The Belt (Girdle) of the Blessed Virgin Mary, today divided into three pieces, is the only remaining relic of her earthly life. According to tradition, the belt was made out of camel hair by the Virgin Mary herself, and at her Assumption, she gave it to the Apostle Thomas. According to Tradition, the Apostle... Read More »
Prophecy is one of the most important phenomena of the Old Testament. A Prophet is the person who has had a close relationship with God, that is, he “has spoken” with God, or has received a message from God, or has been sent by God to a person or a nation to transfer His... Read More »
John the Baptist is one of the most significant and well known figures in the Bible.While John was known as "the Baptist," he was in fact the first prophet called by God since Malachi some 400 years earlier. John’s coming was foretold over 700 years previously by another prophet: "A voice of one calling:... Read More »
This council is the First Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church. It was the great religious discussion of the 4th century: a gathering of Christian bishops from throughout the world, convened by no less than on authority than the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The reason for convening the council was because of the... Read More »
Joachim and Anna of Nazareth were married and childless for fifty years. Now advanced in age, and in what seemed to be a hopeless, impossible situation, they both prayed and made special vows in order for God to bless them with a child. Once, when Anna went to the garden to pray, God’s Angel... Read More »
The Saturday preceding the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy cross is called The Eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This day, and the following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are also known as the Feast of the Holy Churches. Each of these days celebrate four different churches. The commemoration on the... Read More »
This is the Sunday preceding the week prior to the feast of the Appearance of the Holy Cross on Mount Varak (Varague), lasting from Monday to Friday. Being hidden by St Hripisime on Mount Varak, the relic of the Lord’s Wooden Cross was found by a miracle in the 7th century and the Armenian... Read More »
St George the Warrior (Sourp Kevork/Gevorg Zoravar in Armenian) is revered all over the world. He is one of the beloved saints of the Armenian Church, whose life serves as an example of remaining faithful to God even under the harshest circumstances Early Christian tradition tells us that St George was born to Christian parents... Read More »
The Mountain of Varak, on which was built the Monastery of Varak and the Monastery of the Holy Sign, is at the centre of the uniquely Armenian feast of the Cross we celebrate as the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak (Varague). The Armenian Church celebrates this feast two weeks after the Feast... Read More »
Besides the 12 Apostles, Jesus also had Seventy Two (72) disciples, whom he sent to “preach the Good News to all nations”. The Seventy Two Disciples are firmly rooted in Scripture, but only the Gospel of Luke mentions them. Unfortunately, those disciples’ names are not mentioned in the Gospels. In the New Testament the... Read More »