a similar book In English in 2024 called "THE ARMENIAN AND ASSYRIAN GENOCIDE". The 2 books are available in Amazon.

Language Skills
Bishop Edik Baroni speaks Armenian, Farsi, English, Italian, Spanish, and French.