The fifth Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of the Judge. The message of the day teaches us the parable of the widow and the Judge. This parable comes to us in the Gospel of St. Luke (Luke 18:1-8). The parable tells the story of a widow who repeatedly comes to a... Read More »

  This feast is the first one among the three commemoration days dedicated to the memory of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the first Catholicos of All Armenians. According to the Armenian Church Calendar, it is celebrated on the eve of the Fifth Sunday during the period of Great Lent. The feast is dedicated to the... Read More »

  The Sixth Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Advent. This Sunday teaches us about the first Advent of Christ – His Incarnation: His Holy Birth when God became Man. This proved the Truth found in the Scriptures that by the coming of the Saviour, a second chance was given to mankind... Read More »

  On April 7, the Armenian Church celebrates one of her greatest feasts: the Annunciation to St Mary. In the Gospel of Luke we learn that the Angel Gabriel brings the good news to the Virgin about the birth of the Saviour (Lk 1:26-38). According to Holy Tradition and the Evangelist, the Angel Gabriel appears... Read More »

  On the 41st day of the period of Great Lent, the Armenian Church commemorates Lazarus being raised from the dead. In the Armenian Church, Holy Week (Avak Shapat) begins not on Palm Sunday, but on Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday. It is not a fasting day or a saints’ day, even though... Read More »

  Palm Sunday is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy, when the altar curtain reopens, after being closed for the period of Lent. The celebration marks the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as he rode on a donkey. Crowds gathered to greet him spreading cloaks and branches before him, shouting “Hosanna in the highest” to welcome... Read More »

  On Holy Monday, the scriptures help us remember the story of Creation, of man’s fall into sinfulness as well as the story of the barren fig tree, which Christ dried up because it bore no fruit. The Gospel readings tell us about the story of the “cursed fig tree.” Jesus was going from Bethany... Read More »

  On Holy Tuesday we read the story of the ten maidens (virgins), five of whom were wise enough to bring extra oil for their lamps while they were waiting for the bridegroom to come and take them to a wedding feast. Five foolish maids did not bring extra oil, and while they went out... Read More »

  Holy Wednesday commemorates the anointing of Jesus Christ by a woman in Bethany and the Betrayal of Christ. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we learn that while Jesus was dining with his Apostles in Bethany, in the home of Simon the leper, a woman came in with an alabaster jar filled with valuable... Read More »

  The Armenian Church has three services on Maundy Thursday, symbolising three different events in the last days of the earthly ministry of Christ. The morning service commemorates The Last Supper, at which Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist by giving Holy Communion to His disciples. During a Passover meal, Christ broke and distributed... Read More »

  Good Friday (Holy Friday), commemorates Christ’s tortures, Crucifixion, Death and Burial. On Friday morning, Jesus, subjected to all kinds of humiliation, was forced personally to carry the heavy wooden cross to the heights of Golgotha. Suffering intensely, He reached Golgotha where the Crucifixion was accomplished. By midday He was already nailed to the Cross. Fixed... Read More »

  The Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ starts on the eve and continues after midnight. On Holy Saturday, in the evening, the Vigil Office of the Lighting of Lamps (Jrakalooyts) commences at sundown, the entry into Easter Sunday. During this service of scripture lessons, the faithful hear the prophecies proudly heralding Christ’s Resurrection. The crossing of the Israelites... Read More »

  The Saturday following the Holy Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Armenian Church commemorates the beheading of St John the Baptist (also known as The Forerunner). The writers of the Gospels, St Matthew and St Mark, have explained the history of beheading of St John the Baptist, who had... Read More »