St. Peter was one of the 12 apostles of Christ. He was the brother of Andrew. He was one of the beloved apostles of Jesus and the witness of Our Lord’s Transfiguration and the other important events related to Jesus. Peter was a fisherman. His name given during the circumcision was Shmavon, or Simon... Read More »
St. James was the son of the fisherman Zebedee, the senior brother of the Evangelist St. John. He was one of the closest and most reliable disciples of Jesus and the witness of the important events related to Jesus. When Samaritans refused to receive Christ, James and his brother asked Jesus to send fire... Read More »
Eve of the Fast of Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Fast of Christmas) The Eve of the Fast of Christmas is always celebrated on December 29, that is seven (7) days before the Feast of Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas). The Fast of Christmas ends... Read More »
Presently all Christian churches celebrate the New Year on January 1. The word “January” means “birth”. Before Christ’s coming to the world mankind was the captive of hell and constrained by eternal death. Being born in January, Christ destroyed the hell, saved mankind from eternal death and led to the Kingdom of Heaven.... Read More »
Join us for the Prayer of Thanks and Pomegranate Blessing Service on New Year's Day starting with the Divine Liturgy and Pontifical Prayer (Hayrabedagan Maghtank) @ 11.00 am. In Christian symoblism, the pomegranate represents the blood shed by Jesus Christ, also symbolising the Lord's Glorious Resurrection and the diversity of God's graces. In the... Read More »
Eve of Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Candlelight (Lucernarium) Divine Liturgy According to the Armenian Church, the day changes at 5:00 pm and thus the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ starts on the eve, on the evening of January 5... Read More »
Each year, on January 13, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of Naming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Evangelist St. Luke writes in his Gospel, according to the Jewish tradition “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him... Read More »
The birth of St John the Baptist is described in detail in the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:5-25). One day Zechariah, father of St John the Baptist, was doing his work as a priest in the Temple and was burning incense on the altar. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and... Read More »
St Anthony the Hermit is the founder of ascetic and monastic life. He was born in the village Koma, Egypt, in 251, in a noble family. After his parents’ death Anthony inherited their wealth. Whilst in church, he listened to the evangelical commandment, in which Jesus says: “If you want to be perfect, go... Read More »
The Armenian Church commemorates Theodosius I, the Roman Emperor (379 to 395) who put an end to the last of paganism and the Arian heresy in the empire (The doctrine denying the true divinity of Christ, named after the Alexandrian priest Arius c. 250–c. 336). He was recognised as a “just and mighty Christian emperor”... Read More »
Patriarchs St Athanasius and St Cyril are among the most prominent figures of the Universal Church, who devoted their lives to the promulgation of the orthodoxy of Christianity, and the struggle against false conceptions and erroneous teachings. St. Athanasius (295-373 A.D.) was born in Alexandria, to a Greek Christian family. He received his higher... Read More »
St. Gregory the Theologian has left a rich literary heritage, which was translated into Armenian in the 5th to 8th centuries AD. In all probability, St. Moses of Khoronk created part of the translations into Armenian. St. Gregory the Theologian is one of the most prominent figures of Christianity, who by means of the... Read More »
The blessing of grapes takes place immediately after the Divine Liturgy. The ceremony is rich in symbolism and emphasises the important role the Virgin Mary assumed in the revelation of God. In the Northern Hemisphere, the blessing takes place on the day of the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. However, in... Read More »
Saints Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi In addition to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel (the four major prophets of the Old Testament), the Armenian Church commemorates the following twelve minor prophets. The Prophets were those persons through which God spoke his will to the people of... Read More »
The Armenian Church commemorates St Aristages (Aristakes), Vrtanes, Krikoris (Grigoris) and Housik (Husig); St Gregory's sons and grandsons and Daniel the Syrian. The day of commemoration (according to the present calendar in force since 1774-75) falls on the Saturday before the Third Sunday of Transfiguration. The rest of the members of the Gregorid family,... Read More »