Author Liana Chichakyan

Judgement Sunday: Liturgy at the Mother See

This Sunday in the series of Sundays of Great Lent is called the Sunday of the Unjust Judge. The meaning of the day is summed up in the parable of the unjust judge. The fifth Sunday of the Unjust Judge is named after the parable of the unjust judge and the widow, mentioned in the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which Jesus told the people. The next Sunday, March 22, is Advent Sunday. The clergy will go to the gospel passages concerning the second coming of Christ.

Four high-ranking clergymen of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin have been summoned to the Investigative Committee

The Investigative Committee has summoned the Primate of the Diocese of Gugarts, Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan, the Primate of the Diocese of Syunik, Bishop Makar Hakobyan, the Director of the Administrative and Economic Department of the Mother See, Bishop Mushegh Babayan, and Archbishop Haykazun Najaryan to appear before the committee on charges of failing to execute the judicial act issued based on the lawsuit of the deposed Arman Saroyan. The lay members of the Supreme Spiritual Council were also questioned by the Investigative Committee in this case.

Lent involves not only a life of prayer, but also work

Hundreds of faithful and priests gathered at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin under the leadership of His Holiness Karekin II, the Patriarch of All Armenians

The requiem service for Archbishop Tatev Sargsyan was held at the St. Gayane Monastery

The requiem service for Archbishop Tatev Sargsyan, a faithful son, teacher and friend of the Mother See, was held at the St. Gayane Monastery with the participation of the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Great House of Cilicia. His Eminence Haykazun, a member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See, read the condolence message of His Holiness Karekin II to the relatives of Archbishop Tatev Sargsyan, the Brotherhood of the Mother See and the Great House of Cilicia, and the faithful. The requiem service was performed by Archbishop Oshakan Choloyan, a member of the Brotherhood of the Great House of Cilicia.

The Department of Spiritual Service of Penitentiary Institutions was established under the direction of His Holiness Karekin II

The chairmen of the youth unions of the Aragatsotn diocese held their first meeting of the year

Inter-community visits, joint pilgrimages, and a number of social and educational programs are planned in the near future. Under the high pontifical direction of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and with the blessing of the Primate of the Aragatsotn diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, on January 31, the right-shaped relic of Sargis the Great will be transferred to the St. Sargis Church in Ushi.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the first andastan of the year was held

In the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the leadership of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the monks walked around the church. They blessed the four corners of the world with the cross, the khatchvar and the gospel, and asked for fruitfulness for the year. At the end of the ceremony, with a candle lit from the lamp of the Holy Altar of the Descent of the Mother Cathedral, His Holiness, accompanied by a procession of clergy and believers, walked to the monastic building of the Mother See, next to which he lit the bonfire of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the national symbol of the feast.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the first andastan of the year was held

In the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the leadership of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the monks walked around the church. They blessed the four corners of the world with the cross, the khatchvar and the gospel, and asked for fruitfulness for the year. At the end of the ceremony, with a candle lit from the lamp of the Holy Altar of the Descent of the Mother Cathedral, His Holiness, accompanied by a procession of clergy and believers, walked to the monastic building of the Mother See, next to which he lit the bonfire of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the national symbol of the feast.

The Sunrise Service was celebrated under the leadership of the Catholicos of All Armenians

On the first Wednesday of Great Lent, the Brotherhood of the Mother See, under the leadership of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, participated in the Sunrise Service. This mysterious ceremony, which takes place during Great Lent, has been part of the ritual life of our church since the 7th century. The hymns that sound in churches early in the morning on this day are a glorification of light and the divine Essence. The Divine Liturgy of the Sunrise Service also reminds us of the Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection of the righteous.

The procession of the Brotherhood of the Mother See participated in the Evening Service under the presiding authority of His Holiness

The evening services or daily services at different times of the church day are an integral part of the liturgy of our church. Especially during Great Lent, it is very important to participate in these ceremonies and prepare for the Holy Resurrection through prayer and transformation. The procession of the monks of the Mother See accompanies the Armenian Patriarch to the Mother Cathedral, where the evening service will be performed under the presiding authority of His Holiness.