The name of the feast is derived from Palm Sunday, which precedes Easter. The Second Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the triumphant entry of the Ascended Christ into the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the angels meet him with great happiness and delight. According to old beliefs, during St Gregory the Illuminator’s imprisonment in the... Read More »
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ... Read More »
Welcome the Stranger: Elijah He was a man of holiness and generosity; but also a man who could countenance the cruelest violence. His very name confessed his loyalty to God; but also prefigured the loneliness that can follow any man with such loyalties. He was Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah “the Stranger”: the Hebrew prophet... Read More »
St Hripsime, along with her companions in martyrdom, are venerated as the first martyrs in Armenian history. Noble Hripsime was one of the 37 Christian nuns who, together with the Abyss Gayane, lived during the period of the reign of the Roman King Diocletianus (284-305) in the Monastery of St Paul located in the... Read More »
The Commemoration of St Gayane takes place on the day following the Commemoration of St Hripsime. St Gayane, the abbess and St Hripsime, along with their companions, remind us of the central role of strong, determined, faithful women at the root of Armenian Christianity. While the recounting of the conversion to Christianity usually centres... Read More »
The Armenian Church commemorates the day when the relics of St John the Forerunner (the Baptist) and Bishop Atanagine were transferred to Armenia. Mariam, the wife of St Gregory the Illuminator, had a brother named Atanagine. He was the Bishop of Pitacton and died while defending the faith. After his consecration in Caesarea, St... Read More »
The Feast of St Gregory the Illuminator’s deliverance from the pit is also known as Khor Viraben Yelkuh. Gregory is revered as the patron saint of the Armenian Church. He is recognised and memorialided in both eastern and western hierarchical churches. The Armenian liturgical calendar reserves three feast days in his honour: Entrance into... Read More »
One of the most celebrated feasts of the Armenian Church is the day when the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin was established, according to the inspired vision of St Gregory the Illuminator. According to hagiographic sources, following the declaration of Christianity as the Official Religion of Armenia in 301 AD, St Gregory had a famous... Read More »
In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we read about the slaying of the innocent children prior to the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:16-18). Men, who had come from the East to Jerusalem, spread... Read More »
St Nune and St Mane were two of the companions of St Hripsime, who, being persecuted by the King Dioklethianos, left Rome with the Abbess Gayane and her order of nuns, and reached Armenia where she was martyred. However, Nune and Mane were not destined to die together with their companions. Reaching Armenia together... Read More »
St Nersess was an Armenian Catholicos (Patriarch) who lived in the 4th century and was the great grandson of St Gregory the Illuminator. His father, Athenogenes, and his uncle, Bab, who were next in line for the succession to the Throne of St Gregory, were laymen and had no desire to become priests. As... Read More »
This is the Sunday preceding the week prior to the feast of Discovery of St Gregory the Illuminator’s relics, in the 5th century. The week long fast lasts from Monday to Friday.
King Kostandianos (Constantine) was born in the city of Nish, in the former Yugoslavia. He is one of the most prominent figures of the Roman Empire. It was he who officially released the Church from persecutions lasting more than 250 years and in 313 A.D. By the Encyclical of Milan he proclaimed Christianity to... Read More »
The relics of St Gregory the Illuminator (Lousavorich) are one of our most revered within the Armenian Church, as well as all Christian Churches. The discovery of the relics of St Gregory the Illuminator is one of the three significant feast days dedicated to the memory of the Patron Saint of Armenia and the... Read More »
