The Armenian Church commemorates events and individuals significant in our spiritual lives with days dedicated to Feasts. The purpose of these celebrations is to awaken our spirituality by remembering and reflecting on the significance of the events and rededicating ourselves toward spiritual strengthening.
The Armenian Church celebrates three types of feasts.
- Dominical Feasts which are connected to Christ’s mission of redemption as well as feasts dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, the Holy Cross and Holy Church.
- Saints’ Days which recognise the martyrs and holy fathers of the early church who lived exemplary lives of Christian virtue and sanctity.
- Days of Abstinence are intended as a time for repentance, meditation, reflection and prayer.
Major Feast Days of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Dominical Feasts)
The “Daghavar” (Tabernacle) feasts are the five major feast days of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the liturgical calendar. Of these significant days, only Christmas has a fixed date, the other days are changeable.
| Holy Nativity [Christmas] and Theophany of Our Lord | 6 January |
| Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord [Easter] | March/April |
| Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ [Vartavar] | 14th Sunday after Easter |
| Assumption of the Holy Mother of God [Soorp Asdvadzadzin] | Sunday nearest to 15 August |
| Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross [Khachverats] | September |
Feasts of Christ
| Holy Nativity (Christmas) and Theophany | 6 January |
| Naming of Our Lord Jesus Christ (8th Day of Nativity) | 13 January |
| Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple | 14 February (40th Day) |
| Feast of the Glorious Resurrection | March/April |
| Remembrance of Christ’s Raising Lazarus | 41st day of Great Lent |
| Palm Sunday and Holy Week | March/April |
| Ascension of Our Lord | 40 days after Easter |
| Pentecost | 50 days after Easter |
| Transfiguration of Our Lord | 14th Sunday after Easter |
Feasts of the Holy Mother of God
| The Annunciation to Mary | April 7 |
| Discovery of St Mary’s Box | Fifth Sunday after Pentecost |
| Assumption of the Holy Mother of God | Sunday nearest 15 August |
| Discovery of the Belt of Theotokos (Mother of the Lord) | Second Sunday after Assumption |
| Birth of the Holy Virgin Mary | 8 September |
| Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary | 21 November |
| Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary by Anna | 9 December |
| Apparition of the Holy Cross | Fourth Sunday after Easter |
| Exaltation of the Holy Cross | Sunday closest to September 14 |
| Holy Cross of Varak | Third Sunday of the Exaltation |
| Discovery of the Holy Cross | Seventh Sunday of Exaltation |
Feasts of the Holy Church
| New Sunday | First Sunday after Easter |
| Green Sunday | Second Sunday after Easter |
| Red Sunday | Third Sunday after Easter |
| Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin | Second Sunday after Pentecost |
| Commemoration of the Old Ark and the Feast of the New Church | Saturday preceding Transfiguration |
| Apparition (Shoghakat) of Holy Etchmiadzin | Saturday preceding the Assumption |
Click here for more feast days and commemorations in Supplemental Learning
Source: Saints & Feasts of the Armenian Church – Patriarch Torkom Koushagian
www.Qahana.am
