Commemoration of St Abgar, First Martyr of the Church and our first King believing in Christ According to Armenian tradition, St Abgar was the first Christian king of the 1st century, the son of the Parthian king Arshakunie Arsham. He was also called “senior man” as he was the wisest of all and a... Read More »
The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits, ascetics and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in AD 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. Sometime around AD 270, Anthony... Read More »
The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake, occurred on December 7 at 11:41 local time with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating). Between 25,000 and 50,000 people were killed and up to 130,000 were injured, with thousands more left homeless. The earthquake devastated... Read More »
St. Mary is known in the Armenian Church as Asdvadzamayr-Asdvadzadzin, the “Mother of God” and the “Bearer of God” a position doctrinally established at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in the 5th century. Her life of holiness and purity, and her graceful acceptance of the role to which God called her, as the mother... Read More »
Today commemorates the eve (paregentan) of the Fast of St. James (Hagop) of Nisibus. The five day fast, Monday to Friday, leads us to the Feast of St. James, which is next Saturday. Traditionally the entire fifty day period of Advent was a period of fasting, similar to Great Lent. In modern times, three... Read More »
