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Today Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the Feast of St. Sarkis

February 11, 2017 By administrator

st-sarkis-feastToday the Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the Feast of St. Sarkis the Commander. By the order of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Feast of St. Sarkis is proclaimed day of blessing of the youth, Panorama.am reports referring to Qahana.am.

The source notes that Captain St. Sarkis is one of the most beloved saints among the Armenian nation. Together with his 14 soldiers-companions he was martyred for the sake of Christian faith.

During the period of reign of the king Kostandianos the Great (285-337) St. Sarkis, being very courageous, was appointed the prince and General in chief of the region of Cappadocia bordering Armenia. When during the period of reign of the king Julianos the Betrayer (360-363) the persecutions against Christians started St. Sarkis and his only son – Martyros, came to live in Armenia, and the Armenian king Tiran, grandson of Tiridates, received them very well.

Being informed that Julianos had initiated an invasion towards Persia, the Armenian king, intending to keep his country safe from the threat of attack, urged Sarkis to begin serving in the army of the Persian king Shapouh who gladly appointed him as the captain of regiments.

Becoming aware of the fact that Sarkis was Christian the king Shapouh ordered him to worship the fire and offer sacrifice to the heathen gods. But the captain immediately refused to obey the order saying, “We should worship one God – the Holy Trinity, which has created the earth and the heaven. Whereas fire or idols are not gods and the human being may destroy them.” After these words the saint destroyed the temple. The annoyed crowd fell on the saint and his son. First the son of the saint was martyred. The saint was put into detention and remaining unshaken in his faith was beheaded. After the martyrdom of the saint light appeared over his body. 14 soldiers-companions of the saint also were martyred for the sake of Christian faith.

For the Armenian nation St. Sarkis is one of the most beloved taints. It is not casual that St. Mesrop Mashtots brought the relics of the saint to the village Karbi (Ashtarak Region) and the Church of St. Sarkis was built over his relics.

On the day of the feast a divine liturgy is offered in all churches named after St. Sarkis which is followed by a special ceremony of blessing of young people.

 

Source Panorama.am

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: Armenia, Feast, st-sarkis

Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Feast of Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ

March 27, 2016 By administrator

f56f7916847803_56f791684781d.thumbThe Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ or the Easter Feast is one of the five major feasts of the Armenian Church, the qahana.am website reports.

The main origin of the feast is the following:

The king of Egypt didn’t agree to allow the Hebrews to travel into the desert to offer sacrifices to Lord the God, and the last punishment of God on the king of Egypt that should force the king to let the Hebrews out of the country was the death of every first-born son and every first-born of all cattle in Egypt. In order to save the Hebrews from that punishment the Lord spoke to Moses and by means of Moses ordered the Hebrews to kill a lamb and taking some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses. On the night when He would go through the land of Egypt to kill every first-born male, both human and animal, He would see the blood on the doors and would not let the Angel of Death enter the house. He would pass over and wouldn’t harm the Hebrews when punishing the Egyptians. Finally, after that punishment, the king allowed the Hebrews to leave the country, and the Hebrews left Egypt. So, mankind obtained life thanks to the Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, in order to reach the Christians’ blessed land – the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Mystery of Easter is the mystery of Jesus Christ, His Salutary Holy Blood shed for mankind and His Rising from the dead for mankind. The Son of God should incarnate, be subjected to tortures, be crucified, buried and the third day raise from death (Ps 15:9-11, 29:4, 40:11-13, 117:16-17, Ho 6:2-3).

Following the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ His body was taken off the cross and placed into the tomb and the entrance to the tomb was closed by a large stone and the soldiers were ordered to control the entrance to the tomb. After three days the three women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of James and Joseph, and the wife of Zebedee brought spices and perfumes to anoint the body of Jesus. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb, so they went in but they didn’t the body of the Lord. They stood there puzzled about this, when suddenly two angels dressed in white appeared and said to them, “Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, ha has been raised” (Lk 24:5-6). The women returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven disciples and the rest. According to Peter more than 500 people saw Christ who had risen from the dead. So, this is the evangelical tiding of the fact of Easter or Holy Resurrection.

Resurrection of Christ became the basis of the Christian doctrine and faith. “If that is true, it means that Christ has been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe” (1 Co 15:13-14).

Christ rose from the dead, by means of His Death He destroyed Death and granted eternal life. “I am the Resurrection and I am the Life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:25).

Christ died for the salvation of mankind and by His Blood took away the sin in the world, so that we should inherit eternal life.

On the day of the Easter feast people dye eggs red as a symbol of fruitful life, salvation and joy. St. Gregory of Datev considers the egg to be the symbol of the world, the shell of which is the sky, the membrane is the air, the white is the water and the yolk is the earth. Dyeing eggs red symbolizes the salvation of the world by means of Blood of Christ.

The Armenian Church celebrates the Easter Feast on the first Sunday following the full moon of the vernal equinox, with 35 days moveability, during the period from March 21–April 26.

The Armenian Church traditionally celebrates evening Divine Liturgy on the evening prior to Jesus Christ’s Glorious Resurrection (Easter). Following the conclusion of the Liturgy, the assembled faithful take lit candles home, symbolizing the Light that Christ brought into the world. The Divine Liturgy celebrated on the eve is the start of the festive ceremonies.

On Sunday, the day of the feast, a morning service is conducted the Andastan Service is performed wherein the four corners of the world are blessed, afterwards the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. That day the faithful welcome each other on the occasion of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ conveying the great tiding:  “Christ is Risen from the dead” and receive the answer: “Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.”

Fifty-day period beginning from the Easter Feast – the Holy Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ – and lasting till Pentecost in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church is called Hinounk or Hinants period. That period is dedicated to the mystery of Resurrection of the Lord, and that is why it is Dominical period.

The name “Hinounk” comes from the word hisuonk (fifty). The first forty days of the period are dedicated to the appearings of Rosen Christ: “For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God” (Ac 1:3).

The last ten days of the Hinants period are dedicated to the Ascension of Christ.

Hianats period is concluded with the Feast of Ascension. According to the Church laws there are no fasting days during all fifty days of Hinants period, which means that all people can eat everything during that period.

Filed Under: Events, News Tagged With: Armenian Apostolic, celebrates, Church, Feast

Armenia: Trndez bonfire made in Yerevan church backyards: Yerevan celebrates Feast of Purification

February 14, 2016 By administrator

diantrageYEREVAN. – Araratian Patriarchal Diocese today made a “Trndez” bonfire in the backyard of Yerevan’s Surb Zoravor Astvatsatsin church on occasion of the Feast of Purification, a holiday symbolizing the coming of spring and fertility.

The celebration was mainly attended by fellows and girls, who hoped to find love by jumping over the fire. Newly-weds also took part in it dreaming of creating a strong family.

Being pagan by origin, Trndez is a holiday dedicated to the newly-weds. Some specialists think the word “Trndez” means “heaped up fired”. With the adoption of Christianity in Armenia, the name and essence of the holiday also changed.

One of the key constituents of the holiday is the bonfire. Loving couples jump over it, and if they manage to jump without leaving each other’s hand, they say the family will be strong and their love will be eternal.

The couples are followed by childless women who believe the fire will help them get pregnant. At the end, everyone dances in a circle.

The holiday symbolized the 40-day birth of pagan God Vahagn, who was born through flames. The priest took fire from those flames and made a bonfire for the pagan community. During the pagan celebration, the brides jumped over the fire to be able to give birth to male children like Vahagn.

According to another thesis, the holiday was dedicated to God Mihr and has to do with fire worship.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: celebrates, Feast, Purification, Yerevan

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