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 »